Nursing informatics is a rewarding career for nurses in modern healthcare. And yet, it’s often one of the most overlooked branches of nursing.
Luckily for you, I know a thing or two about it, since I have been a nurse informaticist for the last few years and I’m really happy I took that route.
This is why, in this week’s episode of NCLEX Ready, I will be sharing with you everything you need to know about nursing informatics.
I’ll be going over what nursing informatics is, the duties you should expect, what kind of degree you need, and everything in between.
After this episode, you’ll easily be able to decide whether or not nursing informatics is the right career for you.
Are you ready?
Let’s dive in!
What Is Nursing Informatics?
Nursing informatics is a high-level technical role that requires analyzing data to improve patient care in modern healthcare. This career path is a fast-growing field that combines patient care and technology.
The roles and responsibilities of a nurse informaticist can vary from hospital to hospital. Here are a few examples of tasks I was responsible for as a nurse informaticist:
One of my main tasks included managing clinical data in a digital format to improve patient care. Here is an example: There is no report to automatically generate the number of long-term care patients that were diagnosed with pneumonia. So to solve this issue, I created a report to automatically generate this data for each long-term care unit at the hospital with the assistance of the electronic health record vendor. Providing this data assisted the team to recognize the pattern of patients diagnosed with pneumonia and come up with a plan to reduce this trend over time.
I was also primarily responsible for the long-term care EMR system while my colleague was responsible for the ambulatory EMR system. My other colleague was responsible for the inpatient EMR system. We still had to know all of the EMR systems so that we could assist one another, especially if one of us was out of office.
I was also assigned tickets that end users placed when issues arose. Let’s say that a nurse was not able to document medication administration on the system. I would be responsible for troubleshooting this issue and resolving it so that the nurse would be able to properly document. I would start with analyzing whether or not the nurse knows how to document medication administration. This helps me to determine whether the issue is based on documentation education or if it is due to the EMR system. If it is due to the EMR system, then I would troubleshoot it on my end or resort to escalating it to the vendor.
I was also responsible for attending meetings to stay up to date on the hospital’s news, changes to the EMR system, policy and procedure updates, updates in health information technology, vendor meetings, and more.
Educating new orientees on how to use the EMR system was also one of my tasks. Nurses, doctors, CNAs, and ward clerks must complete EMR training before going on the floor and documenting. I was responsible for updating the training materials updated every time the EMR got updated. When new processes were implemented or there was a change to the policy and procedure, my team was responsible for ensuring that the hospital understands how to document properly and utilize these changes in the EMR system.
These are some of the roles and responsibilities that a hospital may expect of a nurse informaticist. Not every nurse informaticist educates the new orientees so these responsibilities that I mentioned above vary from place to place.
Do You Need a Master’s Degree to Become a Nurse Informaticist?
Having a master’s degree gives people a huge advantage over those who do not. I got my master’s degree in 2019 and it prepared me to address gaps in nursing practice. However, it’s not actually necessary to have a master’s degree to become a nurse informaticist.
For example, a bedside nurse, with ten years experience of using the EMR system, also has an opportunity to become a nurse informaticist.
In order to troubleshoot and improve the EMR system, one has to know how to use the system in an efficient manner. While a master’s degree may not be required, a bachelor’s degree in nursing is required.
Some employers may also require a master’s degree, so this is really dependent on the company. However, a candidate who has a master’s degree and experience in using the EMR system will always have the upper hand. Obtaining a certification for skills demonstration can also bring a competitive edge.
Do Nurse Informaticists Make More Money?
The answer to this question depends on the experience and the location. In my location, a nurse informaticist and a bedside nurse with zero experience will make similar salaries. Someone who has five years of bedside nursing and jumps ship to a career as a nurse informaticist may see a reduction in salary, because it would be like starting over again.
Over time, nurse informaticists have the potential to make more money than bedside nurses though. According to Zip Recruiter, the best nursing informatics jobs can pay up to $180,500 per year. Of course, this will vary based on experience, promotion, and location.
The Career Options a Nurse Informatics Degree Offers
Searching “Nursing Informatics jobs” in Google may make it tough to find jobs to apply for, so I will be going over several career options that you can search for when applying for jobs.
Career options include:
- Nursing Informatics Analyst: $69,000 – $100,000 per year.
- Health Informatics Specialist: $67,500 – $98,500 per year.
- Clinical Informatics Specialist: $75,000 – $115,500 per year.
- Director of Informatics: $83,000 – $136,000 per year.
- Clinical Informatics Director: $109,000 – $180,500 per year.
The Challenges of Nursing Informatics
Challenges include having an understanding of the EMR system. Accepting a nurse informatics position without understanding the EMR system will put you at a disadvantage. It is hard to troubleshoot issues or teach others how to use the EMR if you do not know how to use it yourself.
Daily challenges include time management and being able to juggle your daily tasks, train users, and address tickets that are handed to you in a timely manner while attending meetings. You will be pulled in different directions, which is similar to bedside nursing, so this feeling would not be shocking to an experienced nurse.
You have to be able to address user resistance to change. Hospital staff may be resistant to adopting new technologies. Creating educational videos and materials can help with education and training.
Technical glitches, system failures, and downtimes can affect patient care. Creating contingency plans is necessary to prepare when these issues arise.
Is Nursing Informatics High on Demand?
As more hospitals adopt EMR systems, more nursing informaticists are needed. All doctors’ offices and hospitals must switch over to EMR systems due to the HITECH Act 2009. According to HIPAA Journal, the five primary objectives of the HITECH Act is to:
- Improve quality, safety, and efficiency.
- Engage patients in their care.
- Increase coordination of care.
- Improve the health status of the population.
- Ensure privacy and security.
Before the HITECH Act 2009, only 10% of hospitals utilized EMR systems. According to Becker’s Hospital Review, 96% of non-federal acute care hospitals and 4 in 5 office-based physicians are now using a certified EMR system. This has generated many jobs and created a high demand for nursing informatics.
Is Nursing Informatics for Me if I’m Burnt Out From Bedside Nursing?
You shouldn’t use a career in nursing informatics as an escape from bedside nursing. Keep in mind what the challenges of this career path are and how easily you can get burnt out if you are truly not passionate about managing patient data, project management, implementing new processes, and using critical and analytical skills to optimize system performances.
I have experience in both patient care and nursing informatics and I have felt the burn out from both careers. It is challenging and rewarding in both directions. So it’s up to you to determine which nursing path is best for you. If nursing informatics is not for you, you can always come back to bedside nursing!
