With growing interest in health technology, I have more and more people asking me what Nursing Informatics is and what I do each day. The pandemic made certain health technologies mainstream, like telehealth and remote health monitoring. But there is also more focus how technology supports nurses, doctors, and therapists in providing care.

This is where Nursing Informatics plays a critical role. Too often, health technology is the cause of burnout and frustration for healthcare workers. Healthcare leaders are starting to realize they need people who can translate between the clinical and technical worlds.

Informatics Nurses are health technology professionals who can fill that gap. We are experienced clinicians who are also trained in technology. As healthcare technology takes off, you will be hearing more about us.

What is ‘Nursing Informatics’?

There are fancy definitions of ‘Nursing Informatics’ out there. But the way I think of it is as a combination of Nursing, Computer Science, and Data Science. Nursing Informatics takes advantage of the technology and data available to solve clinical problems and improve health outcomes for people.

Informatics Nurses play a critical role in the ongoing development and improvement of health technology. We translate clinical and technical needs into something everyone on the team can understand. We are responsible for making sure technology is user-friendly and helpful for healthcare workers.

Because we sit between clinical and technical, Informatics Nurses drive how technology is applied in healthcare. This is especially important because health technology is one of the main reasons for clinician burnout. Even before the pandemic, studies found 40% of clinician stress came from the electronic health systems they used.

Clinician burnout is causing healthcare companies to seek out and compete for Health Informatics professionals like Informatics Nurses.

What do Informatics Nurses do?

There are so many things Informatics Nurses can do, that it is hard to group our roles into one job description. The one common theme is we work with different stakeholders in healthcare and bridge the gap between clinical and technical.

Beyond that, you will find us in roles with many different job titles.

Nursing Informatics Job Titles

Some titles include:

• Nurse Informaticist
• Nursing Informatics Specialist
• Nursing Informatics Clinician
• Clinical Nurse Informatics Specialist

But we also may be in roles without ‘Nurse’ in the title. Some additional roles you may find us in are:

• Clinical Business Analyst
• Clinical Product Owner
• Technology Developer
• Health Informatics Educator or Clinical Systems Trainer
• Health Informatics Researcher
• Informatics Consultant
• Chief Clinical Information Officer
• Chief Health Informatics Officer
• Entrepreneur and Business Owner

With all of these different titles comes different responsibilities.

Nursing Informatics Job Responsibilities

For Informatics Nurses in roles that put new technology in place, they are responsible for assessing technology needs, and designing and testing that technology. They may also be responsible for project management, developing company policies, and supporting healthcare workers through the transition to new technology.

Informatics Nurses in leadership roles are responsible for the vision and oversight of the technology used in their organization.

So, while it is hard to describe what a ‘typical’ Informatics Nurse does, we can look at the results of a survey by the HIMSS Nursing Informatics Committee to understand what we have in common:

• 40% of Informatics Nurses focus on system implementation as our primary responsibility.
• 42% of Nursing Informatics roles are in hospitals.
• 80% of Informatics Nurses are either satisfied or highly satisfied with our role.

Even though healthcare has been slower to embrace technology, healthcare leaders today recognize technology is central to their future. Informatics Nurses have the skills to make sure technology serves the clinicians and the patients.

What Skills do Informatics Nurses Need?

There are several key skills Informatics Nurses need to have or learn. Some of the most important include:

• Ability to analyze data and use it to drive business strategy
• Critical thinking and problem-solving
• Project management
• Enjoy working with technology and ability to adapt to new technologies
• Ability to communicate clearly

Not everyone interested in this field has these skills immediately, and many can be learned on the job. There are also master’s degree and certification programs for Nursing Informatics. These programs focus on the areas of:

• Statistics
• Database management
• Research
• Project management
• Clinical information systems
• Information security and privacy
• Leadership

A degree or certification is not required to enter the field of health technology, but can be helpful if you intend to move into higher level roles like Director or Vice President. I got a master’s degree in Nursing Informatics to help me make the transition from bedside nurse to Informatics Nurse.

However, what many nurses ask about next is what salary Informatics Nurses can expect to make.

Nursing Informatics Salary

I have not found the salary ranges for Informatics Nurses to be accurate on most job websites, even at the starting level. Keep in mind that many of these websites have extremely small sample sizes. They often only have a couple hundred Informatics Nurses salaries reported, compared to several thousand Nurse Practitioners (for example, Payscale had 3,419 NPs and only 276 Informatics Nurse). The tiny sample size means you have to take the salaries you find online with a big grain of salt (or rather sugar).

These sites also do not take into account bonuses, stock options, and other forms of compensation Informatics Nurses have access to.

My experience is people who work in health technology are typically paid higher salaries than people working in clinical roles. They also usually get bonuses that are a percent of their base salary, and may also get equity in the company they work for. A more accurate estimate of the average Nursing Informatics salary is that survey I mentioned from HIMSS. They found around half of Informatics Nurses make over $100,000, which is more aligned to what I have seen.

In fact, according to Ziprecruiter.com, the national average salary for Informatics Nurses is $102,230.

I will also say that salary while is important, it should not the only reason to choose a career in Nursing Informatics. Making systems that healthcare workers could use to provide better care was my reason for getting into this field. Good compensation is just one thing to enjoy about the field.

Key Takeaways:

Nursing Informatics is the bridge between the worlds clinical and technology. As Health Technology grows, Informatics Nurses have an important role to play making sure the technology works for patients and clinicians.

Most Informatics Nurses take leading roles putting new technology in place. This requires strong analytical skills, project management, and the ability to communicate changes clearly. A degree is not necessary to get into the field, and there are skills that can be learned on the job.

Health technology is a field that is expected to continue growing by double digits over the next several years. With that growth, we can expect demand for Nursing Informatics to grow as well.