Working on MS in Health Informatics but not an RN. How screwed am I?

nortonplusRN · Feb 8, 2016

I thought I will throw this out there. Excelsior College has an RT-RN bridge. Good luck with whatever you decide.

ikarus01 · Feb 9, 2016

I still have a few concerns:
I'm not an RN. Will having a non-nursing background be held against me?

No, unless you apply for a nursing informatics specific position where they require RN experience. But why would you even apply for those positions if you don't have a nursing background?

You need to understand that there are many types of informatics positions. You might want to read this post to better understand that informatics jobs are not only for nurses.

No real informatics experience. My internship will be 100 percent of the experience I have going into the job market.
I'm 36 and when I'm done I'll be around 38, will ageism be a factor?

That really depends where you live. If you're in an area where you have many hospitals, or healthcare facilities, you might be able to find a job easier than if you live in an area with only one hospital; but definitely, having experience makes it easier to land a job.

Also, you might have to settle for a lower salary so that you can gain the experience, so that's a sacrifice that you might have to make knowing that within a year or two, you can quit and go for a higher salary. I'm still seeing a lot of people making it into the field with little or no experience, but you do have to search deep and be willing I suppose to relocate if need be. But yes, having experience would be a lot better, no doubt!

Age in healthcare informatics doesn't seem to be much of a factor as it is in a hardcore IT job. I still see older people getting hired for positions.

One of the hospitals I consult for just hired a trainer and she is fairly new in the field and she is her early 60's. At 38, you are still pretty young, I would say.

I would suggest to study on your own SQL and become really good at this, since this is one skill that is very useful in the field and might set you apart from other candidates.

You don't really mention what made you go into informatics, but not going to lie---the field is very competitive, but at the same time, if you really like the field, I don't think you should withdraw from it because plenty of opportunities in it. However, if you're just doing it for the hell of it...well, then you need to reconsider your choices.

jjohnnym65 · Feb 10, 2016

Also, you might have to settle for a lower salary so that you can gain the experience, so that's a sacrifice that you might have to make knowing that within a year or two, you can quit and go for a higher salary. I'm still seeing a lot of people making it into the field with little or no experience, but you do have to search deep and be willing I suppose to relocate if need be. But yes, having experience would be a lot better, no doubt!

The lower salary probably won't be an issue. I've got 2 bachelor's degrees (one in respiratory therapy), the "advanced" respiratory therapy credential (RRT), and my RPSGT credential from the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) plus almost 12 years of experience between RT and polysom and I still only make about $43k/year. I work a PRN job to bring that up above $45k. I don't expect 6 figures in my first role, believe me. I'll just be thrilled to have a job that can meet my previous standard of living and doesn't involve sitting in front of a screen all night monitoring patients and adjusting CPAP/BiPAPs, tweaking vents, or pushing SVN txs. A livable salary is all I want, along with a career that has some sort of growth potential. Basically, I'll just be happy that I won't have to be an RT anymore. I'll even take an unpaid internship that requires me to quit my full time job if I have to, that's how much I want the experience.

One of the hospitals I consult for just hired a trainer and she is fairly new in the field and she is her early 60's. At 38, you are still pretty young, I would say.

That's comforting information, thank you.

You don't really mention what made you go into informatics, but not going to lie---the field is very competitive, but at the same time, if you really like the field, I don't think you should withdraw from it because plenty of opportunities in it. However, if you're just doing it for the hell of it...well, then you need to reconsider your choices.

That's kind of a long story, I'll try to be as brief as possible. Basically I was a pre-PT/Kinesiology major right out of high school at a major Big 10 party school in the midwest. Grades were never horrible, but they were never really good either. At the time, PT programs had just shifted to the 3 year entry-level doctorates that they have today. The programs I had the best shot at would've put me probably $70-80k in debt to start out as a PT making mid 50s. My senior year I stumbled on information about the RT bachelor's program at my school's big commuter/medical campus in the state capitol. I had all the pre-reqs and admission was a breeze. I stayed at the main campus to finish up my first degree because I only had 6 credits left and started my RT program the following fall. I knew I was going to hate RT from the time I started the program, but at age 22 I was terrified of being stuck in college forever (I mean it had already been 4 years of my parents' $$ and I only had a piece of paper to show for it). I needed something that would lead me to a job and at least RT fit that bill. So, I finished, passed my exams, and started working. 12 years, one lateral move, and 6 jobs later I still hate it.

As time went on I found myself drawn to technology. I love building PCs and solving problems with software. I love showing coworkers how to get from one point to another in Paragon when they're fumbling around and frustrated. I realized that Informatics was a way that I could leverage my clinical background for a technology-related career that actually had some potential for growth. Life and work had relocated me to TN so I enrolled in the MSPS: Healthcare Informatics program at MTSU, I originally considered UT's program but it is all online and offered out of the Health Science Center in Memphis (but they are CAHIIM accredited). I didn't see CAHIIM accreditation as a big deal because there are only 9 CAHIIM accredited graduate programs in the entire US and even programs at VERY highly respected schools like U of Michigan and Northwestern aren't CAHIIM accredited.

sweetlilwolf · Feb 11, 2016

Don't expect 6 figures lol for a long long time. I just started as a nursing informatics specialist. It took 2 years to get this position, so far loving it. I do not have a master degree. At my health care system our informatics team is either IT or nursing/ pharmacy.... Def try to become a super user for your EMR system. It'll help and if you can apply for jobs depending on the requirements... For mine I didn't have the IT background BUT I had been a super user, worked in the specialty they were looking to hire into, had the nursing requirements and had the drive and want to get into this role which sadly a lot of people don't want or think it's a lazy boring job - honestly I'm busier now it's just a different busy....

ikarus01 · Feb 11, 2016

I love building PCs and solving problems with software. I love showing coworkers how to get from one point to another in Paragon when they're fumbling around and frustrated. .

Then believe me, don't give up, stay in the program and you'll love your informatics job. And about accreditations....meh! What employers are looking for is relevant informatics experience.

So if you have your degree and some EMR experience, you'll be fine.

And again, remember that informatics is not just nursing. I guess more appropriately, it should be called Healthcare IT because you have plenty of applications that nurses don't even touch, but yet, part of a healthcare organization. Who runs the registration software? How about the scheduling software? Supply chain? Labs? How do hospitals get paid? Paper checks? So yea...nurses are not the only people in the field of informatics. That's why you'll see many job titles such as clinical analysts, healthcare informatics, and even just application job titles, like registration analyst, scheduling analyst, and on and on...

geminidiamond · Mar 20, 2016

You are not alone. I actually am an RN finishing my MS in Health Informatics and it is a difficult field to navigate. I'm having difficulty finding a new job. Its relatively new and the career paths still being defined etc. I work at one of the mentioned vendors as a business analyst designing the software. I would prefer to be in the hospital with the end users. Also, I live in a city where there are 2 major hospital systems so these roles are hard to come by. I don't think you should throw in the towel just yet. If you are open to relocating California, Texas and Raleigh seem to be hot spots where most of these jobs are. Also, you can look into working on the vendor side where I am now, some of my peers are former RT, nurses, physicians, pharm techs, PharmD, lab rats. I think you would be a perfect fit in Health IT, and instead of switching maybe pull off a dual degree if you can.

niccikatie · Mar 23, 2016

You're not screwed. You have clinical experience and that does matter. I'm just under two months away from my DNP in Nursing Informatics and I'd say clinical experience is one of the top criteria for success in Informatics. Can you get involved in EHR workgroups at your current place of employment? Learn how they make decisions about EHR issues, how they get their data from their EHR and generally just show interest? This type of learning and networking will really help you. That's how I ended up in NI, we were implementing an EHR and I got *really* involved. Now, I'm consulting on my own solely because of my experience and networking.

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 28, 2016

As far as I understand, they need health care people to help programmers write programs that make sense to the people that use them. I am sure you can contribute where EHR need optimizing for the RT population.

I am working as a nurse, but helping with optimizing diabetes care. Some are working on Cardiac care. I think every specialty needs help.

If you are too old at 36, then I am really screwed at 51

ohmg · Apr 16, 2016

Informatics is diverse as nursing itself. You can be:

>an EHR analyst.

>a database manager.

>an educator.

>a report expert.

>an IT analyst.

>an HL7 interface specialist.

>policy writer.

>report writer.

>database designer.

>senior management.

>research analyst.

>interface analyst.

>etc, etc, etc.

There are many informatics jobs that focus on strong science, technical, and mathematical skills. Others focus heavily on SQL/databases, etc. Some want clinical experience, others do not. Some want PharmD's, MDs, or RNs, (some specifically some not), and others do not. You are not limited, just more defined in your potential roles.

alleycatbrent1989 · Mar 3, 2017

I love this post above ^^^ Do not go by what you see happening in other peoples experiences. There are so many options for you out there. Do not limit yourself. Continue the program and finish it.