The Path to Informatics

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I am currently and RN with 2 years of experience but I never have really loved bedside nursing. I am very interested in informatics but am unsure of where to start. So for any informatics nurses out there, how do you like your current job? What's it like compared to bedside nursing? What were your first steps when deciding on this career path? I am not even sure if I should go get my masters in nursing with an informatics focus or if I should get my masters of Science in Healthcare Informatics! I know that I have a ton of research to do before making this decision but any advice helps. Thanks!

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On 11/28/2018 at 9:13 AM, micheRN323 said:

Hello!

I am currently and RN with 2 years of experience but I never have really loved bedside nursing. I am very interested in informatics but am unsure of where to start. So for any informatics nurses out there, how do you like your current job? What's it like compared to bedside nursing? What were your first steps when deciding on this career path? I am not even sure if I should go get my masters in nursing with an informatics focus or if I should get my masters of Science in Healthcare Informatics! I know that I have a ton of research to do before making this decision but any advice helps. Thanks!

Well, I know two people with two different paths.

#1- a BS in Nursing and got a Masters in Medical Informatics. (Director of Clinical Analytics) She makes 130k!!

#2 - a BS in Health Information Management and did an Accelerated BSN program in one year. (Informatics Registered Nurse) She makes 108k a year!!

(yeah, I did ask the salary provided because I did it as a research project in college for Freshman Seminar.)

Recently, I was trying convince my friend who has gotten rejected from the Nursing program thrice to get a BS degree in CS/IS/CIS or something highly tech related then do the Accelerated BSN program in one year. The nursing programs at the regular pace are HIGHLY competitive. The Accelerated BSN programs are still competitive but not as competitive as the regular paced ones. Moreover, the sole focus is on nursing and gaining clinical experience. Not the college campus experience.

I, too am considering an Accelerated BSN program. I am finishing my degree in Computer Science soon and I am interested in Nursing Informatics.

Two things stood out to me as important when talking to these people:

1 Clinical Experience.

2. IT knowledge and Skills Sets (Programming ability in SQL, Java, Python, etc.. and Data Analytics)

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On 1/21/2019 at 11:25 PM, JMR85112 said:

Well, I know two people with two different paths.

#1- a BS in Nursing and got a Masters in Medical Informatics. (Director of Clinical Analytics) She makes 130k!!

#2 - a BS in Health Information Management and did an Accelerated BSN program in one year. (Informatics Registered Nurse) She makes 108k a year!!

(yeah, I did ask the salary provided because I did it as a research project in college for Freshman Seminar.)

Recently, I was trying convince my friend who has gotten rejected from the Nursing program thrice to get a BS degree in CS/IS/CIS or something highly tech related then do the Accelerated BSN program in one year. The nursing programs at the regular pace are HIGHLY competitive. The Accelerated BSN programs are still competitive but not as competitive as the regular paced ones. Moreover, the sole focus is on nursing and gaining clinical experience. Not the college campus experience.

I, too am considering an Accelerated BSN program. I am finishing my degree in Computer Science soon and I am interested in Nursing Informatics.

Two things stood out to me as important when talking to these people:

1 Clinical Experience.

2. IT knowledge and Skills Sets (Programming ability in SQL, Java, Python, etc.. and Data Analytics)

Very helpful! I'm looking forward to be an informatics nurse in a year or two. I hope I won't be dead by doing bedside which I extremely hate. Hopefully that within the time Ill be doing my clinical experience I get to learn sql and data analytics at the very least

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Do you know of nurses with an IT (Computer Science) degree who have been hired as RN Infomaticists? This is me! I have a BA- Computer Science and an ADN. Wondering what my job chances are if I start applying.

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2 hours ago, julbug75 said:

Do you know of nurses with an IT (Computer Science) degree who have been hired as RN Infomaticists? This is me! I have a BA- Computer Science and an ADN. Wondering what my job chances are if I start applying.

Great! I got my BS in Computer Science and I am finishing an accelerated BSN program in 15 months. I would network and reach out to people in the field you want to work in. That has been useful for me. Find a mentor.

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Specializes in Informatics, Med/Surg.

I am a nurse with a MSN and a MSCS. With a CS degree, you might also consider working for a vendor in one of the various areas of development, not implementation or field support. Of course, that is more technical than the NI position in the hospital. But it can be exciting being part of designing and developing the product. Imagine being one of the developers of a Cerner system or an Epic system at the beginning, before it was sold to hospitals. If you are willing to be more technical, that could be an option. I work as a software architect, focusing mostly on the clinical aspects of the product. I was one of main designers of the CPOE functionality. Don't let the title fool you. I am definitely doing nursing informatics. WIth a vendor, your title represents your salary and department, but your responsibilities are adjusted according to you skills, knowledge, and interests. We have NI nurses with titles of support engineer, quality engineer, product manager, product owner, with the salaries that match.

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Hey @micheRN323, Did you happen to make any decision on your MSN degree on informatics? I am exactly on the same boat as you. I have four years experience of bedside nursing and one thing I am sure of is I do not want to do bedside anymore. Nurse Informatics has been my area of interest but it is so hard to get more information on it and beside I do not know anyone who has this degree and can provide some insights. The information on the internet is just so vague. Please let me know.

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