Informatics Nursing Concentration

Fairfield University’s Master of Science in Nursing Leadership with a concentration in Informatics Nursing is an advanced education nurse generalist degree created in response to an urgent call for better patient outcomes and improved coordination in the delivery of healthcare setting. Informatics, a rapidly growing area in healthcare, is multidisciplinary field that integrates nursing science and information science to deliver high quality healthcare. The program will provide nurses with the opportunity to apply informatics theory in the clinical setting through clinical practicum experiences in a variety of health care settings. Students in the program will have access to faculty for advisement and will be able to participate in practicum clinical hours. Graduates of this program meet all the qualifications to register for the national Informatics Nursing Certification Exam.

This is the perfect concentration for graduate-level nurses with diverse career specialties, professional goals and personal interests.

What Is Informatics Nursing?

Nursing informatics is a specialty that began to formally emerge in the 1990s and in 2015, the American Nurses Association articulated the scope and standards of practice. As defined by Nursing Informatics: Scope and Standards of Practice, nursing informatics is the "integrates nursing science with multiple information and analytical sciences to identify, define, manage and communicate data, information, knowledge and wisdom in nursing practice."

While this is an area that will continue to grow and develop, there are many developing opportunities to develop, design and optimize systems that utilize technology in healthcare. This new concentration in Informatics Nursing has been created for the forward thinking innovative nurse leader who wants to improve patient care and outcomes with technology. Partnering with experts in informatics, analytics and computer engineering in the Dolan School of Business and School of Engineering at Fairfield University, Fairfield University’s Master of Science in Nursing—Nursing Leadership with a concentration in Informatics Nursing has been designed with the future of patient care in mind. Taught by leaders and experts in the area of Informatics, students will have the opportunity to learn cutting edge skills that will support a career in Informatics Nursing. Bridging the gap between theory and practice, students will have dedicated field experiences that will support their learning and provide an opportunity to network with leaders in Healthcare Informatics. This is the only program in the state to offer this time of “hands on” learning experiences in the field for Informatics students. Our program is carefully designed to also allow emerging nurse leaders the opportunity for career advancement by preparing them for the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Informatics Nursing examination.