Start in Nursing Informatics dilemma

[KDuncan890]

I am a fairly new nurse( with a BSN and 3 yrs of exp.) that would like to spring into the computer side of nursing. Majority of my background is in long-term care. I have practiced a small amount of time in Med- Surg, but discovered that hospital nursing is not for me. This spring I hope to start a second degree to get a BS in data analytics. Do you think this is a good move to into the nursing informatics world? I love data and data sets and wanted to take my knowledge of this to the next level. I hope there is a way I can incorporate nursing and data analytics. I also wonder if this would give me an advantage when applying for clinical analyst jobs. Anyone ever heard of a RN getting a BS in data analytics?

[mariafh]

A BS in Data Analytics is a specialized degree that focuses on data, databases, database queries/reports, and analysis. Looking on line, some also have business courses, programming courses, and other technical courses. Can it get you into nursing informatics or healthcare informatics, Yes, but it may direct you to a particular area. It seems to be an area that you are interested in. Healthcare and HIT has finally realized the value of data, looking at that data, and mining that day. One can imagine that the Veteran's Adm Hospital System taking all of their patient data nation wide to analyze and mine. Likewise with the big hospital chains like Kaiser, Partner's in Boston, and others. Also, data is analyzed at the individual hospital levels such as in the quality assurance departments and as part of the HIT department. With a nursing background and a BS in data analytics, that would be the best areas of opportunities. It is somewhat different than the informatics nurse in the role of clinical analyst. They are responsible for system implementation (training, project planning, configuration) and maintenance in the hospital. That is a common role for many informatics nurses and has varying names. With the BS in data analytics and nursing background, one could work for a vendor, but a vendor doesn't have patient data to analyze. Vendors do, however, provide the tools for data analysis. The data analyst goes to where the data is. Being a specialized role, it may take some time to find a position, as they may not be listed with nursing positions or nursing informatics positions. They may be listed in the technical or database positions listings. Note that a BS in data analytics provides a stronger technical background in this area then taking classes on the side or potentially a MS in HIT. But then again, it depends on how technical the HIT degree is. Good luck on your decision.