Nursing Informatics Programs and Schools in Oklahoma
Oklahoma’s location in the heart of the country makes it part of the crossroads of the nation – the gateway from east to west, north to south. It’s also a crossroads in many other ways, from the oil fields of Texas to the south and the farms of Kansas to the north, the Ozark mountains of Arkansas to the east and the high plains of north Texas to the west.
Oklahoma is as diverse a state as there is, with a large population of indigenous Americans living in their own nations within the state’s borders. The economic landscape is also diverse, with minerals, farming, medical services, and technology just a few of the industries that call the Sooner State home.
The educational opportunities vary widely in Oklahoma as well. From large state universities like Oklahoma State to small, local community colleges and universities like Cameron University in Lawton, you have your pick of experiences to pursue. Below are a few suggestions to consider as you look for a nursing informatics program in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma State University (OSU)
Oklahoma State University was founded on Christmas Day in 1890 as the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College. Its location in Stillwater, about halfway between Oklahoma City and Tulsa – the state’s two largest cities – offered easy access to students throughout the state.
Over the years, OSU has grown into one of the premier land-grant universities in the nation, with nearly 25,000 students from all 50 states and 100 countries around the world.
OSU offers hundreds of programs for undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students. The university is organized into seven academic colleges, a veterinary school, and a school for osteopathic medicine. With thousands of expert faculty and a student-to-faculty ratio of 20:1, you can expect to get a high-quality education that prepares you for whatever occupational goals you may have.
Nursing Informatics Program Information
Oklahoma State’s Graduate Certificate in Health Analytics is available in person at the Stillwater campus or online. The program was designed to provide healthcare professionals with a greater degree of knowledge in the health analytics field.
The program includes four courses – three required classes and one elective. The required courses include:
- Survey of Health Care Administration
- Descriptive Analytics and Visualization
- Predictive Analytics Technologies
You can choose among the following electives:
- Prescriptive Analytics
- Analytics Programming (R & Python)
- Data Warehousing
- Big Data Analytics Technologies
Upon completing these requirements, you will be ready to provide input, enabling health organizations to improve decision-making regarding programs, services, and patient care.
Admissions requirements are as follows: Complete an application for admission, submit transcripts from your bachelor’s degree studies, and submit a curriculum vitae or resume. Letters of recommendation, a personal statement, and GRE scores are not required.
University of Oklahoma (OU)
Like Oklahoma State University, the University of Oklahoma was founded in 1890, seventeen years before Oklahoma became a state. OU’s location south of Oklahoma City in Norman made it a convenient option for people in the growing city to obtain a higher education.
The area and the university grew quickly, however. Today, OU is the largest university in the state, with nearly 29,000 students, most of which study on campus in Norman.
The University of Oklahoma is a Tier 1 Carnegie research institution. It also offers more than 170 different programs of study for undergraduate and graduate students. This includes programs in law and medicine. With small class sizes that average 32 students and a student-to-faculty ratio of 20:1, OU offers you the opportunity to learn in small learning communities led by experienced and dedicated professors.
Nursing Informatics Program Information
OU’s College of Professional and Continuing Studies offers an Undergraduate Certificate in Health Informatics, which is available online. The program aims to provide health professionals and related workers with insights into the power of health informatics. The knowledge and skills you gain in this program enable you to successfully implement interventions in healthcare settings that lead to improved outcomes.
There are five courses required for this 15-credit certificate. They include:
- The Social and Technical Context of Health Informatics
- Leading Change in Health Informatics
- The Outcomes and Interventions of Health Informatics
- The Data Science of Health Informatics
- Culminating Project in Health Informatics
Over the course of your studies, you will learn how to identify and address health informatics problems. You’ll also learn how to design solutions to these problems that support improved decision-making processes in the healthcare space.
This is an introductory program that takes around five months to complete. This includes the time needed to finish an applied learning project that addresses health informatics interventions.
Northeastern State University (NSU)
Northeastern State University is a small regional school in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. With just over 7,000 students, NSU offers an intimate campus experience where you can make strong connections with your classmates and professors alike. The small class sizes – 85 percent of undergraduate courses have fewer than 30 students – help facilitate relationships with your peers and professors as well.
Despite being a smaller school, NSU offers a host of majors and programs. This includes nearly 60 undergraduate degrees and more than two dozen graduate programs. As the state’s fourth-largest public four-year college and a member of the Regional University System of Oklahoma, NSU’s reach extends far beyond Tahlequah.
Nursing Informatics Program Information
The Master of Science in Nursing Informatics from Northeastern State is a fully online program designed with maximum flexibility in mind. With seven start dates throughout the year and accelerated seven-week courses, you have the power to get an education with minimal disruption to your work and home lives.
The program requires you to complete 32 credits to graduate. Full-time students can complete these requirements in about one year. During that time, you will study topics like:
- Foundations of Nursing Informatics Practice
- System Design Life Cycle
- Data Management and Healthcare Technology
- Leadership Development for the Advanced Nursing Professional
- Issues & Trends in Professional Nursing
Additional requirements include a capstone project that synthesizes your learning in the program and a practicum in which you work with a mentor and gain 200 hours of field experience.
Strict admissions requirements apply. They include:
- Complete an application for admission
- Hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from a nationally-accredited nursing program at a regionally-accredited college
- Have a minimum 2.5 GPA for your undergraduate studies as shown on official transcripts
- Have a current, unencumbered RN license
Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Oklahoma Wesleyan University is a private, non-profit Christian school in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The school was founded in 1905 on 27 acres where the main campus resides today. The campus is home to fewer than 1,000 students, making this university one of the smallest in the state.
As a student at Oklahoma Wesleyan, you can explore nearly 40 academic programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Some programs require you to study on campus, while others are offered entirely online. Either way, you can enjoy a nine-to-one student-to-faculty ratio that assures you of getting the individual attention you need to succeed.
Nursing Informatics Program Information
At Oklahoma Wesleyan University, you can get your Master of Science in Nursing online. Better still, you can focus your studies on nursing informatics, which is one of three specializations offered in the program (the other two being Nursing Administration and Nursing Education).
This program is designed for experienced nurses who want to advance their careers even further. If this describes your situation, you’ll find that the knowledge and skills you acquire in this program are highly valuable for achieving your goals.
You will study many different nursing informatics-related topics and do so in a one-class-at-a-time format. Each course is eight weeks long, so you can explore topics in detail without being overwhelmed by taking multiple classes at the same time. Most students complete the 33-credit program in about two years.
You can apply to this program online. General admissions requirements include having an undergraduate GPA of 2.0 or higher. Other requirements may apply.
Nursing Informatics Work Opportunities in Oklahoma
Oklahoma is rich in opportunities for nursing informaticists who want to make a difference in the lives of their patients. On the one hand, you can pursue employment at a major hospital in Oklahoma City or Tulsa, where you can help direct policy development that results in improved patient outcomes.
On the other hand, you might find work at one of the many rural hospitals in Oklahoma. Using nursing informatics in this setting can make a significant, positive difference in the quality of services and the programs that small hospitals offer to rural patients.
Of course, non-clinical work is also a possibility in Oklahoma. You might find yourself working at the state capital in Oklahoma City, where you provide insights into health care policy at the state level. Alternatively, you might work in an academic setting at one of the dozens of community colleges and four-year institutions spread throughout the state.
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