msdeeva

I've posted the following in another thread. Please come and join in the discussion :)

I'm just entering the field and I've seen that there's not a lot of support. The professional group over at ASRM seems barren (no pun intended), and I've been looking for textbooks on the subject, and the only book specifically written for nurses in the field was published in 1991. I was going to enter the field last year, but wanted to wait. At that time, NPG-ASRM was saying they were trying to get the certification reinstated. Well it's been a year, and I don't see anything on their website, nor in their newsletter, stating they're still trying. That is more than a little disheartening. Anyway, I decided that it's time for people to get together and talk about the field, since there is expressed interest. So, I created a yahoo group to see how many of us there actually are. Here's the link. Feel free to sign up and chat. I'll be updating frequently. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/rei_nurses/. If you want to join, just use your yahoo account id, or email us at [email protected].

Hello everyone, I know that this thread is over a year old, but I was wondering if anyone has found any luck with the search for REIN information.

Thanks rninformatics. Your reply addressed many of the concerns that I was stressing about. I eventually want to become an informatics nurse, but I might have a great opportunity at an outpatient center after I graduate. If I choose to take the position, I am concerned that it would hinder my aspirations in the long run, but on the other side of the coin, the position might afford me the opportunity to integrate systems into the practice. It's a big committment, but I think I'll see how it plays out depending on if they have a competitive salary with the hospitals in my surrounding area. Thanks again for the advice.

Does it matter where you get your clinical experience (i.e., outpatient services, surgery centers, etc)?

Thanks Mariah for the explanation. That makes perfect sense. :)

Thanks Mariah, I had another question. I'm just getting into informatics (learning about the field), so when you say Nurses with a nursing degree (including the one I have mentioned), will not be qualified for an Analyst position without years of experience as an informaticist or a technical degree does this include the following job title and description?: Implementation Analyst "Implementation Analyst, IDX Care Manager or LastWord 4.1.8. CPOE Application. User oriented RN preferred but will accept strong clinical skills. 4-6 month contract position in Southern California." Thanks for your response. -Tiff

Hi Mariah, When you speak of technical degrees, does this include the MSN Informatics degrees that are popping up?

I'm not trying to be a smart alleck or anything, but I was asking Qwiigley's opinion of the the subject, b/c as s/he stated in the post that I quoted: S/he would like a 5-year requirement. I must stress that I don't intend to get into a debate. So if you're Qwiigley, I would like his or her opinion. If s/he has commented on this before, please direct me to his/her post on this matter. Thanks

Riverside Community College in California has a 2 year certificate (PA). There are other colleges in California that also offer a certificate. King/Drew is a Bachelors; Western U is a Masters. Before I applied to nursing school, I checked out a few PA and AA degrees, and saw later that I could do a residency in anethesia (PA), or go straight into it with an AA. The AA degrees I was looking at, if I recall, were Master's. But I guess I really didn't pay attention to their degree requirements: 1. because I was qualified to apply (I have a B.S. in bio), and 2. It was out of state, and since I knew I didn't want to leave my husband, applying was out of the question. Anyway, I wasn't really referring to the Master's educated PAs or AAs, I was referring to the one's that obtained a certificate. I apologize for the misunderstanding.

Just a question: What do you think about PAs or AAs, esp the ones that get a 2-year certificate, being able to practice in this field with less than the 5 year experience requirment that you desire?

I totally agree. I apologize if I came off harsh or offensive. That was not my intention, at all. You are right in that people will only learn as much as they desire. But believe me when I say, I am not one to believe that LPNs are not educated, they better be if they are going to take care of me :) . But I do believe that they learned as much as they want to learn, and if they so desire, they will continue their education. In my previous post I just wanted to clarify for future readers that they'll be in for a nice surprise if all they think they have to do is 2 years of education to become an RN.

The previous poster had a good point about figuring out whether you are understanding the information presented or if it is not even presented in the first place. But I do object to the comment about ADN vs. LPN school. I'm in my first year at an ADN program right now (I'm finishing up this year), and I can definitely say that in these two years, there are no liberal arts or humanities courses that I am or are going to be taking. Most of my classmates did those courses before they started the program [2 years of prereqs (humanities, liberal arts, sciences-a&p, micro, math) and 2 years of nursing school = 4 years]. I completed most my G.E.s before my acceptance as well. The program does allow you to take some of your G.E.s while taking nursing courses, but most programs in my area do not, and that is why I chose to go to my school. I suspect that most programs don't allow you to have missing G.E. requirments, because you are taking nursing courses from start to finish, and they are not easy (many people fail). You are constantly studying, doing careplans, or in clinicals or taking an exam for two years straight (of course we get summer breaks). If LPNs got that much more education than ADN-RNs, than I would not be able to take the LPN boards and work as an LPN this summer (something that I'm considering). Also, there are bridge programs for LPNs to become RNs, because apparently colleges recognize that LPNs need more training to do an RN's job.

Hey TopCat, I'm going to do the Administration route too. Good luck with your application process.

First of all, I really don't have time for your petty attitude and immaturity. You are the one that decided to get on a high horse and show out. May I remind you that you were the one who decided to post your comments about how much you know about getting into medical school and how your fiance had to apply twice to osteopathic school (so you're the expert, right?), and how you know everything because you went to a "big-time premed college." I don't care that you are a new nurse which seems to make you think that you are the authority on everything medically related. That has no bearing on the fact that you gave incomplete and one sided advice to the original poster, and tried to discount advice from others. Why don't you get your story straight too. Read my postings and you'll find out that I decided that I didn't want to become an M.D. I didn't waste my time and apply, because I decided that I DIDN'T want to become a doctor. I have other aspirations, and it ain't just being a new RN. In fact, I wouldn't be suprised if someday you were working for me. Bottom line, if you hadn't tried to attack other forum users, you would not have received a negative response. And to turn around and act like you didn't do anything wrong makes you look schizo. By the way, I'm not wasting anymore of my precious study time on you, because you are pathetic. Peace :)