Nursing Informatics
Nursing informatics is a field of nursing that incorporates nursing, computer, and information sciences to maintain and develop medical data and systems to support the practice of nursing, and to improve patient care outcomes. Technologies that have evolved due to health care/nursing informatics include:
Nursing Informatics
Nurse informaticists work to develop communication and information technologies in health care. They also serve as educators, researchers, software engineers, and chief nursing officers. Using the "building blocks" listed above, they help develop evidence-based policies and procedures for organizations.
Those considering the specialty of nurse informatics should, at a minimum, obtain a bachelor's degree in nursing (BSN). While an advanced-practice degree is not always required, it is highly recommended. Advanced-practice nurses are those who have completed a master's program in nursing (MSN) or doctoral degree program (DNP).
There are both online informatics programs and classroom programs available to accommodate students. Both types have pros and cons depending on students' needs, therefore researching individual schools is encouraged.
Certification in informatics can be completed concurrently within the MSN/DNP program or obtained via an independent study from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or other learning institutes. Eligibility for certifications obtained outside of an MSN/DNP program can differ, and students are encouraged to research requirements when choosing an educational institution.
Acting as a super-user helps advance a nursing informatics career as they are more trained in certain software and information technology programs, which allows them to serve as experts. Super-users utilize staff feedback to develop ideas for improvement and sometimes even for new innovative programs. Bringing ideas to the table helps nurse informaticists advance in their career by acting as leaders, trainers, mentors, and experts in the field of information technology.
According to PayScale, informatics nurses can earn between $56,372 and $97,367 annually with a median salary of $75,939. Salary can be dependent on additional degrees or certificates held, city and state of employment, experience, and the organization.
We're often asked to explain what nursing informatics is. While it's difficult to quickly summarize this complex field, at its core, it takes the clinical and the technical languages of health and translates them into one. It also promotes meaningful, user-friendly and patient-centric innovation while driving improved outcomes for patients and enhanced clinical workflows for healthcare staff.
Nursing informatics "is the specialty that integrates nursing science with multiple information and analytical sciences to identify, define, manage and communicate data, information, knowledge and wisdom in nursing practice."
This role was included in the top 15 highest paying nursing professions in the U.S. The HIMSS Nursing Informatics Workforce Survey, led by the HIMSS Nursing Informatics Committee, unveiled a multitude of findings about the profession:
Overall, the results of the survey indicated that most professionals are burning bright with potential. After all, these findings confirm that many make higher wages than the average nursing professional, they enjoy the work they do, and many of them plan to keep doing it in the future.
Nursing informatics professionals are unique, hybrid heroes of healthcare. As advocates for impactful innovation, their work keeps patients safe and at the center. Through their contributions and guidance, workflows are improved for healthcare staff and best practices followed in the effective management of information structures, processes and technology.
HIMSS joins the American Nurses Association and the Alliance for Nursing Informatics and numerous other partners in celebrating National Nurses Week each May. The purpose of this week-long celebration is to raise awareness of the value of nursing and help educate the public about the role nurses play in meeting the healthcare needs of Americans. Join us in celebrating the nurses of our nation, who are at the forefront of improving patient care and transforming healthcare.
ANI represents thousands of nurses and brings together nursing informatics groups that function separately at local, regional, national and international levels. ANI is a collaboration of organizations that represent a unified voice for nursing informatics and provides the synergy and structure needed to advance the efforts of nursing informatics professionals in improving the delivery of patient care.
TIGER (Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform) is a grassroots initiative focused on education reform, fostering interprofessional community development and global workforce development. The spirit of TIGER is to maximize the integration of technology and informatics into seamless practice, education and research resource development.
Nursing informatics (NI) is the specialty that integrates nursing science with multiple information and analytical sciences to identify, define, manage and communicate data, information, knowledge and wisdom in nursing practice. For many people, NI, and health care informatics in general, are about technology. This is especially true of electronic health records (EHRs) that are required of all care facilities. That is just one among many aspects of nursing informatics, a distinctive practice specialty that is the focus of this new publication.
The 16 nursing informatics standards, which provide a framework for evaluating practice outcomes and goals, are those to which all informatics nurses are held accountable for their practice. The set of specific competencies accompanying each standard serves as essential evidence of compliance with that standard.
Informatics nurses are registered nurses (RNs) who work at the intersection of technology and nursing. Nursing informatics is a specialty of nursing that combines knowledge of nursing, communications, computer science, and information science. Nurses who hold nursing informatics jobs use their clinical backgrounds as well as their computer and organizational skills. They analyze and develop the health systems that nurses in the clinical setting use.
With the ever-changing technological advancements in all facets of healthcare, nursing informatics is an exciting field. This guide will explain the informatics profession and how it directly impacts health outcomes. We will also discuss how nurses can join this growing profession.
Now is a great time to become an informatics nurse because of the growing emphasis on controlling health care costs. Nursing informatics can help rein in health care costs at hospitals and other medical facilities.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median salary for a registered nurse in 2021 is $77,600 per year or $37.31 per hour, but conditions in your area may vary. Unfortunately, the BLS does not differentiate between different nursing specialties.
Reported informatics nurse salaries vary widely across different platforms. Glassdoor.com reports an average median salary of $92,195 per year for informatics RNs. Payscale.com reports an average annual salary of $79,272 or $35.73/hr.
The nursing informatics certification can give nurses an additional bump in their paycheck after completion. In fact, some jobs will require this certification within a specific number of years of starting a position.
Bedside experience is essential for informatics nurses because it allows them to understand the equipment and its uses within the organization. Furthermore, it will help the nurse become familiar with the electronic medical record system and the processes.
Informatics nurses with graduate degrees can easily become nurse administrators or nurse educators. Some who focus on information technology become chief information officers or information technology nursing advocates in their respective organizations.
Networking should be a central part of getting to know other healthcare informatics experts. By networking with those who understand this career path, you can keep your finger on the pulse of trends that are crucial to know about.
Informatics nurses can work in a variety of areas. Typically they will work for healthcare organizations or technology companies. However, as the role of the informatics nurse expands -- so does the available work locations.
Opportunities for jobs in nursing informatics are exploding, thanks to the use of electronic medical records and the general growth of information technology. The Advance Healthcare Network for Nurses reports that as many as 70,000 health informatics specialists will be required within the next few years.
A 2014 report by Burning Glass projected that demand for health informatics professionals will grow at twice the rate of the overall workforce, creating more opportunities for professionals who want to work in this facet of health care.
Nursing informatics incorporates knowledge of multiple disciplines. It offers the opportunity to have an impact on patients, the public, and healthcare professionals. Candidates who have a mix of nursing, information technology, communication, and organizational skills are in high demand for jobs in this field.
The ANCC Informatics Nursing board certification examination is a competency based examination that provides a valid and reliable assessment of the entry-level clinical knowledge and skills of registered nurses in the informatics specialty after initial RN licensure. Once you complete eligibility requirements to take the certification examination and successfully pass the exam, you are awarded the credential: Registered Nurse-Board Certified (RN-BC).
Computers were introduced into nursing care areas in the early 1950s; however, nursing informatics' historical roots emerged much earlier. Contrary to previous studies, which used manual review of the nursing informatics literature, we employed an automated, electronic approach with specialized software to identify its historical roots. The corpus of nursing informatics literature was harvested from Scopus using "informatic*" in information source titles, abstracts, and keywords, limited to the "subject area = nursing." The search resulted in 3805 publications containing 57 057 valid references. Fifteen historical sources were identified, the two oldest written by nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale. Other historical roots represent specific foundational and core scholarly works offering insight into the genesis and sustainment of particular bodies of literature in the field of informatics. Our study revealed that the field of nursing informatics has sought to respond to global health concerns and that through intensive development nursing informatics has become an independent research area affecting nursing advancements in general. Additionally, nursing informatics has influenced other disciplines. This study offered an in-depth look at nursing informatics literature, using a systematic approach to identify historical roots and analyze the evolution of topics and themes to gain more information about knowledge development in nursing informatics. 041b061a72