Online Master’s in Nursing: Health Informatics Emphasis

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Overview

Learn To Make Informed Healthcare Decisions Using Data

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.

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Why GCU

Benefits of Earning a Nursing Health Informatics MSN From GCU

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.

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Christian Worldview

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.

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Pursue an Online Nursing Informatics MSN 

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.

Coursework

Nursing Informatics Classes and Curriculum  

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

Final Practicum and Capstone

 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:

  • Identify a problem amenable to research-based intervention
  • Search literature
  • Propose a solution 
  • Develop a plan to implement the solution, evaluate its outcomes and disseminate the findings
Careers

Nursing Informatics Career Opportunities

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: 

  • Data scientist
  • Computer informatics analyst (business analyst)
  • Computer and information systems manager
  • Computer systems analyst 

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

Accreditation

GCU Offers Institutionally Accredited MSN Programs

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. 

FAQ

Master of Science in Nursing: Health Informatics FAQs

Read through our frequently asked questions and answers to learn more about graduate-level opportunities in the field of nursing health informatics.

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Start Your Journey Today!

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.

Apply Now

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.  

Monteiro, I. (2022, December 12). What Is Nursing Informatics? (Definition, Duties and Skills).  Indeed. 

RegisteredNursing.org. (2023, August 14). Nursing Informatics. RegisteredNursing.org. Retrieved September 11, 2023. 

Gaines, K., MSN, RN, CBC. (2023, July 17). What Is Nursing Informatics? Nurse.org. Retrieved September 11, 2023. 

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