Nursing Informatics

You can’t ignore the fact that we now live in a computer era, where almost everything is computerized for a more efficient and organized job. Just like in any other field that requires the use of a computer, nursing is greatly blown by the rapid growth of computer use. In response and to compete to the competitive world of health care, nursing informatics exist.

Nursing informatics is a wide-ranging field that brings together nursing skills and computer expertise. Now, this is a high-tech side of nursing that many people didn’t know about. If your interest has something to do with the computers and you like the job of a nurse, why choose either career when you can have both? In the field of nursing informatics, you can get jobs that include a nurse programmer, nurse communicator, informatics nurse manager and nurse vendor representative. To understand fully the concepts of the possible positions you can get in the field of nursing informatics, let us take a look at each of them.

A nurse programmer is someone who writes programs or modifies existing programs to be used by a nurse. The programs may vary depending on the nurse’s area of specialization. For example, if you work in a pediatric nursing station, you definitely use a different program from those working in a mental health nursing station.

Nurse communicator, on the other hand, works with other nurses to identify if there is other computer system needs or assist in the training and implementation of those systems. For example, there are new programs to be implemented or a certain nurse station needs another computer system in order to stay updated, the job of a nurse communicator is to see if there’s a need for a new system and to make sure that the system is properly utilized.

In the management position, the informatics nurse manager is responsible for managing or administering information systems. He or she is the one responsible for implementing new computer systems as well as conduct the training in introducing whatever new systems you’ll have.

Nurse vendor representatives do not necessarily work in a hospital or healthcare institution, but rather they work for certain vendors that sell various computer systems specializing in nursing systems. Demonstrating systems to potential customers is also a part of the job of a nurse vendor representative.

If you think that the positions available in the field of nursing informatics interest you, then there’s no reason why you should not pursue a career where you think you have a good shot at! Possible educational preparation that you can obtain in order to establish a position in the nursing informatics world can take you to different paths. Presently, nursing programs are demanding the use of computers as part of the curriculums, which means you can get basic information when it comes to the computer. Or, depending on how deeply you want to get into the high-tech side of the nursing profession, you may want to consider taking up bachelor and graduate level training whether a nursing program or outside of it just to get the position in nursing informatics you are interested in.


Article originally posted on Staff Quest