What is nursing informatics?
Nursing informatics combines nursing, data and information technology. Informatics nurses help hospitals choose, build and use electronic health records, analyze data and train staff, so that technology supports patient care.
The work
Configure the electronic health record to match clinical workflow, train nurses, analyze data on outcomes and safety, and act as the link between clinicians and the IT team. Many start as bedside nurses who became the unit’s go-to for the computer system.
How to get in
An RN license and clinical experience come first. A bachelor’s degree is common, and graduate degrees in nursing informatics or health informatics are available for leadership roles. The American Nurses Credentialing Center offers an informatics nursing certification, see nursing informatics certification.
Pay
Federal data does not report informatics nurses separately. The median RN earned $97,550 in May 2025.
Pay and projections: Bureau of Labor Statistics. NCLEX figures: NCSBN. Enrollment: AACN. Sources and years are ondata sources.