Master of Science in Nursing: Nursing Informatics
Program overview
Designed for working nurses, the online Master of Science in Nursing: Nursing Informatics program is for registered nurses (RNs) with BSN degrees seeking to take their place in a dynamic, in-demand specialty practice area. This program at St. Catherine University combines the art and science of nursing with an advanced understanding of the informaticist role in healthcare quality improvement, healthcare data science, analytics, and information technology.
Our program focuses on interprofessional education. This means you will learn with and about other health professions and collaborate across healthcare programs at the University.
You’ll also experience a learning environment where information and communication technology meets compassionate care, where data is leveraged to improve nursing practice and health outcomes, and where analytics is used to advance social justice and address health inequities.
A request for the approval of the MSN: Nursing Informatics program of study has been submitted to the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). Updates will be posted on this page as they become available.
In this program, you will:
- Learn core skills to apply informatics to clinical nursing practice, using a broad-based understanding of information technologies and how to gather, retrieve and apply healthcare data.
- Understand applications of informatics for quality improvement across the spectrum of clinical care settings.
- Gain opportunities to apply patient-centered nursing skills at scale – you’ll learn to leverage what you know about one-to-one patient care to make a difference for entire populations.
- Focus on leadership and interprofessional learning, grounding nursing informatics in an understanding of how to advance the work of healthcare teams and to make healthcare better for all.
- Understand project management principles and lead change in health systems.
- Get a head start on your Doctor of Nursing Practice: Post-Masters degree. Up to 15 credits you earn for your 37-credit MSN: Nursing Informatics can be applied toward your DNP: Post-Master’s degree.
- Meet the content and minimum hour requirements that allow you to sit for the Nursing Informatics Certification Exam.
Students of all genders are welcome in the program.
Tuition/Financial Aid/Scholarships
Nurses working in many regional health systems are eligible for the St. Catherine University corporate partner scholarship. Students will also be considered for alumni, diversity and academic achievement scholarships.
Format: Online classes
Completion time: Two and three-year plans of study
Credits: 37
Cost per credit (2022–2023): $745
Start: Fall (2022), Spring (2023), Summer (2023)
Sample Plan of Study - Two Years (37 credits)
Year 1
Fall Semester
Foundations for Advanced Practice Nursing (3 cr.)
Introduction to Biostatistics (3 cr.)
J-Term
Nurse Informatician as Change Agent (Seminar & Practicum) (1 cr.)
Spring Semester
Applied Healthcare Database Principles (3 cr.)
Informatics for Advanced Practice Nursing (3 cr.)
Summer Semester
Evidence Based Practice (3)
Advanced Outcome and Evaluation Measurement (3 cr.)
Year 2
Fall Semester
Leading Healthcare Quality Improvement (3 cr.)
Population Health Informatics (3 cr.)
J-Term
Enacting Change as a Nurse Informatician (1 cr.)
Spring Semester
Nursing Data to Wisdom (3 cr.)
Leadership for Advanced Nursing Practice (2 cr.)
Summer Semester
Capstone (3 cr.)
Innovation and Technology for Teaching (2 cr.)
Sample Three-Year Plan of Study (37 credits)
Year 1
Spring Semester
Foundations for Advanced Practice Nursing (3 cr.)
Introduction to Biostatistics (3 cr.)
Summer Semester
Informatics for Advanced Practice Nursing (3 cr.)
Fall Semester
Evidence Based Practice (3 cr.)
Leadership for Advanced Nursing Practice (2 cr.)
J-term
Nurse Informatician as Change Agent (Seminar & Practicum) (1 cr.)
Year 2
Spring Semester
Advanced Outcome and Evaluation Measurement (3 cr.)
Applied Healthcare Database Principles (3 cr.)
Summer
Innovation and Technology for Teaching (2 cr.)
Fall
Leading Healthcare Quality Improvement (3 cr.)
Population Health (3 cr.)
J-term
Enacting Change as a Nurse Informatician (1 cr.)
Year 3
Spring Semester
Nursing Data to Wisdom (3 cr.)
Summer
Capstone (3 cr.)
Career Outlook
Our contemporary curriculum prepares you to practice in a variety of settings ranging from academia and healthcare industry to biotech and pharma roles.
Graduates from this program find roles such as:
- Clinical Informatics Analyst
- Clinical or Healthcare Informatics
- Quality Assurance or Quality Improvement Specialist
- Nursing Informatics Specialist
- Healthcare or Business Data Analyst
Strong salary outlook and high rates of job satisfaction are reported by the 2020 HIMSS reports, with nearly half of respondents reporting an annual salary over $100,000. Burning Glass reports a 9.1% ten-year growth trend in nursing informatics. Health systems, insurers and medical technology companies are increasingly relying on nurse informaticists to improve nursing care.
Accreditation
St. Catherine University nursing programs are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). A request for the approval of the MSN: Nursing Informatics program of study has been submitted to ACEN. Updates will be posted on this page as they become available.