Nursing Informatics

Nursing Informatics Competencies, Delphi, 2002

The Nursing Informatics Program at the University of Utah was initiated by the College of Nursing in 1990 to meet a need to prepare nurses in the then emerging field of nursing informatics. With an unprecedented national focus on improving patient safety by increasing the use of information systems in all health care agencies, the demand for informatics nurse who are prepared to assist with the development and implementation of information systems in clinical practice is accelerating. With its long-standing experience in and commitment to informatics, the University of Utah Nursing Informatics program is poised to prepare nurses to meet those demands in a unique and rich informatics environment.

The Nursing Informatics Program is a collaborative partner with the University of Utah's Medical Informatics program, a national Library of Medicine-funded research program in informatics. Faculty resources, courses and projects are shared by students from the two programs. The NI program is housed in the new, state-of-the-art student-centered, interprofessional education building. Nursing and Medical Informatics students and faculty share physical space in the Informatics Suite on the fifth floor of the building. Computer support for Nursing Informatics students is state-of-the art. The space within the informatics suite is available to students 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The University of Utah is located at the center of cutting-edge informatics activities in all areas of the health sciences. A national leader in the distribution of knowledge via the World Wide Web and other internet technologies, the Eccles Health Science Library provides support to the informatics programs. Major healthcare facilities within the Salt Lake Valley have or are deploying clinical information systems, providing many opportunities for student experiences in informatics.

The LDS Hospital, with a greater than 20 year history in developing and managing a patient-data-based information system (HELP), supports real time clinical decision making. The University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics are installing several clinical systems within a growing physical plant that includes new orthopedic, eye and cancer institutes. Clinical opportunities available to Nursing Informatics students involve information system analysis, selection, design, implementation, and evaluation. Experts in vocabulary, decision support, and public health informatics are also available to students.

A full-time and part-time program of study as well as a Post-master's Certificate are available.

Nursing Informatics Competencies, Delphi, 2002