How to Become an Informatics Nurse: Two Primary Paths
By Hope Rothenberg on 03/12/2024
You love working with data, and you want to see a world where patient health outcomes are significantly better than they are today.
This specialty involves plenty of analytics, and working behind-the-scenes (as opposed to at a patient's bedside). If your dream position lives at the intersection of information technology and nursing, becoming an informatics nurse is exactly how you can make that dream a reality.
The question is, how do you do it?
There are two main pathways to becoming an informatics nurse. Depending on your interests, goals and where you currently are in your education journey, there may be a clear choice for you. Here are the two primary paths to pursing a career in nursing informatics.
These pathways can get a little complex, so feel free to skip ahead to the option that fits you best.
Path 1: The BSN Pathway
This first pathway starts with receiving a bachelor's degree in nursing (or a relevant field). A BSN helps you land a role in nursing informatics. Here are the steps you'll follow along the way.
1. Receive a bachelor's degree
To specialize in informatics nursing, a bachelor's degree is required.1 There are a few different ways to go about it, depending on your current situation.
BSN Standard Degree
If you currently hold a high school diploma and are planning out your path from the very beginning, the most straightforward way to set yourself up for success is to start by pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).
This will bring you right up to speed by giving you the baseline education requirement for nursing informatics off the bat—and it may not even take the typical four years. The standard BSN program at Rasmussen University can be completed in as few as 33 months.2
RN to BSN Program
If you're a registered nurse, you've already completed step two—you just need to circle back around and get this bachelor’s step checked off. An RN to BSN program can help you do this. If you choose to pursue full-time study, you'll be able to get your BSN in as few as 12 to 18 months.2
If you're somewhere else in your education journey or nursing career and are looking to find the most efficient option for you, contact an admissions advisor to talk through your situation. As soon as you get your BSN, you'll be one step closer to becoming an informatics nurse.
Accelerated BSN Second Degree
If you already hold a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field and are interested in transitioning to nursing, you don't have to start from scratch. At Rasmussen University, students who hold a bachelor’s degree can pursue an accelerated BSN second degree program. This program can be completed in as few as 18 months.2
2. Become a registered nurse
Becoming an RN is the next requirement on the road to getting certified as an informatics nurse. This involves getting licensed as an RN, which you can do by passing the designated exam.
Pass the NCLEX-RN® exam
After graduating, you'll need to pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), the standardized test nurses need to pass to become an RN. The NCLEX-RN exam provides states with a way to independently verify your nursing knowledge, and gauge your ability to safely practice as a nurse.
Though your BSN program will help you prepare for this exam, you'll also want to study and prepare as much as possible to help you feel confident when it's time to take your seat.
Obtain RN licensure
Once you pass the NCLEX-RN, you can apply for a nursing license in the state where you wish to practice—just head over to your state’s board of nursing to request an application.
3. Work as a full-time RN
The next thing you'll need is a few years of experience as an RN.
Informatics nursing is a specialty, and certified informatics nurses have at least two years of prior nursing experience. It's more than just a recommendation: the equivalent of two years of full-time experience as a registered nurse is one of the eligibility requirements for earning the proper certification to enter the informatics nursing field.1
Gain hands-on nursing experience
Working as an RN won't just open a door to the healthcare industry, it will throw you right into the center of it.
You'll be able to improve patient care, play a role in patient outcomes and gain hands-on nursing practice with all the roles and responsibilities that come along with being a licensed RN. You'll interact with patient medical records, and you'll train with nursing informatics specialists you can learn from.
Whether you choose to move on as soon as you achieve the equivalent of two years of full-time nursing practice or opt to spend additional time gaining clinical experience as an RN, once you hit that mark, you’ll have achieved one of the eligibility requirements.
4. Meet continuing education requirements
While working as an RN—or even while completing your BSN—you'll also need to complete at least 30 hours of continuing education in informatics nursing. This is another eligibility requirement for the nursing informatics certification exam. Expanded coursework in the very area you're looking to pursue is a great way to learn more about the specialization and help prepare you for what's ahead.
For more information on what type of continuing education courses can count towards these hours, you'll want to do additional research or contact the ANCC® directly with questions.
5. Fulfill practice hour requirements
The final eligibility requirement for taking the nursing informatics certification exam is completing the required practice hours. The ANCC requires prospective informatics nurses to meet one of the following practice hour requirements.
It's worth noting: On this path, option number one is the most likely, since the other two require graduate coursework (more on that in path #2).
- Have practiced a minimum of 2,000 hours of informatics nursing within the last three years.1
- Have practiced a minimum of 1,000 hours of informatics nursing in the last three years and completed a minimum of 12 semester hours of academic credit in informatics courses that are part of a graduate-level informatics nursing program.1
- Have completed a graduate program in informatics nursing containing a minimum of 200 hours of faculty-supervised practicum in informatics nursing.1
Once you're all set with practice hour requirements, you've officially completed all eligibility requirements to take the certification examination—and it's time to get certified.
6. Get certified as an informatics nurse
The Informatics Nursing Certification (RN-BC®) offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center® (ANCC) is the exam necessary to become certified as an entry-level nursing informatics specialist, and passing it is your next step.
Pass the NI-BC exam™
The ANCC exam is a competency-based examination designed to provide a valid and reliable assessment of the entry-level clinical skills and knowledge and skills of registered nurses in the informatics specialty, according to the ANCC.1
You can apply for the computer-based exam year-round, and test during a 120-day window—choosing a time and location convenient to you. The exam gives you three hours to answer 150 questions (125 scored plus 25 pretest questions that are not scored). You'll want to use all the resources you can to prepare to sit for the exam, including ANCC study aids and the General Testing and Renewal Handbook. If you don't pass the first time, there are opportunities for retesting.
Obtain the NI-BC credential
Once you successfully pass the exam, you're awarded the credential of being Nursing Informatics-Board Certified (NI-BC). Your license to practice is valid for five years, and you can use it longer than that if you continue to maintain it and meet the appropriate renewal requirements. But before you worry about needing to renew it, you can focus first on putting it to use.
7. Apply for an entry-level informatics position
As a certified informatics nurse, you can apply to a range of nursing informatics jobs in the many healthcare settings. You'll work alongside healthcare providers, using healthcare information and management systems to perform the data analysis that defines your role—and ultimately supports high-quality patient care and outcomes.
Regardless of the specific role you choose or where the road may lead you next, you can be proud that you completed this pathway to becoming a nurse informaticist.
Path 2: The MSN Pathway
If you already have a bachelors of science in nursing degree, a graduate program might be an ideal option for you. Rather than pursue the nursing informatics track with the minimum education requirement, this pathway involves obtaining a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) with a specialization in Healthcare Technology, Simulation and Informatics. Here's an idea of how this pathway can look.
1. Earn an MSN degree
Obtaining an MSN degree can give any aspiring informatics nurse a significant head start. You’ll get more extensive and advanced coursework and knock out the continuing education and practice hour eligibility requirements for the NI-BC exam.
While a master's degree may sound intimidating, it's likely the most efficient option for meeting multiple NI-BC exam eligibility requirements at once. It's also less than two years: With full-time study, students can complete the Rasmussen University MSN program in as few as 18 months.2
Over the course of your specialization in Healthcare Technology, Simulation and Informatics, you'll study the use of simulation in healthcare and nursing education, learn about evolving opportunities in nursing informatics and gain experience using the latest and emerging healthcare-advancing technologies.
2. Apply for a higher-level nursing informatics position
Another main difference between path #1 and path #2 is that holding a master’s degree in nursing—especially one with a specialization in informatics—provides you with more specific knowledge than you’d get in a BSN program.
With a higher degree level, you may be able to apply for more advanced nursing informatic roles.
Just a few examples of career paths that MSN informatics nurses can pursue include chief nursing informatics officer, director of clinical informatics, nursing informatics specialist, simulation coordinator or technologist and director of innovation. If the caliber of these roles is exciting to you, an MSN may be the route for you.
Pursue your path to nursing informatics
Whichever path you choose, whether it's pursuing your bachelor's degree or your master's degree, you'll have the same central accomplishment in common: you'll be a board-certified informatics nurse.
So, what will it be? Start down path #1 and learn more about the Rasmussen University BSN program, or start down path #2 and learn more about the Rasmussen University MSN program.
Relevant Articles:
RN-BC® is a registered trademark of American Nurses Credentialing Center
ANCC® is a registered trademark of American Nurses Credentialing Center
American Nurses Credentialing Center® is a registered trademark of American Nurses Credentialing Center
NI-BC™ is a trademark of American Nurses Association® American Nurses Association
NCLEX-RN® is a registered trademark of National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc.
1American Nurses Association, Informatics Nursing Certification (NI-BC™), (Accessed February 2024), Informatics Nursing Certification (NI-BC™) | ANA (nursingworld.org)
2Completion time is dependent on transfer credits accepted and the number of courses completed each term.