This year, interest in Nursing Informatics has grown as technology increasingly fills gaps left by less face-to-face care.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare providers and insurance companies looked for technology to identify populations in need of intervention, triage patients to urgent and emergent care, and incorporate wearable technology in treatment plans.
With many patients afraid to return to in-person care, the use of healthcare technology is poised to increase. The field of Nursing Informatics - also referred to as Health Informatics - is poised to grow along with it.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects Health Informatics to grow 8% into 2029.
Most healthcare companies find it difficult to locate people with the right combination of skills: ability to analyze data, understanding of electronic records management, project management, and strong communication skills.
Having spent 10 years of my career as an Informatics Nurse, I am frequently asked about how to get into this field. While everyone's story is a little different, including my own, below I pulled together the most common ways nurses get into this area.
First of All, What Do Informatics Nurses Do?
There are many different roles nurses in this field perform, but the general way to think of an Informatics Nurse is as the bridge between Clinical and Information Technology.
Informatics Nurses understand business context and how a system would be used to support it. We translate what nurses at the bedside need to technical teams, and ensure software meets those needs.
The exact duties of an Informatics Nurse vary by role. For example, a Clinical Business Analyst may define business requirements and prioritize features of a system, while a Subject Matter Expert is on the team to provide input based on their expertise in an area of nursing.
Salaries also vary by role, level of responsibility, and geography.
In the New York City area where I live, Informatics Nurses in entry-level analyst roles are typically paid in the $90,000 range, while Informatics Nurse Directors may be paid upwards of $150,000.
How Do You Get into Nursing Informatics?
There are generally two paths into this field:
Path 1 - Nurses who have a clinical background needed for a technology project.
In this scenario, a nurse has experience in a particular clinical area or role that is needed for a system implementation project.
For example, if you worked as a Care Manager for a number of years and your organization is implementing a new Care Management platform, you could be brought onto the team as a Subject Matter Expert.
Working closely with a technology team over time often turns these nurses into experts on that platform. In fact, the Subject Matter Expert is usually the person other nurses are told to go to with questions about how the system works.
I know a number of nurses who entered the field in these types of roles and never left.
Alternatively, some people enter nursing after careers in Information Technology. In this scenario, nursing adds a business background for someone who already has the technological skills.
Since this combination of skills is difficult to find, people with both backgrounds are considered very valuable.
Path 2 - Nurses who obtained a Masters in Nursing or Health Informatics.
While not required, the master's degree certainly helps nurses without a technology background to break into the field. This is the path I followed since my experience prior to graduate school was purely bedside care.
The master's degree also helps open doors to leadership roles. The first company I worked for after getting my masters would not promote Informatics Nurses into Director roles without a graduate degree.
Because nurses who followed Path 1 are generally already working in this field, the focus of my advice below is for nurses following Path 2.
How to Get Your First Job in Nursing Informatics
Similar to finding your first job as a nurse, it can be challenging to get a foot in the door in Nursing Informatics. Even though these roles are hard to fill, most companies still prefer to hire someone with experience than someone who requires training.
Here are some ways to get that first job:
Method #1: Leverage your master's practicum
It surprises my Nurse Practitioner friends that Nursing Informatics students also have practicums. I had 3 practicums during my master's program, and I found them all extremely helpful.
Similar to Nurse Practitioner students, as a Nursing Informatics graduate student I shadowed people in the IT departments of several companies.
I intentionally chose a variety of places to shadow:
1 - The IT department of the managed care company where I worked
This department had a group of masters-prepared Informatics Nurses leading their business analyst team.
2 - The IT department of a large university hospital
This department had a DNP (her focus was Nursing Informatics) leading a mixed group of Informatics Nurses and non-clinical business analysts in an Epic implementation.
3 - The home care team of a small community hospital
There was no IT department, just 1 Informatics Nurse who managed the relationship with the software vendor and acted as a mini Help Desk for system issues.
The benefit of the practicum was both to see Informatics Nurses in action, but also to build my network.
In fact, my first Informatics job was with the group of Informatics Nurses at my managed care company because they remembered me from my practicum when a spot opened on the team.
If you are still in a master's program, definitely leverage the practicum to build your network. If you have finished a master's program, revisit the people you met in your practicum to see what roles they have open.
Method #2: Invent your own internship
Not everyone is fortunate enough to have good practicums during their master's program. An alternative is to create your own internship.
You can do so through a combination of the following:
1 - Ask the IT department of your organization if they ever let people shadow
This could be a good way to meet people in the field and show your interest in making a career change.
2 - Set up informational interviews with people in your organization and other organizations performing the roles you like
Set up a Zoom coffee or lunch and pick their brain about their work, their organization, and how they got started. This can give you more ideas for breaking into the field, and put you top of mind for openings that person becomes aware of.
3 - Volunteer for projects in your current role
One of the key skills for Informatics Nurses is being able to manage projects and be on a project team. Volunteering to be on a technology project in your current role could set you on a path to move onto a technology team. Even a non-technology project will provide the helpful experience you can add to your resume.
Method #3: Join professional organizations
A number of professional organizations in Nursing Informatics/Health Informatics host conferences and post openings. A friend of mine has gotten his last 3 job offers through attending the HIMSS conference each year.
Here are a few of the larger groups to know:
Method #4: Check back with your graduate advisor
You would be surprised how often professors in these programs are approached about qualified Health Informatics/Nursing Informatics candidates.
Definitely stay in touch with your advisor and check back to see if they know of any openings. They may also be aware of upcoming large projects where more Informatics Nurses will be needed.
Salary (2020)
According to ZipRecruiter, the average yearly salary in the U.S. is $102,230.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, these methods used alone or in combination help you get that first job. Once you have experience as an Informatics Nurse, it is much easier to get the next job and the one after that.
I know I did not mention applying for jobs online. I have nothing against going this route, and have hired people who simply saw a job posting on my company's website and applied.
The reason I did not mention it above is you will definitely need to have experience, so make sure you are the right fit before applying.
Regardless of the methods you use, there are several things to make sure of as you get out there:
1 - Learn the names of the technologies you are using
This will be important both when you look for new jobs and when you go for interviews
2 - Learn as much as you can about any role you apply for
This is true of any field, but particularly in Nursing Informatics where there are many different titles for the same type of role.
3 - Make friends with consultants
As you build your career you will likely meet many consultants along the way. Incorporating them in your network is valuable because they often move from project to project and will know about openings in this field.
Best of luck and I hope to hear many success stories!
Resources
Want to Land a Job in Health Informatics? The Different Paths to Employment
Informatics Careers: What it Takes and How to Get There
Health Informatics Careers
