According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for medical records and health information technicians will grow by 22% by 2020. To meet that need, the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies (UM SONHS) is now registering students for two newly introduced fully online degree programs in Health informatics: the Master’s in Nursing Informatics (MSN-NI) and the Master’s in Health Informatics (MS-HI). These programs, which will begin to offer classes in the spring semester of 2016, reflect the school’s timely initiative to address the increasing demand for qualified health informatics professionals in today’s healthcare system.
With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the federal government mandated the use of electronic medical records by all health care providers. These online degrees target professionals in nursing and health informatics and bring together the knowledge and skills needed in nursing and healthcare practices to successfully manage electronic medical records. Students will develop competencies to use and apply information and computer sciences to manage and communicate data and information.
Potential students for the new degree and certificate programs include working professionals in the healthcare and information technology fields, workers already in the informatics field seeking a healthcare focus, and career changers from diverse backgrounds.
“Healthcare providers across the nation are seeking professionals with the specialized knowledge to bring them into compliance with new governmental mandates to implement shareable electronic health records,” said SONHS Dean Nilda Peragallo Montano. “We are educating the first generation trained to provide this expertise. Our MSN-NI and MS-HI graduates will be positioned to help lead the transformation of healthcare delivery in the U.S.”
At SONHS, the two programs will share a common core of five fundamentals courses, but will differ depending on their admission pre-requisites. The MSN-NI requires an RN degree for admission and will educate nurses to use informatics in their daily nursing and nursing management practices. The MSN-NI focuses on the role of nursing leadership within clinical informatics. The nursing informaticists work in settings that are directly related to nursing care.
With a broader scope, the MS-HI program is open to applicants without nursing credentials who seek a career in health informatics. Health informaticists are generalists prepared to work in diverse settings such as pharmacies, hospitals, medical insurance agencies, pharmaceutical companies, and public health agencies. Either program can be completed online in 12 months of full-time study or 24 months of part-time study.
