Advance Practice Nurses all have the minimum requirement of a Masters Degree however, not every nurse with a Masters or DNP is an Advance Practice Nurse. Advance Practice Nurses have post graduate training and certifications; NP, Midwives, Clinical Nurse Specialist, and CRNAs are Advance Practice Nurses.
Correct, my masters degree is not a nursing degree. It’s a Masters in Health Informatics. So I am a bachelors-prepared registered nurse with a MSHI. Those nurses with a Master of Science in Nursing with a focus on Informatics (MSN-I) have a graduate degree in nursing but the focus is different from the clinical masters/doctorates you mention. The MSN-I is still more clinical/nursing-focused than my MSHI degree.
These last two videos of yours discussing personal experience of nursing informatics have been extremely helpful because, you’re right, no one has yet to share their experience only surface level
Hi Caroline, thanks so much for these 2 videos. I'm doing an accelerated nursing program right now and could really see myself doing this rather than a bedside role. Glad to hear from your previous video that you don't need a masters degree to get an entry level job either!
I watched both of your videos, thank you for the insight! I am currently a ER bedside nurse, 12 years in. I am in a MSN program and currently in Health Care Informatics course. My specialty for MSN in management, not sure I want to do that, so I'm exploring other areas. Please keep posting, this was helpful as a lot of nurses don't know or understand informatics.
Thanks for this video! I have been an LVN for 9 years and have a bachelor's in psych. I'm currently working as an ehr analyst and for the first time I feel content. I definitely feel like an outsider in this field but it's very intriguing. I'm in a msw program but am afraid of burn out again! I feel like healthcare informatics has a better work/life balance.
Hi Heather! Thanks for watching. It’s definitely uncomfortable at first when you switch into a new field. You have to learn so much. I hope you’re enjoying it and feeling more confident as time goes on. I agree about the work-life balance!
Hi, thank you so much for sharing these videos! So informative. I was wondering if you feel comfortable sharing what the pay is like? I just graduated nursing school and am starting in a residency program but I know that I don’t want bedside long term. Obviously, there are a lot of variables that go into pay, I’m just curious as to if the transition will be worth it finically. I’m also a type A and prefer a normal schedule and some level of predictability and have been thinking about informatics for a while now. Thank you (:
Sorry for a late response. I think it’s highly variable. Most informatics jobs are salaried so you won’t get shift diff/overtime. However, a lot of healthcare IT jobs pay very well. I personally make more than at the bedside now, but I do have my masters.
Thanks for this video! I feel like we've had a similar experience transitioning to informatics. I graduated a year before you and worked bedside for about a year. I showed interest in informatics after I realized I wanted to do some of the things that our IT department was doing in regards to our EMR. My boss heard about it and agreed to have me be the nursing department's informatics specialist. I had no experience and didn't even really receive any proper training for it. But I was able to create training videos, train new hires, perform testing, work closely with IT, learn sql basics, learn how to set up configs in our system, and just learn on the go. Unfortunately, with this pandemic I'll be forced to return to bedside which I absolutely hate. Wondering if your organization has done the same? And would you return to the bedside if your organization didn't give you a choice?
Hi there! Sorry for replying so late. That’s so awesome that you took initiative and taught yourself. I was required to return to bedside briefly during one of our surges. It was challenging for me, but in a way I appreciated the opportunity to use my skills during the pandemic (I was feeling a bit guilty about “not helping”). Luckily I’m back in informatics now full time. Hope you’re doing well!
Hi Caroline, Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I am also planning to pursue my career in Nursing informatics after doing 10 years of bedside nursing. It is good to know that networking is the main key to step the foot in the door of informatics world. I am planning to start my Masters in Healthcare Informatics soon too. For that I have several options, some schools offer flexpath options and others are more expensive big schools. Does it matter which college we go to or where we obtain the degree from? I was thinking about going to local big universities but they are bit expensive compared to others such as Capella, etc. I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks again.
Good luck with making the switch! I personally don’t think the name or price of school matters as much as the quality of the education. If you can communicate what you’ve learned and show your skills in a job interview, I believe that will take you much further than a big school name.
@@carolinec826 Hi Caroline, Thank you for your time for replying my questions that really helped me understand better. After doing some research, I also decided to go for MS in Health Informatics instead of MS in Nursing Informatics. Healthcare Informatics seemed to cover broader areas as opposed to just being focused on nursing side. Since I already have clinical nursing experience and BSN degree, I thought I could still use my background/experience in Nursing side and apply that knowledge with my Health Informatics as needed. I went through the course curriculum for Health Informatics and also had a meeting with an advisor. From my perspective, I found those courses to be more on technical side (nothing about clinical), which I kind of liked it. My hubby is in IT field and he told me that those courses looked really interesting and lot of those courses are similar to the ones for Computer Information System degree's. Based on his feedback, it sounds like the skills/knowledge obtained from these Healthcare Informatics degree could also be applied in other areas in future such as Business Analyst kind of function. Any thoughts on this? Thanks again!
@@mayabk5287 those were exactly my thoughts when choosing MSHI! I think the program has helped me prepare to potentially transition to a more technical/data-focused role. I think it’s the right move if you are not really set on continuing along a nursing career pathway.
@@carolinec826 Yeah I agree with that too. Also, what was your experience like when taking those technical courses like database concepts , systems analysis & design etc. Did you find it difficult ? especially when coming from a nursing background? just wanted to know your personal experience. Thanks again.
@@mayabk5287 for me some of the classes were totally new concepts, but I made it fine. If you can do nursing school, you can do MSHI. It just takes practice and studying. I did have a bit of an advantage on things like the SDLC because I worked in informatics before doing my MSHI, but I had never done anything with databases before. You can do it! :)
Doing the Healthcare informatics path do your BSN credits apply? I got my BSN 6 years ago and I'm ready. I have been looking into and waiting for more programs in informatics. I feel like in the last year it has grown exponentially. Thanks 4 the videos they have been super helpful.
Hi Jessica! Thanks for watching. My masters program accepted several of my BSN credits, so I was able to skip a few classes (like medical terminology and statistics). I think this would depend on your BSN content and the school you are going to for your masters. It’s definitely a growing field and I recommend it! Good luck to you
Hi Caroline, thanks so much for these 2 videos. Currently I'm working in IT sector. Can I transition to informatics or they require healthcare background.
Sorry for the late reply. You can transition to healthcare informatics! There will be a learning curve, but you can do it. Your IT skills are valuable and you can learn the healthcare part of things as you go. I would recommend looking for a job with a large hospital system. It might be easiest to work for the IT department at first to learn how healthcare organizations function, and then transition into informatics. Good luck!
Can you give us an update ? I’m currently looking into degrees I am a BSN too I will probably take the route for masters that your doing ! Any colleges online you recommend?
I would think that nurses with the most bedside experience would be the most valuable in this field!! Most of the time (from a bedside nurse perspective) the charting is abysmal and very labor intensive!!! As a bedside nurse 🤬🤬🤬🤬!!!
Hi! Yes, there are certifications that you can obtain from different informatics associations. You can also get a masters degree in informatics. These things are helpful but not necessary for getting an informatics job.
Nope! If you have worked as a bedside nurse, you have interacted with technology in healthcare. You’ve likely used an EMR, POCT glucose machines, vitals monitors, and IV pumps (plus more). Sometimes being an EMR super user or educator can help you get your foot in the door because it’s hard to get that first job in informatics sometimes. But as long as you are technologically inclined and willing to learn, you’re qualified.
You can definitely get into an informatics role with an ADN or other types of healthcare degrees. However, some job opportunities may be restricted without a BSN. If you get a job with a larger hospital system, they may have tuition reimbursement programs available.
Do you know if employers or hospital systems will pay for a master’s in nursing informatics? This sounds really interesting. I’m just starting out and researching nursing program options. This would be my second career.
Hi! Yes, many healthcare employers have an education assistance program that will at the least cover some of your graduate school tuition in exchange for working for them for a set amount of time after the completion of the degree.
I went to a local private college in my state. There are lots of options out there. I recommend reading reviews and asking about employment rate post-program.
Hi Tala, that would depend if you want to be a nurse or not. If you don’t want to be a nurse, but you want to work in informatics, there’s no need for a nursing degree. You can work in health informatics with other backgrounds (healthcare or otherwise) or no background at all. Keep in mind that your earning potential might be higher if you are a nurse who then becomes a nurse informaticist versus someone with no healthcare license who goes into informatics (not always true - some healthcare IT jobs pay well regardless of license). I definitely would not recommend going to nursing school solely for the sake of getting into informatics.
@@carolinec826 that’s what I was thinking to, why go into nursing if the goal is informatics. I’m an undergrad student now majoring in health science but was either considering switching to nursing or health informatics. Do you think the pay would be good if I got a health informatics degree or would the pay be higher for nurse informatics?
I don’t think I can say, because I don’t want to give you an incorrect answer. I don’t know all of the jobs out there or how much they pay. I will say that in my opinion you should not put time, money, and effort into nursing school if you are not passionate about being a nurse. And I recommend to anyone considering nursing that they become a nursing assistant or tech first.
@@carolinec826 thank you! Sorry I keep asking many questions but do you possibly think if I were a nursing assitant I could get into nursing informatics (with technology experience) since I would probably know how some systems work or do you need to be a nurse first? I’m in between 2 choices lol I’m most likely gonna do prereqs for both fields and see what happens. And what did you mean by tech? Like a sonographer ?
@@tala8482 to be a nurse informaticist you’d have to have to be an RN in most cases (as far as I know). You can work in health informatics without having a nursing license but you wouldn’t be in nursing informatics technically. By tech I just mean like a patient care tech.
Hello, I have my BSN and a BS in cybersecurity do you think this will be beneficial for me if I were to apply for an health informatics position? Or do they prefer strictly an Health informatics degree? I’m sorry if this question has already been asked
Hi! Sorry for the late response. I think your current education would be a great background for informatics. That degree sounds transferable to an informatics job to me, and cybersecurity is so important in healthcare. You can definitely use that to your advantage when applying. Good luck!
Hi! I like health informatic but I am not sure about it yet. Do you have time to travel, like months or weeks off? Do you get to work with a team? Thanks in advance!
Hi Suca! I do have time to travel, but not as much as when I was working at the bedside. It’s more like a normal corporate job where you have PTO/vacation days and you can request time off. Every organization is different though; so that is just my personal experience. I find having every weekend off to be better for my quality of life than my old bedside nursing schedule. I do work with a team. Most informatics positions that I have encountered rely heavily on teamwork and collaboration with interdisciplinary teams. Thanks for watching!
I would think that nurses with the most bedside experience would be the most valuable in this field!! Most of the time (from a bedside nurse perspective) the charting is abysmal and very labor intensive!!! As a bedside nurse 🤬🤬🤬🤬!!!
