Hot Nursing Jobs: Health Informatics!

Health informatics is the latest buzz phrase in nursing practice. Are you wondering what the big deal is? Whether you're an experienced nurse, or a recent graduate wondering how to increase your job options, here are the top seven reasons why you should learn about health informatics.

1. Get a Raise
Nurses who are trained in health informatics typically enjoy high salaries. The average yearly raise is around 7%. Depending on the field you're working in and the number of years of experience, you could earn between $70 and $120 thousand per year. Nurses trained in health informatics save hospitals money and generate more revenue, so it makes sense that they'd be compensated accordingly. As health informatics becomes better understood, salaries will continue to increase.

2. Take Your Pick of Jobs
At the moment, there are too few health informatics nurses to meet the current demand, and the demand is only expected to increase over the next few years. Nurses in all professions with a strong foundation in health informatics will be highly desirable to independent facilities, hospitals and research centers. And as a health informatician with an advanced degree, you can look forward to your choice of careers.

3. Find Work Across a Vast Range of Fields
Health informatics broadens your horizons. Nurses with a degree in informatics or a related field have found work as clinical documentation specialists, health information technology consultants, scientists, systems administrators, nurse managers, engineers, nurse educators, legal nurse consultants, nurse psychologists, nursing policy officers and nurse researchers. With a ground in health informatics, the sky's the limit.

4. Improve Electronic Medical Records
Did you know that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act calls for electronic medical records (EMRs) for all patients by 2014? Currently, there are not enough EMR-certified nurses to meet this goal. More trained nurses in health informatics are needed to learn about EMRs and expedite the process. Since EMRs are the wave of the future and will need to be updated on an ongoing basis as the technology improves, EMR-certified nurses can expect excellent job security.

5. Boost Profits for Medical Centers
Because of improved documentation handled exclusively by ten full-time nurses, three Washington hospitals made a whopping $5.7 million in extra revenue during 2008. Health informatics helps hospitals and medical providers generate more cash, and therefore provide better services to patients. The more money hospitals are saving, the less the burden of unnecessary health care costs will fall on the public.

6. Be a Trailblazer
"Health informatics" does not yet have a universally accepted definition. As the definition of health informatics continues to evolve, nurses working in the field will have an opportunity to blaze their own trails. Although the definition of health informatics will eventually become more concrete, right now its fluidity can be an asset to you if you decide to specialize in this field. If you like the idea of being a pioneer in a rapidly developing area of nursing, you should learn more about health informatics.

7. Help Create the Future of Health Care
In the next decades, professionals in health care will become skilled at using technology appropriately to improve patient outcomes and enhance communication between health care providers. Health care as we know it now may never be the same. With a strong foundation in health informatics, you can be part of the amazing developments on the horizon for health care.

Are you intrigued yet? As already mentioned, health informatics is a developing area in nursing, so there is a lot of information available—some of it conflicting. Different educational programs define health informatics differently and have varying requirements for acceptance and for graduation. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the options available to you before deciding on a particular program.

Once you've experienced health informatics for yourself, you'll probably be able to think of dozens of other reasons to choose health informatics, in addition to the ones I've outlined above. With health informatics, anything is possible in nursing!

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