ccweisbard

My recommendation would be to find one of the forums out there for your product. I don't know which one you are using but I know that there is one for meditech, meditechconnect.com. This is helping me glean info from others...

A wise nurse once told me that when you get so comfortable in your position that you aren't learning anything anymore it is time to do something new. I saw myself get catty and lose compassion once I reached the point where I wasn't learning anymore and was bored. It took a LOT of courage to search out a new and different career. But I followed that advice and 6mths later (I was at the bedside for 13yrs) I am a very happy (and constantly learning) Informatics Nurse

Well... I guess you could say I am on call 24/7 without compensation where I work, however I rarely get called and have never felt it to be an issue. I work for a surgical center with an 18 bed inpatient unit....

There is a thread on this forum about the different names clinical informatics nurses have, that would be one of them. I personally am a clinical information analyst

It depends on the position and how you sell yourself. I am currently a clinical information analyst and only have a BSN and 13 yrs bedside experience. It depends on how you sell yourself and potentially how desperate they are, I got lucky, my current job was pretty desperate

You would focus on anything and everything you have done that relates to informatics. It may be difficult to sell without a BSN, or bachelors in IT related areas..... Your resume should focus on anything to do with IT.... Good luck!

I think the ability to find a job hinges on two things (when you have no IT experience....). 1. What is the job market in your area?? If there are few positions it will be much more difficult. 2. What does your résumé look like? I geared mine for my experience as a super user, and positive things about computers in your experience. I was able to get a job with 13 yrs of nursing experience and my BSN, but it really helped that they were desperate.... I had 3 more interviews scheduled when I accepted this job.

Well, I think they ignore it because some of the regulatory stuff has caused a lot of duplication. Because we cannot have range doses or times (morphine 2-5mg q4-6hrs prn) we have had to force the issue with the computer system. This causes a LOT of duplications and therefore warnings. I see them ignoring them and it has only been 2 weeks.... I also see how incredibly transparent the system has made all of the departments. We have discovered MANY mistakes that would've been missed in the past. In the end though, most are very happy with it and I'm glad we are with Meditech vs other systems. As much of a pain it is on the backside (building it), it makes it great on the front side (user side) :)

what challenges have you seen with cpoe? Willingness to use a new system has been my biggest challenge, both nurses and physicians! how accepting did you find the doctors to be/ how resistance was there? So far the younger physicians have been much more accepting than the older ones. For the older ones it depends on whether they have used any other systems or not. If they have they tend to be stuck on the "aesthetics" of the other system, not the functionality..... did it take longer to train the doctors than expected? or shorter? No, but we haven't implemented yet (6/24), it is difficult to get them to sit more than a few mins at a time. I anticipate them needing people right there to help them when we go live..... Have you seen an improvement in the accuracy of the orderes? Are the nurses catching errors as you would/did expect to? Not to this point yet. But the only thing I expect to see is increased legibility :) What safety precautions are in place for high risk medications or high risk procedures? Meditech has all this built in. Most of it happens in the background, but it will give warnings which can be overridden. I already see the nurses starting to ignore the warnings though.... How do you see the future of informatics in this hospital? I see many things happening in our hospital.... We implemented the inpatient and preop/pacu's documentation about 2 weeks ago. We already have radiology, laboratory using the system. Admitting has been using it for years. Medical records uses it and it will be expanding as we bring more departments on board. We will have nursing to start scanning documents in September, and by this time next year bringing OR into the mix, bringing more physicians on with their ordering and also starting the physician documentation..... Are all the systems integrated now? Are the plans to fully integrate in place? All departments are integrated.... We are working w outside vendors... What would you like to see changed? in the field? on the floor? Just some of the attitudes. However I have built most of it, so I am pretty happy with it. I do wish that Meditech was a bit more consistent across all modules How did you come to pick Meditech? They had this at the hospital originally, they finally decided to just expand upon what they had to begin with....

I could've helped if you wanted something besides epic, we are implementing Meditech w physicians in 1.5 weeks....

They can't say no or yes unless you try. They may have had few candidates that would work, beef up your résumé and apply for the job.... My current job wanting all this experience I didn't have, I tried anyway and by some miracle I got it! What's the worst thing they can say??

I've seen new grads go through the versent program, but back in LA.... Why are you limiting yourself to this program though?? There are very good programs at Children's, Downtown Baylor, Medical City, and UT Southwestern to name just a few. Sounds like you may need to branch out....

I went from the bedside to Informatics in January of this year. I was at the bedside for 12.5 yrs..... I was SSSOOOO burnt out. I am younger and pick things up pretty easily but it has been a definite challenge. If you want a challenge and a LOT of work I would recommend it. I chose to keep my old job prn so I had a fall back and also could keep up my skills.... I love the new hours!

Have you tried contacting Meditech??? They are bound to have a nurse w a Masters in Informatics, they have somewhere between 6-8 sites in Boston alone

Ok, have to chime in here... I have worked in TX, CA and NV. I love working in TX..... I have done 6yrs of my 13 yr nursing career here. I have worked Traveler, Agency, Staff and have just transitioned to an IT position. I have never even heard of this blacklist you are talking about and have even been fired from a job (should've quit first .... I've had good bad and ugly experiences.... Having said that I have had HORRIBLE experiences in Vegas, and difficult experiences in CA.... You may have ratios and get paid more in CA but the difference in cost of living is insane.... I wouldn't move for any reason!!!