Nursing Informatics Program Overview
The American Sentinel MSN, nursing informatics specialization, prepares experienced nurses to manage health information systems critical to the mission of health care delivery systems. Nurses will develop expertise in clinical and administrative systems, data management and data mining for improved patient care, and information systems project management.
The nursing informatics degree emphasizes understanding the infrastructure necessary to improve practice while safeguarding the security and privacy of data. Graduates will be prepared to assume critical roles managing health information systems in ambulatory, acute and long-term care settings, as well as the public health environment.
Students graduating with American Sentinel’s CCNE-accredited MSN, nursing informatics specialization, complete 36 credit hours of course work. Students may be eligible to transfer up to 18 credit hours from previous graduate study.
Nursing Informatics Specialization Learning Outcomes
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Health Care
- Preventing Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTIs) >> Read Story
- Critical Care Travel Nurse Turns Her Career to Teaching >> Read Story
- Longtime Pediatric Nurse Turns to American Sentinel to Strengthen Her Skills as a Nurse Educator >> Read Story
Successful Students and Alumni
Nurse Manager Applies Informatics Course Work to Improve His Hospital
After serving four years active duty in the Army and two years in the National Guard, Warren earned his associate degree in nursing in 1990. “My mom was a nursing assistant her entire career, so I was drawn to it,” says Warren. “I took a health sciences class, and a couple of professors told me I had a knack for it.” In 2006, Warren earned his BSN, but he always had his sights set on an MSN. >> Read full story
Floor Nurse Uses MSN Course Work to Empower Staff
Using change management skills he gained from his online MSN studies at American Sentinel, Chris Kowal, RN, BSN, was able to identify a more appropriate pain assessment tool for his hospital’s critical care unit and design a pilot program to study its effectiveness. The results were remarkable. “I was able to better manage patients’ pain and get them out of the ICU more quickly,” Chris says. “And the new tool improved productivity at the same time. Thanks in part to Chris’s help, the ICU unit earned the coveted Beacon Award. The Journal of the New York State Nurses Association published an article Chris wrote documenting his success with the program. >> Read full story
Career Opportunities in Nursing
As a clinical nurse specialist, you could go into education or consulting in a health care setting. As a certified nurse anesthetist, you could work with patients and doctors to prepare patients for surgery and treat them afterward. And as a certified nurse midwife, you could work with babies and expectant mothers. MSN graduates may also choose to move out of the clinical practice setting and work in administration.
In today's rapidly changing, highly technological health care environment, nurses with a nursing informatics background and education are more valuable than ever. Nursing informatics involves the integration of information and data to support nurses and other health care professionals. American Sentinel's nursing informatics degree teaches nurses to use information technology to streamline their processes around documentation and record keeping, ultimately improving the patient experience.
The American Sentinel distance nursing degree program will prepare you to advance your nursing career with an MSN degree. Learn more about advancing your nursing career in American Sentinel’s nursing chat series with NurseTogether.com.
Job Outlook for Nursing
Today, there is a call for more highly educated nurses capable of expanded roles, from community care to acute care. RNs with an MSN degree should have excellent job prospects, including in accountable care organizations, long-term acute care, health informatics and infection prevention and control. Learn more about the Bureau of Labor Statistics outlook for nurses.
