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The Master of Science in in Nursing (MSN) with an Emphasis in Health Informatics is designed for BSN-prepared nurses who want to develop graduate-level skills to better understand and apply healthcare data in a way that facilitates better decision-making and evidence-based nursing.
The nursing informatics curriculum is designed to teach you how to optimize the use of patient and health data to achieve better patient outcomes, reduce costs, and augment operational efficiency. You may be prepared to help organizations adapt to the integration of technology and the continuous changes in patient-care systems. You also have the opportunity to learn how to automate clinical care, build new operational data systems, train healthcare workers, and analyze data to improve patient care.
As a private Christian university, GCU offers degree programs rooted in a Christian worldview. There is an emphasis on professional ethics and servant leadership within the nursing health informatics subfield.
For greater flexibility, you can take your nursing informatics classes online.1 As an online student, you can access GCU’s interactive online learning platform from virtually anywhere while engaging in stimulating discussions with your fellow learners and instructors.
This degree teaches you how to prioritize better patient care and favorable patient outcomes while improving the efficiency and profitability of healthcare organizations. Prepare yourself to serve as a potential leader in your hospital as you examine healthcare data management, healthcare information systems and professional ethics throughout your classes.
Topics you will examine in the nursing informatics curriculum include:
The role of leadership, health informatics and organizational policy in supporting patient care
The critical evaluation of evidence from epidemiology, biopsychosocial and biostatistics
The application of information systems in healthcare settings
Healthcare information resources, including the use of relational database management software
Techniques used for extracting, evaluating and applying health data
The implementation of technology in rapidly changing healthcare environments
The nursing health informatics MSN culminates in a capstone course and a 16-week practicum. The final practicum integrates nursing knowledge, leadership and advanced critical thinking in the development of a comprehensive and professional project plan. In addition to the practicum project, you will take courses that will teach you to develop the skills necessary to improve patient care through the use of technology and data analysis.
This provides an opportunity for you to develop an evidence-based practice project in which you will:
As a graduate of the master’s degree in nursing with a health informatics emphasis, there are a number of nursing informatics careers you might choose to pursue.
These include:
These roles may include automating clinical care, building new operational data systems, training healthcare workers in the use of computer systems or collecting and analyzing data to improve patient care. No degree program can guarantee any particular career outcome, and some careers may require additional training or credentials.
As a future informatics nurse, you may choose to work in a variety of settings, including:
Hospital
Primary care facility
Doctor's office
Insurance company
Technology supplier
Consulting firm
Government agency
Before choosing a university at which to pursue a nursing health informatics MSN, it’s important to ensure the school is institutionally accredited. Accreditation is a reflection of the quality of the school. GCU is proud to be an institutionally accredited university that emphasizes quality, industry-aligned curriculum and instruction.
For more information on the institutional accreditation of nursing programs and other university approvals, please visit our University Accreditation and Regulations page.
Read through our frequently asked questions and answers to learn more about graduate-level opportunities in the field of nursing health informatics.
Graduate-level curriculum in nursing health informatics, such as that found in the MSN with an Emphasis in Health Informatics, can be well worth it for BSN-prepared nurses who are looking to impact patient outcomes on a different, technological level. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, registered nurses have a median annual wage of $81,220 as of 2022.2
Nurse informatics is a unique position where information technology and nursing intersect. A nurse informaticist’s primary mission is to improve the quality of care and patient safety standards in order to improve patient outcomes, as well as to enhance the cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency of the organization. Some of the main responsibilities of a nurse informaticist may include:3
When studying nursing health informatics in an online program,1 it’s important to recognize how to apply your studies to an in-person or remote healthcare setting. In addition to being knowledgeable about technologies, nurse informatic specialists must be able to effectively communicate, support other nurses, think critically to solve problems and manage various amounts of important data.4 While studying in your online program,1 keep those important traits in mind as you are taught knowledge and skills needed to be a hands-on informatics nurse after graduation.
The more information a healthcare provider has about any given patient, the better able they are to make informed decisions that support patient safety and the quality of patient care. It could be argued that communication is one of the most important foundational building blocks of patient safety. By making patient data more accessible, yet still secure and private, nurse informaticists enable clear communication and collaboration among a patient’s various providers. Furthermore, healthcare informatics can help reduce the risk of medical errors by eliminating the potential for misreading handwritten notes or treatment instructions.5
There is no one universal way to pursue nursing informatics careers. However, all aspiring nurse informaticists must first earn an undergraduate nursing degree (such as through a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program or an RN to BSN program). You’ll then need to earn your nursing license by passing the NCLEX-RN and applying for state licensure.6
Next, you’ll need to gain some bedside experience providing direct patient care. It may be possible to land an entry-level informatics job with just a BSN and clinical experience, but, increasingly, healthcare employers prefer to hire MSN-prepared nurse informaticists. In addition to earning your MSN in health informatics, you might choose to obtain a nurse informatics certification, such as the Registered Nurse-Board Certified (RN-BC), Certified Associate in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CAHIMS) or Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CPHIMS) certifications.5
Prepare to pursue various nursing informatics careers and help support the quality of patient care in your organization. Fill out the form to learn more about GCU’s online nursing informatics master’s degree.
1
Clinical, practicum and immersion hours completed locally.
2 The earnings referenced were reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”), Registered Nurses, as of May 2022, retrieved on Oct. 17, 2023. Due to COVID-19, data from 2020 and 2021 may be atypical compared to prior years. BLS calculates the median using salaries of workers nationwide with varying levels of education and experience. It does not reflect the earnings of GCU graduates as registered nurses, nor does it reflect earnings of workers in one city or region of the country or a typical entry-level salary. Median income is the statistical midpoint for the range of salaries in a specific occupation. It represents what you would earn if you were paid more money than half the workers in an occupation, and less than half the workers in an occupation. It may give you a basis to estimate what you might earn at some point if you enter this career. Grand Canyon University can make no guarantees on individual graduates’ salaries. Your employability will be determined by numerous factors over which GCU has no control, such as the employer the graduate chooses to apply to, the graduate’s experience level, individual characteristics, skills, etc., against a pool of candidates.
3 Menkiena, C., MBA, BSN, RN-BC. (2021, February 2). The Three Essential Responsibilities Of A Nurse Informaticist. HealthCatalyst. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
4 Monteiro, I. (2022, December 12). What Is Nursing Informatics? (Definition, Duties and Skills). Indeed.
5 RegisteredNursing.org. (2023, August 14). Nursing Informatics. RegisteredNursing.org. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
6 Gaines, K., MSN, RN, CBC. (2023, July 17). What Is Nursing Informatics? Nurse.org. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
Up to 12 credits or 1/3 of the total program requirements in transfer (whichever is less)
Credits: Fill out the Lopes Eval to find out what will transfer
Admission Requirements (Master's)
OR 2.5+ Unweighted GPA and
Admission requirements may differ based on degree level, program and modality, or transfer status. Some programs of study may require a higher GPA and/or other qualifying criteria for admission. Please review full admission and program requirements in the University Policy Handbook.
* Degree must be from an accredited college or program that has been approved by GCU.
** Combined verbal/quantitative, after August 2011 (1,000 combined verbal and quantitative, prior to August 2011).
