OVERVIEW
What Is a Chief Nursing Informatics Officer?
No medical field or practice is without its individual areas of ongoing growth and development. Fortunately, many of these changes can be integrated with the correct application of technology. Given the serious nature of a clinical, hospital, or medical setting, it’s crucial that any technology implemented is tested and safe for use.
A chief nursing informatics officer (CNIO) oversees the safe, secure implementation of technology in the workplace. They are familiar with current medical systems, and continually seek opportunities to organically integrate technology to a greater extent within these systems.
As the role of a chief nursing informatics officer is a highly specialized one, it should come as no surprise that accompanying education can be somewhat extensive. Job requirements can include several active licenses on top of a master’s degree in either nursing or clinical informatics.
Optimal CNIO applicants will have multiple years of experience on the floor of a medical facility and will already have an in-depth familiarity with much of the technology regularly used there.
RESPONSIBILITIES
What Does a Chief Nursing Informatics Officer Do?
The role of a CNIO can change on a day-to-day basis, largely because of the nature of the position itself. In maintaining an observational approach to their medical environment, they regularly fulfill duties that include:
- Integration of new technologies in a medical environment, supervised by technology experts and the team that will regularly use it.
- Training seminars for on-site staff, regarding the safe use of any new technology implemented.
- Regular testing of existing technology already on-site, to ensure that continued use is safe and advisable.
- Collaboration with healthcare executives and staff members to gauge feedback on currently integrated technology, as well as any junctures that could stand to implement more or less technology daily.
- Auditing workplace technology not just for efficiency, but also from an ethical standpoint.
- Creation of policies that allow for the safe use of technology, without overly compromising job roles.
These and other daily job responsibilities help CNIOs fulfill their position to the best of their ability.
EDUCATION & BEST DEGREES
How Do I Become a Chief Nursing Informatics Officer?
The role of a CNIO is a specialized one. As a result, the position requires a fair amount of education before the role itself can be achieved.
Commonly, CNIO's hold an MSN—or a Master of Science in Nursing. MSN degree programs with specialization in nursing informatics are the ideal fit for this career, but a nurse with a BSN could also pursue a master’s in information systems or a closely related field. Some chief nursing informatics officers even hold MBA degrees.
If you’re looking to become a chief nursing informatics officer, know that you’ll need to maintain a few different certifications. These can include:
- An active RN license
- A license from the American Nurses Credentialing Center
- An optional CPHIMS certification, licensing you as a Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems
Best Degrees for Chief Nursing Informatics Officers
Health & Nursing
Nursing – Nursing Informatics (RN-to-MSN) – M.S.
A nursing program that empowers data-driven nurses with a BSN and MSN...
A nursing program that empowers data-driven nurses with a BSN and MSN component, allowing them to go from RN to MSN.
- Time: 63% of RN-to-MSN grads finish within 36 months.
- Tuition: $4,685 per 6-month term during undergraduate portion and $4,795 per 6-month term during graduate portion.
- Courses: 31 total courses in this program.
This program is ideal for currently licensed RNs who are looking to earn a bachelor's degree and a master's degree at an accelerated pace.
Skills for your résumé that you will learn in this program:
- Informatics System Analysis and Design
- Data Science and Analytics
- Advanced Pathopharmacological Foundations
- Leadership and Management
The trajectory of data and informatics in healthcare will continually open opportunities for registered nurses who take this path.
Health & Nursing
Nursing – Nursing Informatics (BSN-to-MSN) – M.S.
A nursing degree program that empowers data-driven nurses who already have...
A nursing degree program that empowers data-driven nurses who already have a BSN but seek the success a master's can bring:
- Time: 64% of grads finish within 24 months.
- Tuition: $4,795 per 6-month term.
- Courses: 14 total courses in this program.
Skills for your résumé that you will learn in this program:
- Informatics System Analysis and Design
- Data Science and Analytics
- Advanced Pathopharmacological Foundations
- Leadership and Management
The trajectory of data and informatics in healthcare will continually open opportunities for nurses who take this path.
How Much Do Chief Nursing Informatics Officers Make?
$135,750
The exact salary for a chief nursing informatics officer can vary, according to their location, employer, performance reviews, success in implementing new technology, and relative experience.
The average salary of a chief nursing informatics officer is $135,750 per year in the United States. Some CNIO positions see a salary range that begins near $20,500 and can stretch to $205,620 per year.
What Is the Projected Job Growth?
Good
The prevalence of technology in the workplace—not just in medical or healthcare fields, but in most modern industries—will likely make the role of a chief nursing informatics officer more important in the future than it is right now.
Informatics is a highly sought-after field at the moment, one where supply has not yet caught up to demand. Because of the length of time required to qualify oneself as a chief nursing informatics officer, a limited number of available individuals also make this industry a lucrative one for currently qualified candidates.
SKILLS
What Skills Does a Chief Nursing Informatics Officer Need?
The career of a chief nursing informatics officer is one defined by a variety of skills, which allow for successful job performance daily. These skills can include:
- Technological proficiency: the ability to use and implement technology with relative ease
- Technological instruction: the ability to quickly educate all team members on the use of any new or existing technology in the workplace
- Technological auditing: the ability to examine a workplace in light of its technological use and determine whether any additional pieces of technology could further ease the overall workflow
- Research: the ability to quickly identify needs for technology in the workplace and find suitable options for implementation
- Problem-solving: the ability to navigate a healthcare environment and solve issues related to the use of technology there
- Policy-making: the ability to craft instructions, policies, and standards for safe practice around any new or existing technological items in the environment
These skills and others form the foundation for a successful, ethical chief nursing informatics officer.
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