The field of nursing informatics integrates nursing science and technology with practical, bedside nursing. Registered nurses who study specific nursing technology or have on the job experience are distinguished as informatics nurse practitioners. It is similar to health information technology, but on a higher administrative level. These specialized nurses manage communications data via advanced technology. Nurses who earn a master, post-master’s certificate, or PhD in either medical informatics or some other closely related field such as biomedicine, health informatics, or information administration are known as informatics nurse specialists.
With their vast about of nursing experience and information technology experience, these nursing informatics professionals are transforming the healthcare industry by way of disseminating critical information to students and educators, physicians, patients, healthcare administrators, researchers and clinicians, as well as upper management policy makers.
Most informatics nurse practitioners as well as informatics nurse professionals use skills which draw on their medical skills and clinical experience. These well organized professionals utilize their nursing skills to facilitate informatics communication and understanding. Nurse practitioners who go into nursing informatics concentrate more on technical aspects of development and assessment associated with nursing methods and administration. Nurse practitioners essentially act in the role of a liaison between the IT department and the clinical environment, rather than on patient care.
There are also job opportunities in nursing informatics outside of the hospital. Some former registered nurse practitioners work in the private sector, creating and selling healthcare information technology to hospitals and other patient facilities. Some work as consultants, assisting companies involved in the healthcare industry to select, implement, and evaluate healthcare information technology. Informatics nurses or consultants generally work in one of two areas, either holding an applied technology title or as an expert liaison.
Informatics nurses who work in applied technology work in the following positions:
- Systems Analyst
- Support Analyst
- Systems Administrator
- IT Training Manager
- Project Manager
- Project Leader
- Chief Information Officer
Informatics nurses who focus on communications and liaisons work find jobs as:
- Super User
- Trainer/Educator
- Informatics Coordinator
- Chief Nursing Informatics Officer
- Information Technology Nursing Advocate
Getting your training early in nursing informatics is essential if you plan to broaden your nursing career. Educational opportunities are opening-up quickly as are the demand of this type of nursing specialty. If you are interested in finding out more about a career as an informatics nurse, you may want to consult with your H.R. department to see what types of educational funding they offer.
Written by Brenne Meirowitz, BA, MA, MS
© 2010-2011 Brenne Meirowitz. All Rights Reserved.
