Connecticut ranks highly among U.S. states for quality of life. Not only does it earn high marks for health care, but the state also ranks highly for education – a perfect blend if you’re interested in pursuing an education as a nursing informaticist.
Beyond these qualities, Connecticut offers beautiful landscapes, a diverse population, and close proximity to New York City. That means you can enjoy the amenities of one of the greatest cities in the world but without having to pay to live there!
Connecticut’s higher education system includes small and large schools, public and private schools, and many different degree options to prepare you for a career in nursing informatics.
Nursing Informatics Programs in Connecticut
Below are popular schools offering nursing informatics programs in Connecticut:
- Yale University
- Grand Canyon University
- Fairfield University
- Wake Forest University
- Sacred Heart University
- University of Saint Joseph
Yale University
Yale University has global name recognition, and for good reason. The school is a consistent member of top-10 lists in the United States and throughout the globe. Yale ranks third among national universities, third among best value schools, and first among colleges for veterans. It’s also among the most innovative schools in the country.
Founded in 1701, Yale has a long history of academic excellence. The university is organized into over a dozen schools and colleges and offers dozens of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs in various disciplines.
As one of about 14,000 students at Yale, you will learn from highly-esteemed faculty and with a diverse student body that comes from all corners of the nation and well over 100 countries worldwide.
Nursing Informatics Program Information
The Master of Science in Health Informatics from the Yale School of Public Health is a 14-course program that takes two years of full-time studies to complete (part-time enrollment is not allowed). The curriculum is divided into two segments – the first year of studies focuses on survey courses in health informatics. In contrast, the second year of studies focuses more on technical topics and skills mastery.
Of the 14 courses needed to graduate, ten are required and four are electives. Some of the required courses you will take include:
- Population and Public Health Informatics
- Topics in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science
- Frontiers of Public Health
- Clinical Database Management Systems and Ontologies
- Computational Methods for Informatics
This program also requires you to complete a capstone, which is a summative assessment that integrates your learning throughout the program in the context of an applied informatics project.
You must have an undergraduate degree in health, math, statistics, or computer science to apply to this program. Alternatively, you can apply with a master’s degree in a related field. GRE scores are no longer required as part of the application process for this program.
Fairfield University
Fairfield University was founded in 1942 as a private Jesuit college. It’s a small school with an enrollment of around 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students. However, the student body is extremely diverse, with representation from 40 states and 45 countries around the globe.
With highly experienced faculty – 87 percent of whom have a terminal degree – you can learn in a rich and diverse environment.
The university’s campus is nestled on 200 beautiful acres along the Connecticut coast. You can enjoy the beach, swimming, fishing, and many other recreational opportunities when you aren’t in class.
New York City is just 60 minutes away, and the ski resorts of New England are within a few hours’ drive from campus.
Nursing Informatics Program Information
Fairfield University’s Master of Science in Nursing Leadership specializes in nursing informatics. The 39-credit program requires three years to complete and includes courses like:
- Advanced Healthcare Policy
- Research Methods for Evidence-Based Practice
- Epidemiology and Biostatistics
- Advanced Health Assessment
- Advanced Pharmacology
As is typical for programs like this, nursing informatics practica are also required. The two required practicum experiences take place during the final semester of the program’s third year. During the practica, you will work in a field setting under the supervision of an experienced nurse informaticist and gain valuable real-world training.
As a graduate of this program, you can sit for the Informatics Nursing Certification Exam. Likewise, you will have the necessary qualifications to pursue nursing informatics and related informatics careers in the healthcare industry.
You can apply to this program online, provided you have a bachelor’s degree in nursing from a regionally-accredited institution (preferably with a 3.0 GPA or higher) and a current, valid registered nurse license. You must also submit the following:
- An essay in which you discuss your professional goals, how this degree will help you achieve those goals, and discuss a problem in the field that has significant impacts on patient care
- A resume
- Official transcripts from all colleges and universities you have attended
- Two recommendation forms and recommendation letters (one must be from a current professor or supervisor)
- A copy of your RN license that shows you’re eligible to practice in Connecticut
Sacred Heart University
Sacred Heart University is an independent Catholic school founded in 1963. Today, the university has nearly 11,000 students studying at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels.
As a student at Sacred Heart, you will learn in intimate classroom settings where classes average 23 students. Better still, the campus’ student-to-faculty ratio is just 16:1.
Though Sacred Heart is a relatively small school, you can choose from a host of programs. In fact, the school offers nearly 90 degrees and programs as well as certificates and online learning options. This includes several accelerated bachelor’s and master’s degrees for students that wish to complete their studies on a shorter timetable.
Nursing Informatics Program Information
Sacred Heart’s Master of Science in Healthcare Informatics is a 36-credit program that takes about two years to complete. You can enroll in the program on campus or online. Either way, you will take required courses, including:
- Healthcare Operations
- Clinical and Business Intelligence
- Electronic Health Records
- Population Health
- Advanced Health Data Analytics
Additionally, you must take three elective courses. These classes offer a range of concentrations, from project management to legal aspects of informatics to database design.
This program also requires that you complete a capstone project. This project requires extensive research in a healthcare information systems-related area and allows you to utilize what you have learned in the program to address a real-world problem. The capstone occurs during the last semester of the program after you have completed the program’s required core coursework.
To apply, you need a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. You must also have two years or more of healthcare informatics experience or experience in information technology. Applications must be accompanied by the following:
- A personal statement describing your career goals and how this program would help you achieve those goals
- A resume or curriculum vitae
- Two letters of recommendation
- TOEFL or IELTS scores (if English is not your native language)
University of Saint Joseph
The University of Saint Joseph was founded in 1932 in West Hartford, Connecticut, by the Sisters of Mercy. USJ is a private Roman Catholic school that offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. This includes more than two dozen undergraduate majors, five graduate degree options, and several professional and doctoral programs. All told, there are more than 50 academic programs.
USJ is a small school, yet it has garnered various accolades. U.S. News & World Report ranks USJ as the best value school in Connecticut, the second-best university in Connecticut, and the second-best school for social mobility.
USJ’s nursing program also ranks among the best in the state. This is due in part to small class sizes, an 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio, and ample opportunities to participate in research, clinical placements, or other experiential learning activities.
Nursing Informatics Program Information
The Health Informatics Graduate Certificate from USJ is an online program that requires just 12 credits to complete. Each class is seven or eight weeks long, and you take one course at a time. The four required classes are as follows:
- Introduction to Health Informatics
- Electronic Health Records
- Health Database Design and Management
- Health Data Mining
By completing this coursework, you will develop essential healthcare informatics skills, including those in the organizational, problem-solving, communication, and analytical realms. Likewise, you will gain expertise in the regulations pertaining to healthcare information systems and the health data contained within those systems.
With the knowledge and skills you gain in this program, you will have the informatics background needed for healthcare leadership positions, careers in healthcare IT, and careers in the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, to name a few.
To apply, you must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited college or university. You must also provide the following:
- Two letters of recommendation
- A resume or curriculum vitae
- Official transcripts from each college or university you’ve attended
Nursing Informatics Work Opportunities in Connecticut
Connecticut represents a unique opportunity for working in nursing informatics because you can work out of state just as easily as you can in state.
For example, since Connecticut is such a small state, you might live in Hartford but commute to work in a major hospital in New York City. Likewise, you might work for healthcare facilities in Rhode Island or southern Massachusetts.
Of course, there are many opportunities for work within Connecticut’s borders. For example, there are five hospitals in Hartford alone and more than three dozen hospitals or medical campuses in the state. Any of these institutions might have job openings for a nurse informaticist, health informaticist, or medical informaticist.
Other employment options as a nurse informaticist include those in smaller healthcare facilities like community health clinics, medical clinics, and physician’s offices. These smaller–scale operations can benefit just as much from health informatics data as large hospitals. For example, you might provide insightful information about a health clinic’s patient intake system that leads to a more streamlined, patient-centered approach to intake.
As another example, you might use your informatics background to examine bottlenecks in the treatment process for patients at an outpatient medical clinic. By identifying hangups in the process, you can help clinics devise improved approaches for delivering care. As a result, you can assist in improving patient outcomes as well.
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