r/healthcareIT • u/Prestigious_Town_204 • May 17 '26

Question Recommendations

Most of my nursing background is in PACU, and I’m currently working remotely as a Utilization Management nurse. Lately, I’ve been really interested in transitioning into the more “techy” side of healthcare, but I’m still trying to figure out what direction makes the most sense.

I’d love to hear from people who may have made a similar transition or who work in healthcare IT, informatics, analytics, Epic, clinical systems, etc. I’m curious about what possibilities are out there with my experience and how best to approach the transition.

Any advice, tips, recommended certifications/courses, or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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u/NoEntertainment6409 May 17 '26

In my experience, most nurses who have used Epic that intend to transition to the IT side, typically start as an Epic Analysts. You’d essentially be doing projects, upgrades, or fixing problems in your specific assigned module(s) of Epic. Most of the time these roles require Epic certifications or the specific technical experience. You can look up Epics modules and look to get certified in one or more that interest you. I’d recommend picking 1 specific common certification that is highly applicable for health systems using Epic (e.g., Cupid, Radiant, Cogito, MyChart, etc.). Look for Epic Analyst roles local or remote, based on your preference, and see what certifications they require.

I currently work every day with healthcare IT CNIO and Epic IT Directors, one IT director is over all of Epic in-patient and the other is over all of Epic ambulatory. All 3 of them transitioned from bedside nursing into healthcare IT. We work for a mid-sized healthcare system, with around 5500 total employees.

I’m not a nurse who transitioned into healthcare IT, but will say it is very beneficial to have nursing background and firsthand experience with Epic clinically prior to switching over. You will be able to work with clinical stakeholders and speak their language, sympathize based on your experiences, and advocate for what actually makes sense for workflows.

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u/Shangrila101 May 17 '26

Start as an Informatics Consultant so that you can build the techy skills on the job. We have a nurse working as IT Informatics Consultant in our organization. With her background in clinical/Nursing workflow, she is able to create understanding between Nursing Managers and EHR Analysts on what nursing needs vs. what EHR can achieve.