TY - JOUR
T1 - What Industry Wants
T2 - An Empirical Analysis of Health Informatics Job Postings
AU - McLane, Tara M.
AU - Hoyt, Robert
AU - Hodge, Chad
AU - Weinfurter, Elizabeth
AU - Reardon, Erin E.
AU - Monsen, Karen A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Georg Thieme Verlag. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/3/1
Y1 - 2021/3/1
N2 - Objectives To describe the education, experience, skills, and knowledge required for health informatics jobs in the United States. Methods Health informatics job postings (n = 206) from Indeed.com on April 14, 2020 were analyzed in an empirical analysis, with the abstraction of attributes relating to requirements for average years and types of experience, minimum and desired education, licensure, certification, and informatics skills. Results A large percentage (76.2%) of posts were for clinical informaticians, with 62.1% of posts requiring a minimum of a bachelor's education. Registered nurse (RN) licensure was required for 40.8% of posts, and only 7.3% required formal education in health informatics. The average experience overall was 1.6 years (standard deviation = 2.2), with bachelor's and master's education levels increasing mean experience to 3.5 and 5.8 years, respectively. Electronic health record support, training, and other clinical systems were the most sought-after skills. Conclusion This cross-sectional study revealed the importance of a clinical background as an entree into health informatics positions, with RN licensure and clinical experience as common requirements. The finding that informatics-specific graduate education was rarely required may indicate that there is a lack of alignment between academia and industry, with practical experience preferred over specific curricular components. Clarity and shared understanding of terms across academia and industry are needed for defining and advancing the preparation for and practice of health informatics.
AB - Objectives To describe the education, experience, skills, and knowledge required for health informatics jobs in the United States. Methods Health informatics job postings (n = 206) from Indeed.com on April 14, 2020 were analyzed in an empirical analysis, with the abstraction of attributes relating to requirements for average years and types of experience, minimum and desired education, licensure, certification, and informatics skills. Results A large percentage (76.2%) of posts were for clinical informaticians, with 62.1% of posts requiring a minimum of a bachelor's education. Registered nurse (RN) licensure was required for 40.8% of posts, and only 7.3% required formal education in health informatics. The average experience overall was 1.6 years (standard deviation = 2.2), with bachelor's and master's education levels increasing mean experience to 3.5 and 5.8 years, respectively. Electronic health record support, training, and other clinical systems were the most sought-after skills. Conclusion This cross-sectional study revealed the importance of a clinical background as an entree into health informatics positions, with RN licensure and clinical experience as common requirements. The finding that informatics-specific graduate education was rarely required may indicate that there is a lack of alignment between academia and industry, with practical experience preferred over specific curricular components. Clarity and shared understanding of terms across academia and industry are needed for defining and advancing the preparation for and practice of health informatics.
KW - clinical informatics
KW - employment
KW - health workforce
KW - informatics
KW - informatics specialists
KW - job description
KW - medical informatics
KW - nurse
KW - training and education requirements
KW - workforce
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U2 - 10.1055/s-0041-1726423
DO - 10.1055/s-0041-1726423
M3 - Article
C2 - 33792008
AN - SCOPUS:85103575703
SN - 1869-0327
VL - 12
SP - 285
EP - 292
JO - Applied clinical informatics
JF - Applied clinical informatics
IS - 2
ER -