Trying to figure out what the next step in my career will be. Before my nursing career, I was an aspiring IS guy, but never snagged a job higher than helpdesk support. I missed the 90s IT bubble and by the time I'd gotten into the field in the late 90s/early 00s, everyone wanted a CS degree.
Nursing informatics has always been interesting to me. I know it's not a true IS job, but I think I'm definitely prepared experientially for a position that bridges the gap between nursing and IS knowledge bases.
Now, my organization is expanding -- just bought four hospitals in another region -- and thus our EHR group at corporate is expanding. They're hiring for Epic application analysts with RN experience. The only problem that I foresee is that the job listing states "training in information systems required".
So, the question is -- are there any somewhat valuable certifications that I can get to validate my IS/IT knowledge, to make me more competitive for the job? I'm not talking about cramming for some IT cert that I have no knowledge in, just to get some paper. I mean something that will validate intermediate-level IS experience that I already have, that could apply to a nursing informatics/application analyst position.
In the stone age of my career, I got my A+, Network+, and a few other certs, but those aren't really applicable and they're all outdated anyway. I was thinking about CompTIAs Healthcare IT Technician, but is there anything better?
congrats Murse901, i am very interesting on nursing informatics and i have been doing a lot of research on it, but no answer yet. I have been a nurse for over 9 years and i am desperate for a change.
Specializes in Emergency, Case Management, Informatics.
Yay!!! I'll be there feb 14-17 for ASAP cert!
Glad you had a blast
I'm going back Feb 16th/17th for my last class. I didn't make it to my class this week due to O'Hare getting shut down by snow. We'll have to meet up for a beer in Madison!
Specializes in Emergency, Case Management, Informatics.
congrats Murse901, i am very interesting on nursing informatics and i have been doing a lot of research on it, but no answer yet. I have been a nurse for over 9 years and i am desperate for a change.
How big is the organization you work for? I think that's going to be the biggest factor in getting a foot in the door. Smaller systems (or worse yet, single hospitals and clinics) will have one or no informaticist. A large system is going to have constant movement in and out of positions.
I work for a system that spans 17 hospitals and several hundred practices and clinics, so our EHR department is huge. We recently had a dozen or so analysts leave to go off to consultant positions, which is how I lucked out and got my position.
sweetlilwolf
179 Posts
Yay!!! I'll be there feb 14-17 for ASAP cert!
Glad you had a blast