2017 Nursing

Informatics
Workforce
Survey
February 2017
About

• Since 2004, HIMSS has surveyed the nursing

informatics community to gain an understanding of the
roles and responsibilities of the informatics nurse
professional. 

• This survey captures current professional status and

practice trends while identifying changes that have
occurred over the last 13 years in the nursing
informatics workforce.
Nursing Informatics Defined

• Nursing informatics (NI) is the specialty that integrates nursing

science with multiple information and analytical sciences to
identify, define, manage, and communicate data, information,
knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice. NI supports nurses,
consumers, patients, the interprofessional healthcare team, and
other stakeholders in their decision-making in all roles and
settings to achieve desired outcomes. This support is
accomplished through the use of information structures,
information processes, and information technology
- Nursing Informatics: Scope and Standards of Practice, 2nd
Edition, ANA 2015
Number of Respondents

• A total of 1,279 valid responses were received and

will be covered in the following analysis.
• In contrast, the 2007 survey received a total of 660
useable responses.
 Collaborating Organizations

• Alliance for Nursing Informatics (ANI)

• American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)
• American Nursing Informatics Association (ANIA)
• American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE)
• Association of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition
Nurses (APGNN)
• Association of Peri Operative Registered Nurses (AORN)
• National Council State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN)
• Society of Gastroenterology Nurses & Associates (SGNA)
 Key Takeaways

Education
• 57% of respondents have a post-graduate degree
• 41% of respondents planned to pursue additional informatics education and training
• Increase of almost 3 percentage points between the 2014 and 2017 in the number of
respondents who had obtained a post-graduate degree in nursing informatics or other
informatics
• 49% hold some type of certification
• 51% of respondents indicated that they would be pursuing some type of certification within
the next year

Nursing and Informatics Background

• 50% work at a Magnet designated hospital, a 9 percentage point increase from 2014
• Those with 1 to 5 years of clinical bedside experience decreased from 20% in 2014 to 16%
in 2017
– Perhaps suggesting that even as hospitals move from the EHR implementation phase,
nurses are continuing in their informatics roles.
 Key Takeaways

On-the-job
• 46% of respondents indicated a salary of over $100,000
• Increases from 2014 in the number of respondents in each salary range over $100,000
• 58% of respondents indicated that they were satisfied or highly satisfied with their current position
• Majority of respondents (80%) were also satisfied or highly satisfied with their career choice in
informatics
– Respondents seemed to be quite satisfied with their choice of career in informatics but not as satisfied with
the current position they hold.
• 64% of respondents do not have a supervisory role and there are no individuals who report to them, a
decrease from 67% in 2014
– Respondents’ roles may be over larger departments or departments which are adding staff
• Job responsibilities continue to include systems implementation and utilization/optimization. While systems
development is still in the top three job responsibilities, the percent working in this area decreased
from 38% in 2014 to 31% in 2017
• Lack of administrative support as a top barrier increased from 17% in 2014 to 21% in 2017
• While lack of administrative support and a lack of staffing resources were the primary barriers faced over the
last two surveys, there has been a shift in the identified barriers to success as a nurse informaticist. In
2004 and 2007, the lack of financial resources was the top barrier while in 2011 it was the lack of integration
and interoperability.
 Top Respondent Titles

Nursing Informatics Specialist 20%

23%
Director of Clinical Informatics 7%
1%
Clinical Analyst 5%
7%
Consultant 4%
4%
Clinical Informatics Specialist 3%
2%
Nurse Educator/Instructor 3%
3%
Application Analyst 3%
6%
Clinical Applications Specialist 3%
3%
Associate Professor/Professor 2%
1%
Project Manager 2%
2%
Chief Nursing Informatics Officer 2%
2%

2017 Results 2014 Results

 Workplace
42%
Hospital 58%
48%
Multi-facility Health System, not otherwise 15%
described* n/a
n/a
7%
Health System 13%
20%
9%
Academic Setting 7%
9%
8%
Government/Military 4%
4%
4%
Vendor 4%
5%
3%
Consulting Firm 4%
5%
2%
Ambulatory Care 3%
2%
5%
Other 3%
5%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

* New selection option for 2017 survey
 Workplace Type

Not-for-Profit 71%

For Profit 26%

Do Not Know 3%

2017 Results

New Question for 2017 survey

 Hospital Magnet Status

50%
Yes
41%

43%
No
55%

8%
Do Not Know
7%

2017 Results 2014 Results

 Geographic Region
19%
South Atlantic 21%
20%
15%
Pacific 16%
12%
14%
East North Central 14%
18%
12%
Mid-Atlantic 11%
20%
9%
West North Central 10%
8%
9%
West South Central 9%
6%
8%
New England 8%
9%
8%
Mountain 6%
6%
5%
East South Central 5%
6%
2%
Outside the United States 1%
3%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

 Advanced Practice Registered Nurse

10%
Yes
12%

89%
No
86%

2%
Do Not Know
2%

2017 Results 2014 Results

 Nursing Experience
45%
Medical/Surgical 44%
43%
44%
Critical Care 38%
44%
24%
Administration 26%
32%
20%
Emergency 20%
24%
15%
Pediatric 16%
15%
14%
Quality Improvement 13%
12%
12%
Ambulatory Clinic 13%
10%
9%
Oncology 12%
9%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

 Years of Clinical Experience
26%
More than 20 years 28%
31%
16%
16 to 20 years 13%
15%
17%
11 to 15 years 15%
20%
22%
6 to 10 years 21%
22%
16%
1 to 5 years 20%
12%
2%
Less than 1 year 4%
n/a

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

 Years of Informatics Experience
31%
More than 10 years 25%
39%
20%
7 to 10 years 21%
10%
16%
5 to 6 years 13%
15%
15%
3 to 4 years 17%
14%
9%
1 to 2 years 16%
13%
8%
Less than 1 year 8%
8%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

 Years in Current Position

31%
More than 5 years 24%
26%
35%
3 to 5 years 29%
30%
24%
1 to 2 years 32%
26%
11%
Less than 1 year 15%
18%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

 Percent of Time Spent on Clinical Activities

71%
None 77%
77%
21%
Less than 25% 17%
19%
4%
26% to 50% 2%
2%
2%
51% to 75% 1%
1%
2%
More than 75% 3%
2%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

 Nursing Education
42%
Bachelor's in Nursing 42%
42%
23%
Master's Degree in Nursing Informatics n/a
n/a
22%
Master's in Nursing 41%
35%
14%
Other Master's 18%
24%
9%
Other Bachelor's 11%
13%
3%
Doctor of Nursing Practice 3%
1%
5%
Master's Degree in Other Informatics n/a
n/a
2%
PhD in Nursing 2%
1%
2%
Licensed Practical Nurse 2%
1%
1%
PhD in Nursing Informatics n/a
n/a
1%
Nurse Practitioner 1%
1%
1%
Other PhD 1%
3%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

Selection options expanded for 2017 survey. Added Master’s in Nursing Informatics, Master’s in Other
Informatics and PhD in Nursing Informatics
 Post-Graduate Nursing Education
2007 Compared to 2017

23%
Master's in Nursing Informatics
n/a
22%
Master's in Nursing
33%
14%
Other Master's
21%
5%
Master's in Other Informatics
n/a
2%
PhD in Nursing
4%
1%
Other PhD
2%
1%
PhD in Nursing Informatics
n/a

2017 Results 2007 Results

Selection options expanded for 2017 survey. Added Master’s in Nursing Informatics, Master’s in Other
Informatics and PhD in Nursing Informatics
 Prior Informatics Education/Training

56%
On-the-Job Training 58%
15%
31%
Master's/PhD 28%
21%
29%
Program/Course 26%
n/a
20%
Certificate 19%
15%
1%
Bachelors 1%
3%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

 Prior Informatics Education/Training
On-the-Job Training Only

28%

On-the-Job Training

34%

2017 Results 2014 Results

 Current Informatics Education/Training

24%
On-the-Job Training 23%
26%
5%
Master's/PhD 9%
11%
5%
Certificate 5%
7%
6%
Program/Course 4%
n/a
1%
Bachelor's 1%
1%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

 Certification Held

27%
ANCC 23%
19%
6%
CPHIMS 6%
4%
17%
Other Nursing Specialty 17%
9%
51%
None 52%
55%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

Certification and Degree Level

36%
ANCC
13%

8%
CPHIMS
3%

43%
No Certification
63%

Post Graduate Degree No Post Graduate Degree

New Role with Greater Responsibility Since
Becoming Certified

Yes 40%

No 60%

2017 Results

New Survey Question added to 2017.

 Perceived Value in Holding Certification

85%
Personal Satisfaction 86%
79%
Enhances Credibility/Marketability 85%
Validates Specialized Knowledge 71%
74%
60%
Enhances Confidence
60%
57%
Competitive Advantage 58%
Indicates Attainment of Practice/Clinical Standard 53%
56%
Professional Advancement 50%
49%
41%
Recognition from Peers 44%
Recognition from Employer 35%
41%
24%
Prestigious Image 26%

2017 Results 2014 Results

Percentage of respondents with certification
 Impact of Certification to Career Path

Highly Impactful (6 to 7) 47%

Impactful (4 to 5) 35%

Not at all Impactful (1 to 3) 18% Average

4.96
2017 Results

New Survey Question added to 2017. Respondents asked to use a scale of one to seven,
where one is not at all impactful and seven is highly impactful.
Time Frame Role Changed After Achieving
Certification

0 to 6 months 31%

7 to 12 months 25%

13 to 18 months 10%

19 to 24 months 7%

24+ months 27%

2017 Results

New Survey Question added to 2017.

 Nursing Informatics Certification Pursuing

32%
ANCC 37%
35%
14%
CPHIMS 18%
17%
5%
PMP 6%
3%
3%
Other Nursing Specialty 5%
4%
4%
CAHIMS 4%
0%
49%
None 43%
42%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

 Top Barrier to Certification
50%
Lack of time
45%
25%
Lack of financial resources
18%
6%
Lack of employer/executive support
7%
5%
Cannot maintain CE requirements
5%
3%
Hold another certification(s)
5%
2%
Not interested
6%

2017 Results 2014 Results

 Department to Which You Report
49%
IS/IT 53%
52%
32%
Nursing 30%
32%
28%
Administration/Corporate Headquarters 21%
22%
11%
Quality Improvement 31%
6%
10%
Corportate Headquarters 10%
n/a
9%
Education Department 6%
6%
4%
Implementation 4%
5%
3%
Software Design 3%
2%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

 Total Number of Reports
(direct & indirect)
64%
None 67%
0.61
15%
1 to 5 14%
0.25
6%
6 to 10 7%
NA
2%
11 to 15 3%
NA
3%
16 to 20 2%
NA
11%
More than 20 7%
NA

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

 Senior Nursing Informatics Executive (CNIO) at
Organization

32%
Yes
30%

60%
No
67%

4%
Do Not Know
3%

2017 Results 2014 Results

 Reporting Structure for Senior NI Executive

28%
CNO/Nursing Executive
41%
25%
CIO/IT Executive
25%
12%
CEO/Administrator
15%
9%
Other
7%
10%
CMO/CMIO/Physician Executive
16%
14%
Do Not Know
17%
2%
COO/Operations Executive
4%

2017 Results 2014 Results

2014 study allowed respondents to select more than one as compared to 2017 which allowed one selection
 Job Responsibilities
40%
Systems Implementation 43%
57%
36%
System Optimization/Utilization 39%
n/a
31%
Systems Development 38%
53%
28%
Clinical Analytics 29%
n/a
25%
Quality Initiatives/Reporting 22%
31%
26%
Informatics Education 22%
23%
17%
Liaison/Communicator 22%
23%
14%
Regulatory Initiatives 16%
n/a

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

 Applications Currently
Developing/Implementing/Optimizing
71%
Nursing Clinical Documentation 80%
77%
55%
EMR/EHR 69%
62%
41%
CPOE 62%
60%
47%
Non-Nursing Clinical Documentation 59%
56%
38%
Clinical Information Systems 55%
58%
33%
eMAR 51%
48%
26%
Bar Coded Medication Management 41%
41%
37%
Point-of-Care CDS 36%
33%
31%
Quality Improvement/Risk Management 36%
30%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

 Application Experience (Background)
92%
Nursing Clinical Documentation 94%
91%
83%
EMR/EHR 84%
76%
75%
CPOE 81%
72%
67%
Non-Nursing Clinical Documentation 74%
68%
67%
eMAR 73%
65%
63%
Clinical Information Systems 71%
72%
57%
Bar Coded Medication Management 62%
48%
49%
Quality Improvement/Risk Management 49%
49%
44%
Point-of-Care CDS 48%
41%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

 Top Barrier to Success as a Nurse Informaticist

Administrative Support 21%

17%
Staffing Resources 13%
14%
Organizational Strategic Plan 12%
12%
Financial Resources 11%
12%
Infrastructure 9%
6%
User Acceptance 7%
7%
Integration/Interoperability 7%
10%
Time Management 6%
5%
Software Architecture/Design 5%
6%
Regulations e.g. Meaningful Use, HIPAA, MACRA 3%
2%
Technology 1%
1%

2017 Results 2014 Results

Percent of respondents who rated option as the top/largest barrier.
 Job Satisfaction in Current Position

58%
Highly Satisfied (6 to 7)
57%

33%
Somewhat Satisfied (4 to 5)
33%

9%
2017 2014
Average Average
Not Satisfied (1 to 3)
10% 5.5 5.4

2017 Results 2014 Results

Respondents asked to use a scale of one to seven, where one is not at all satisfied and seven is highly satisfied.
 Job Satisfaction in Informatics Career Choice

80%
Highly Satisfied (6 to 7)
81%

16%
Somewhat Satisfied (4 to 5)
17%
2017 2014
Average Average
4%
6.2 6.2
Not Satisfied (1 to 3)
3%

2017 Results 2014 Results

Respondents asked to use a scale of one to seven, where one is not at all satisfied and seven is highly satisfied.
 Sources of Information for Day-to-Day Activities

68%
Networking with Peers 70%
69%
64%
Websites 70%
73%
61%
Professional Organizations* n/a
n/a
53%
Electronic Journals n/a 50%
46%
Association Newsletters 46%
55%
32%
List Serves 44%
56%
21%
Print Journals 23%
59%
17%
Internal Help Desk 21%
31%
18%
Blogs 20%
27%
19%
Social Networking 18%
16%
14%
Books 17%
37%
13%
eBooks n/a 17%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

* New selection option for 2017 survey
 Types of Sources of Information for
Day-to-Day Activities

87%
Digital Sources
90%

72%
In-Person
75%

72%
Non-digital Sources
61%

2017 Results 2014 Results

Selection options expanded for 2014 survey. Note Percentages greater than 100 because respondents can select more than one option.
 Sources of Information for Continuing Education

64%
Audio Conferences/Webinars 69%
68%
47%
Online Course work 52%
48%
49%
National Conferences 47%
58%
39%
Websites 44%
58%
39%
Programs Offered by My Employer 42%
44%
37%
Local/Regional Events 40%
52%
38%
Journals 39%
61%
16%
University Programs 17%
26%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

 Benefits and Non-Salary Compensation

87%
401(k)/403(b) 89%
86%
85%
Medical/Dental Insurance 86%
88%
78%
Life Insurance 80%
81%
61%
Long-Term Disability 65%
66%
57%
Tuition Reimbursment 62%
66%
58%
Short Term Disability 60%
54%
52%
Healthcare Savings Account 49%
48%
34%
Bonus 29%
34%
8%
Money Purchase Plan 9%
7%
6%
Profit Sharing 5%
4%

2017 Results 2014 Results 2011 Results

 Salary Range

Above $200,000 2%
2%
$186,000 to $200,000 1%
1%
$161,000 to $185,000 3%
2%
$146,000 to $160,000 5%
4%
$131,000 to $145,000 6%
4%
$116,000 to $130,000 8%
7%
$101,000 to $115,000 20%
13%
$86,000 to $100,000 25%
26%
$61,000 to $85,000 24%
28%
$46,000 to $60,000 4%
5%
$30,000 to $45,000 0% 2%

2017 Results 2014 Results

Question asked for salary range only starting in 2017
 Salary Range & Certification
Above $200,000 4%
1%
$186,000 - $200,000 2%
1%
$161,000 - $185,000 4%
3%
$146,000 - $160,000 7%
4%
$131,000 - $145,000 7%
5%
$116,000 - $130,000 10%
6%
$101,000 - $115,000 22%
17%
$86,000 - $100,000 22%
27%
$61,000 - $85,000 19%
28%
$46,000 - $60,000 3%
5%
$30,000 - $45,000 1%
2%

Certification Held No Certification Held

Question asked for salary range only starting in 2017
 Salary Range & Education
Above $200,000 3%
0%
$186,000 - $200,000 0% 2%
$161,000 - $185,000 5%
1%
$146,000 - $160,000 7%
2%
$131,000 - $145,000 7%
4%
$116,000 - $130,000 9%
7%
$101,000 - $115,000 20%
20%
$86,000 - $100,000 24%
25%
$61,000 - $85,000 20%
32%
$46,000 - $60,000 2%
6%
$30,000 - $45,000 1%
2%

Post Graduate Degree No Post Graduate Degree

Question asked for salary range only starting in 2017
Download the Survey Results

www.himss.org/ni