A decade ago I was what you would call a ‘tech dummy.’ Sure, I used email, searched the web, and owned whatever version of iPhone existed (wait…did those exist then?). But I was not someone you would see and think: She would be perfect for a career in health tech.

Back then I was a home hospice nurse. My time was spent in patients’ apartments with their families. And I loved the work. I felt honored to help people remain at home at the end of life (if that is what they wanted).

Technology was an afterthought at best. My life might have stayed that way were it not for two things:

Thing #1: The electronic health system we used kept getting harder and harder and harder to use. Have a new project or regulation? Make the nurses fill out another 50 questions…

Thing #2: The company I worked for offered tuition coverage. At the time, the tuition benefit was so generous I would have been more than a ‘tech dummy’ not to take advantage of it. Not doing so would have left thousands of dollars on the table.

How did I decide to go from bedside nursing to Nursing Informatics?

When thinking about what to go back to school for, I knew I wanted to make healthcare better. I did not want change to happen to me, I wanted to be part of the change.

That still did not tell me what to study, so I asked a group of senior nurses what they would choose. One said, “If I was younger and not so close to retirement, I would go into Nursing Informatics. Health technology is about to be a booming field. You will never be out of a job.”

Another nurse chimed in: “I have a friend who got her degree in Nursing Informatics two years ago. She is already making $120,000.” WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

OK, so it was not exactly that simple. I had to do some research on what Nursing Informatics even was to know if it would be a good fit. Here are the reasons I chose it over other career options:

Reason #1: Technology is the biggest game changer in healthcare. As much as I loved being a hospice nurse, I knew it was a matter of time before the job changed. Did I want to wait until I no longer loved bedside nursing to find my next step? No, I wanted to be proactive, not reactive.

Reason #2: I could use my experience as a nurse to make technology more nurse-friendly. You know that saying, “If you don’t like something, then change it?” Instead of being another disgruntled nurse complaining about technology but doing nothing about it, I decided to be part of the solution.

Reason #3: There is no limit to the number of people I could help. I became a nurse because I wanted to help people. But at the bedside, I can only help one person at a time. I could help an infinite number of people through technology.

Can you get into health technology without knowing anything about technology?

A lot of nurses think they are not tech-savvy enough for a career in health technology. I know because I was one of them. To give you a sense of how not tech-savvy I used to be: someone asked me to set up a meeting by looking at their Outlook calendar and finding a time we were both free. I had to google how to do that.

At the time, I did not know nurses who went down this path and thought I needed a master’s degree. I started by researching different Informatics programs. There are many different degrees with ‘Informatics’ in the name: Biomedical Informatics, Nursing Informatics, Health Informatics.

I get asked frequently: How did you choose Nursing Informatics specifically? Nursing Informatics programs are specifically geared towards nurses. These programs do not assume you have any prior experience in technology and start with the basics.

Health Informatics and Biomedical Informatics programs are geared more towards people with a background in technology who want to move into healthcare. You can still apply without tech knowledge, but you are likely to be in class with students who are pretty advanced.

I chose Nursing Informatics because I knew nothing about technology.

What did I learn in the Nursing Informatics program?

Even though the Nursing Informatics program was for beginners, those first few semesters were no cake walk. I had to learn how to use Excel, PowerPoint, and GoToMeeting just to participate in entry-level classes. My head almost exploded when I had to build an Access database second semester.

For a regular office worker, that probably does not seem terribly high tech. But to a hospice nurse, starting was a challenge.

It helped that I only went to school part-time because it gave me room to learn at my own pace. Google was my teacher’s assistant for much of that first year. Over time, it did get easier. Technology builds on itself, so once I learned a basic idea I could apply it to other things.

While in that program, I was tapped to be a Nurse Educator teaching health information systems to other nurses. Teaching showed me how to connect with people using the technology, and give feedback on design to make it easier.

The program also required several internships (called practicums) so I could learn from nurses on the job. By my final semester, I had a job offer from one of these internships.

Does life in health technology measure up to what I expected?

My answer is ‘yes and no.’ What I like most about my career in health technology is:

Doors have opened to lots of opportunities. Those senior hospice nurses were right – healthcare technology became a booming field and I have not worried about finding work since I started.

It is a chance to be in the room where decisions are made. Technology is so central to healthcare companies that senior leaders will ask for our opinion because they want to make sure any changes to a system go over well with the nurses.

I am constantly learning. If you are deeply nerdy like me, you will love this part. Since entering health technology I have continued taking classes ranging from coding to user experience design to agile methodology.

On the flip side, while I have had some wins, the biggest drawback to this field is that making system changes takes more work and time than I ever pictured. From the outside, it is easy to say, “Why don’t those bozos building these systems think about __ (fill in the blank)?” Now that I am one of those bozos, I can tell you it is not as easy as Steve Jobs made it look.

Do I miss bedside nursing?

Honesty, I do every once in a while. There are times I wish I could go back to hospice care for an afternoon every few months. But I had mixed feelings at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. I wanted to help out at the bedside, but only recent ER and ICU nurses were needed. Part of me felt guilty not being able to help, but another part of me was relieved not to worry more than a layperson about becoming infected.

It did feel great to know the work to get telehealth programs stood up was worth it since it became essential during the pandemic.

Are there other ways to go from bedside nursing to health technology?

Now that I am in this field I have met many other Informatics Nurses. A few followed the same path I did of going to school, while many more followed the path of getting into the field through work experience. Now that I have been an Informatics Nurse for more than a decade, I actually recommend nurses start by getting relevant experience and consider the master’s degree as more of a career booster once you are in this field.

Here are some ways nurses can get into health technology besides a Nursing Informatics program:

• Become a Subject Matter Expert (SME): A subject matter expert is exactly what it sounds like – someone who is an expert in a particular area.

For example, if you are a nurse with experience in Care Management, you could join a technology team working on care management software as a subject matter expert.

You are not expected to have much technology knowledge since you bring experience in how the software will be used by other nurses in your area.

• Become a Project Manager: I have met nurses who were great organizers and started out managing clinical projects for their team. That expanded into managing clinical technology projects.

• Become a super user: A ‘super user’ is someone who knows a system well and helps others to navigate it. Becoming a super user does not require extensive technology experience, so it is a good starting point for Nursing Informatics.

I have a whole post that goes into more detail on how to get into Nursing Informatics without graduate school, so make sure to read more here.

Key takeaways:

Takeaway #1: Moving from bedside nursing to health technology is a chance to help an unlimited number of people, and make systems that are easier for nurses to use. We need more nurses at the table as systems are designed – our input has a big impact.

Takeaway #2: You can get into a career in health technology without already having experience in technology. You can do this by spending time on a technology team as a subject matter expert.

Takeaway #3: While a career in health technology can be interesting and an opportunity for influence, technology can also take a long time to implement. If you are hoping to see the outcome of your work quickly, you may be disappointed. Some system implementations take years to complete.

Overall, it is a field I am glad to be in. With everything changing in healthcare technology, I know there will be opportunities for years to come.

Like this topic? You may have what it takes to be a great Informatics Nurse! Here are two ways to get started:

Option 1: Sign up for Career Coaching! If you would like hands-on help planning your Nursing Informatics career, apply for one of my career coaching packages or book a Coaching Call. Check out my Services page for more information.

Option 2: Check out From Bedside Nurse to Informatics Nurse: A How-To Guide available in our online store.