Health informatics is a fairly new study that bridges concepts like medical practice, health information technology, research and medical informatics into one. The purpose of the study is to prepare professionals for a career in health information technology or clinical informatics, where they will work with electronic systems and develop systems for communication that help to improve the delivery of patient care.
If you are interested in making a career change or you are researching different options in the healthcare sector before you go to school, here is what you need to know about the field.
What Will You Learn in a Healthcare Informatics Program?
If you want to attend a best healthcare informatics degree program that will give you an advantage after graduation, it is important that you do your research before you start classes. The purpose of an undergraduate program in this area of study is to provide you with a foundation of knowledge that will make you a great designer, manager, and developer of information systems that are used in healthcare settings.
While every program has its own layout and class credit requirements, if you attend a Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education you will complete most of the same core curriculum. Some of the major courses that you must complete to earn your degree include:
* Healthcare data
* Medical terminology
* Health information technology
* Fundamentals of information technology
* Health sciences
* Networking and security
* Business of IT
* Data management
* Management
* Professional practice experience
What Types of Jobs Can You Pursue With a Degree in Healthcare Informatics?
After you earn a bachelor’s in the field, your career can take off rather quickly. It is important to map out your career path before you enroll in school. There are a lot more opportunities in healthcare informatics than you might think before you do your research. For nurses who are making the transition, you may want to consider an informatics nurse position.
Nursing informatics specialists are trained nurses who evaluate clinical systems and determine what new applications should be implemented to improve communications in the nursing department. If you are not an experienced nurse, you can also pursue positions as either a healthcare informatics specialist or a clinical specialist. Specialists are more involved on the implementation of systems in all departments and designing processes that help professional digitize records efficiently. Chief Executive Officers and managers hold more responsibility.
What is the Demand in Healthcare Informatics?
Studying for a 4-year degree or a graduate degree is a major commitment. Before you take the leap, you should take a look at the job outlook in the field. Since more and more health settings are relying on electronic systems, the outlook for specialists who design and manage these systems is high. This is why the job outlook in the field is positive and the field is projected to grow by 15 percent. Approximately 29,000 entry-level and mid-level positions will be created from now to 2024.
If you want to work in healthcare, you do not have to work face to face with patients. Instead, you can work with technology systems that keep everything running smoothly. If you are a talented technologist and you want to use these talents to your advantage, consider studying health informatics and pursue a career where healthcare practice and health information technology merge.
