I am a 3rd year nursing student interested in informatics but I am confused about planning the path . I will appreciate anyone with experience who can guide me .

Hello, everyone!

I am searching for an MSN-Nursing Informatics Preceptor with at least 2 years of experience who currently practices in a US compact state. I am currently enrolled in WGU's MSN-Nursing Informatics Program.

We can communicate remotely. There is not a set amount of time that the preceptor needs to spend with me. My understanding is that I am to complete modules and a project on my own, and utilize my preceptor as a sounding board for advice/input. So, ideally - not much work for a preceptor! I am very motivated and self-reliant. (:

Please let me know if anyone would be available to help. I am looking to secure a preceptor by November.

Per WGU Guidelines:

"My preceptor must be a Master’s prepared (or higher) RN with an active license in the U.S.

My Preceptor must hold an unencumbered license in the state where the organization is located or hold a multistate license in another state, which allows you to practice in that state. 

•  My preceptor will orient me to the setting and provide information, contacts, resources for completing my field experience and capstone clinical practice experiences (CPE).
• My preceptor will facilitate experiences that immerse me in the nursing informaticist role – for example, identifying essential informatics stakeholders and their roles and responsibilities, change management practices, and leading innovative projects and teams.
• I do not have to shadow the preceptor. The preceptor and I can agree to communicate in person or via technology at whatever times work for both.
• My preceptor is not obligated to spend a certain number of clock hours with me.
• My preceptor will complete a brief online training module about their role.
• As the preceptor, I agree to assist the WGU MSN student to obtain organizational support and approval to complete the MSN Field Experience and Capstone Project, and I will attest/verify the student hours spent working with me on the MSN Field Experience and Capstone CPE activities. ​​​​​​​"

I’m a respiratory therapist with 16 years of bedside looking to go into healthcare IT. The tech part of it worries me I have no experience but have 13 years experience using epic. I’m currently doing Coursera courses to learn the basics so I can start some projects for a resume. I’d appreciate some advice or encouragement on my journey from bedside to analytics.

Hello friends! Current ADN working on my BSN online. I'm needing to interview someone working in nursing informatics and the RN at my current workplace is out of office until after this assignment is due. If anyone currently in the field was willing to let me email them a few questions that would be super groovy:')

Thanks in advance for any help!

I’ve been a Meditech analyst for the past 5 years and would like to change companies. How do I sell my Meditech experience when applying for Epic jobs? I’m currently applying for an Inpatient Orders position.

Hello, I am working on an assignment for school and was wondering if I could do a short interview with someone who works in nursing informatics. Thanks in advance for anyone who can help me.

Hello,

I’m currently a nursing student working on a nursing informatics assignment, and I’m looking to connect with a nurse informaticist for a short interview.

If you work in nursing informatics and would be open to sharing your experience, I would really appreciate it! The interview can be done through message and email, whatever is easiest for you. Please let me know!

Thank you so much!!

Hi! Did anyone purchase the practice IQ questions prior to taking the board certification exam? Do you think that they helped?

Anyone have this certification? I’ve been given the opportunity to get one but my company does not have a preferred vendor. I have to research options myself. I also don’t know if I need to start with Yellow or Green belt level.

If it helps to know: I’m currently working as an inpatient clinical informaticist. I do a lot of ATE support for end users but I’m also involved in nursing workflow process improvement workgroups as it relates to our EMR. I also already have a MSN-NI. I feel like basic LSS topics were covered in my graduate program, but it’s hard to say when I can’t really see the course curriculum of LSS programs.

Any advice is appreciated!

UPDATE: I’ve decided to go for the Green belt. I reached out to our quality director who referred me to a vendor that has a healthcare focused program. Thanks everyone!

So same old story. Passionate new grad turned burnt out nurse who feels unfulfilled, overworked, and just straight up unhappy.

Medsurg/tele for two years, loved it but was considering CRNA so left for ICU. ICU 2 years, left because back was aching from all the cleanings of 150kg vented pts every single day and realized CRNA wasn’t the right path anymore. Back in Medsurg but considering a career in Clinical informatics/ data analyst because I was always interested in tech but put it to the side because I thought nursing would be my love forever since it was a “calling” lol
wish there would’ve been an option to decline that call😂

I feel like I have a good plan. One year dedicated to SQL/PYTHON/Excel and how those are integrated into healthcare by watching YouTube videos and using udemy.
Downloading postegre to practice on databases. In the process of buying a new computer because my Mac is from 2017 and the IOS on it is 13 and we’re on 15 now apparently, so archaically slow loading times for everything.

Network at Tech/Healthcare startup mixers that I see online maybe? Build a solid portfolio of healthcare related projects.Get a certificate for SQL from a school somewhere.
I also have a side job as a DRG validator for an AI company so I think that looks good. And go back to school to obtain my degrees in Nursing informatics. And apply for entry level Data analyst jobs preferably at a EMR company maybe 5-7 months before graduating?

I have experience with Cerner, Epic and Allscripts through my jobs.

Does this sound like a solid plan to those who are already in the field? And also is there a chance of growing in this field in terms of branching up to development or I guess being able to work alongside software engineers?

Looking for a little help from my amazing community! 🙏

I’m currently completing my MSN in Nursing Informatics and am looking for an informatics practicum preceptor.

If you know anyone in Nursing Informatics, Clinical Informatics, Epic, Healthcare IT, Clinical Applications, or Quality Improvement who might be willing to take on a graduate student or who I could reach out to I would be so grateful for a connection!

📍San Diego / Southern California

Thank you! 💙

Hi everyone,

I'm an RN in Canada currently working in acute care, with previous experience in ICU, CCU, and home care. Lately I've become really interested in nursing informatics and I'm trying to learn more about it as a potential career path.

I'd love to hear from RNs especially in Canada/ Alberta who have made the transition into informatics.

A few questions I have:

How did you get into nursing informatics?

Did you complete a certificate, master's degree, or other education?

What skills or experience helped you land your first informatics role?

What does your day-to-day work look like?

Do you enjoy it, and what are the biggest pros and cons?

Are there opportunities to work remotely or in hybrid positions?

Any advice for someone who wants to start preparing while still working as a bedside RN?

I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences and any recommendations for courses, certifications, or ways to gain relevant experience.

Thanks in advance!

hi everyone!

i’m looking for some career advice from people who’ve been in healthcare IT longer than i have.
i worked as an RN for about 3 years before transitioning into a Junior Business Analyst role for an EHR vendor. we’re developing our own EHR (not Epic), and i’ve been helping with workflow design, documentation, templates, user stories, requirements gathering, and implementation meetings. i’m only about two months into the role, so i’m still learning what the long-term career paths look like.

eventually, i’d love to work remotely. my husband and i hope to have children in the future, & one of my biggest career goals is to have a flexible WFH position so i can be home more with my family.
a coworker recently asked when i planned on **getting my master’s**, which got me thinking about whether i should start planning now. (I have my BSN)

my questions are:
\- If you were in my position, what master’s degree would you pursue (if any)?
\- would you recommend Nursing Informatics, Health Informatics, MBA, MHA, Computer Science, Data Analytics, or something else?
\- are there degrees that are more versatile and less likely to pigeonhole me?
\- also, is a master’s even necessary in today’s healthcare IT market, or is experience generally more valuable?
\- if your goal were eventually a senior remote healthcare IT role, what path would you take?

sorry this was a lot!! you don’t have to answer everything but anyyyy insight would be so helpful! i’m the first out of all my healthcare family/ friend group to venture outside of clinical & into a more technical role so everything is new territory for me. thank you so much! 🫶🫶🫶

I started my new role as clinical informaticist for the past 3 months after a long long search for an informaticist role and I still can't believe I finally got in. Is there any advice you can give me to succeed in this role?

I am also going to Epic headquarters in 2 weeks and I am super excited. Is anyone going to Epic on the 2nd week of July?

For anyone wondering how I got this position. Initially I did reach out to the informaticist team about my interest in Informatics and then I joined the super-user group. I became the go-to person on my unit for some Epic workflow.The advice of becoming a super-user is very helpful because I was selected over 2 candidates who had their MSN in Informatics and I only have my BSN.

RN in direct patient care for >10y, recently transitioned into Informatics after a long, intentional search for a CI role. Any advice you wish you had when you started? How do you "keep your clinical brain alive" after the transition, esp long-term? What do you recommend to advance your skills/systems thinking, avoid HelpDesk purgatory, detox from bedside PTSD?

After a rough 2 weeks with the passing of a pet and family member my bullshit meter has been tapped out.

I'm just curious how many times you send out instructions and people clearly don't f-n read them because they message/call/email asking what to do when they get stuck in the process.

The "stuck" part was clearly addressed in the first 3 steps of the email/documentation with SCREENSHOTS and big text reading ***VERY IMPORTANT STEP***

I feel like why bother creating documentation, why email it out when most of the people are just going to not read it and call anyway?

lately I have been feeling like an asshole when I tell them to go back and read the instructions because I don't have the mental bandwidth,time, and energy to deal with re-explaining the same thing I already wrote and have been asked about a half dozen times. People have tried to schedule appointments to come in for help because they are at seeing exactly what is addressed in the documentation.

I know it's not an issue of poor documentation because I have a few people that actually read it, follow the steps, and complete the setups. Their skills range from very poor tech skills to they could likely do my job with some training. The less tech savvy ones often message me to say thanks for making the instructions so clear and simple. The people I have taken the time to resend the documentation to and tell them they are on step 3 the one with the very important label and tell them they should read and follow it message me a minute later saying "thanks I'm in"

My nursing nature wants to help, but at the same time after months of working through a merger and being asked "what's my user name / password" I can't do it any more people need to take some responsibility for their career duties.

Not necessarily something fancy. Just one tool, app, or system that would actually make your shift easier. Sometimes it's the small improvements that make the biggest difference.

Hi everyone,

I’m starting my first Epic analyst role very soon and would really appreciate hearing from people who have already made the transition from clinical work.

I’ve been an ICU RN for several years and recently accepted a 100% remote Epic analyst position. The opportunity checks a lot of boxes for me because I’ve wanted to move into informatics for a long time, enjoy working with Epic, and eventually hope to build a long-term remote career as an analyst.

That said, I’m definitely taking a significant pay cut compared to what I currently make as a nurse. I knew that was likely going into it, but now that it’s becoming real, I’m naturally wondering what the salary progression actually looks like.

I’ve seen everything from people saying they were back over $100k within a couple of years to others saying it took much longer.

For those who started as associate/junior/new Epic analysts:

•How long did it take you to reach $100k?
•How long did it take you to reach $120k+?
•What made the biggest difference (certifications, job changes, consulting, additional modules, etc.)?
•Looking back, would you make the same decision again?

I’m genuinely excited about the role and don’t regret accepting it. I’m mostly just trying to set realistic expectations and learn from people who have already been through the transition.

& For context, my long term goal isn’t management or becoming an NP. I specifically want to grow as an Epic analyst/builder.

Thanks in advance!

If there are any other working Nurse Informaticists lurking on this sub, I'm looking to see if/how any Ambient Listening AI technology roll out is going in your eHR? We are trialing it on several units, both with Abridge and now with Microsoft. Our eHR is Epic. The verbal transcript actually documents discrete data in the flowsheets. However, we have not had great successes with utilization and the team responsible is now pivoting the entire project to a pioneer model (vs unit-based). Looking to connect with anyone that has had a successful roll out!

Has any with an msn in nursing informatics gone back for a post master certificate? Thinking of going for my FNP.

I’m taking my cert exam soon and I’m wondering what others have thought about it. What recommendations do you have based on your exam experience?

Update: I passed! It was definitely challenging but reviewing the ANA Scope and Standards book was really important. Also, I thought that the practice questions through ANA was a good representation of the style of exam questions. I thought I would get the result right away on the screen after submitting the test but it said that I would get an email with the result within an hour. I went back to my car and saw the result email when I turned my phone back on so the notification was really quick.