Nursing Informatics???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursing_informatics

To be an informatics nurse yes, one needs to be a nurse. To work in informatics generally, no.

Nursing Informatics needs a nursing degree, whether it is an associates or bsn is up to the facility hiring. they usually want some bedside experience and to be computer savy. Learn quickly.

The ANA (2008) defines Nursing Informatics as "a specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge and wisdom in nursing practice."

In plain English Nursing Informatics is a specialty within Nursing that focuses on utilizing information systems as tools to improve pt. care and nursing practice.

http://nursing.umaryland.edu/programs/informatics/faqs.htm

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/nursing/informatics.aspx

There are non-nurses, LPNs, military medics, lab techs, pharmacists and (other healthcare and allied healthcare professionals) who practice, teach and conduct research within the specialty of Nursing Informatics - Example: Dr. Skiba of the U of Colorado

http://www.nursing.ucdenver.edu/faculty/profiles/d_skiba.htm

Primarily those who practice within this specialty are nurses/RNs.

The area that has the most practitioners is the acute care /hospital setting. Other areas include working for a vendor, within a physician practice, clinic, home health agency, for goverment agencies and within insurance companies.

Check out the HIMSS Nursing Informtics surveys............these will also give you a good picture of who we are, where we practice............... and what we make as Informatics Nurses.

http://www.himss.org/ASP/topics_FocusDynamic.asp?faid=243

Greetings fellow healthcare professionals,

I was wondering what Nursing Informatics is, what degree is required, do you have to be a nurse, and where would be the primary place of employment. Please forgive me if there is already a discussion thread on the topic. Thanks in advance for your help!

WOW, thanks to you all! I've gone on the websites and they were quite informative. Healthcare Informatics sound like it is on the cutting edge of healthcare. As a Respiratory Therapist and technology nut (self proclaimed), this souds like a perfect way to advance my career. Allnurses.com is proof that technology, healthcare,and education go hand and hand. So far I see that Excelsior College offers a 17 credit online certificate for current healthcare professionals with a Bachelor's degree. More insight will be greatly appreciated!!

I've just enrolled in the Excelsior RN-MSN/Informatics program.

The informatics cert will definitely help you, particularly if you are in a larger population center with big hospital and health care systems.

Do you have any computer background? Because that's another big plus.

:)

I don't have a degree or certificate, but I am pretty proficiant in computer literacy. Bt the way SuesquatchRN, did you obtain your nursing degree @ Excelsior as well?

I got my LPN through a local CC and the RN via Excelsior, yes.

You could do EC as you're an RT. Of course, in what state you wish to practice is a consideration.

Oh, informatics cert is NOT obtainable without a bachelor's degree. Which is kinda funny when you consider that I'm an informatics nurse and have over a decade, and a diploma, in systems.

I'm in Connecticut, I will have y Bachelor's in General Studies in May09. How long and how much for cert course?

I'm in Connecticut, I will have y Bachelor's in General Studies in May09. How long and how much for cert course?

It depends on how quickly you take the classes. I'm not sure of the cost.

Go to www.excelsior.edu and find informatics certification.

WOW, thanks to you all! I've gone on the websites and they were quite informative. Healthcare Informatics sound like it is on the cutting edge of healthcare. As a Respiratory Therapist and technology nut (self proclaimed), this souds like a perfect way to advance my career. Allnurses.com is proof that technology, healthcare,and education go hand and hand. So far I see that Excelsior College offers a 17 credit online certificate for current healthcare professionals with a Bachelor's degree. More insight will be greatly appreciated!!

Just wanted to let you know that you don't have to have an 'informatics' degree to break info the field, unless you are going for one of those roles that is specific for a nursing informatist. AS I have said in many other posts: there are dozens of people doing clinical it jobs that have either no clinical experience, or no clinical background; then there are those clinical people that are doing the jobs and they had no IT experience, except for maybe using email.

As you say you are a technology nut, maybe what you want to do is find hospitals that have their RT dept in electronic form; i don't know much about the RT department as I've implemented application for the nursing world. HOwever, in the past when i have searched for jobs, many of the listings said something like: clinical experience such as RN, RT, PT required...As I tell people, many times you create your own opportunities in these fields; if you got clinical experience and you are technology savvy, maybe you might as well start looking for jobs in the field; I just saw one the other day that said the following:

Programmer/Systems Analyst III -- Clinical Documentation - Analyst - IS

"Supports Clinical Documentation - Experience needed in RT, PT, OT or Speech.

Acts as a consultant to user departments to enhance existing business applications and to facilitate solutions to meet business requirements, ensuring that all related applications are consistent with overall organizational strategies."

Of course, if your goal is to have an informatics degree, nothing wrong with that; i just want to make it clear that many people are in the field without such degree.