Illinois Nurse Informatics Certification - IL

By allied health world contributing writer
Published: October, 10 2011

Illinois, also known as the "Land of Lincoln", has a colorful history which adds to the state’s well-recognized diversity. With famous jazz and blues festivals, agricultural fairs, famous brick oven pizza, professional athletic teams, and the tallest skyscraper in the U.S., Illinois has many options for nursing informatics professionals to study, work, and play.

Nursing informaticists play a key role in the appropriate flow of data collected by nurses, improving access to patient information at the point of care, and enhancing nursing abilities to benchmark, monitor, and audit quality measures. Two educational options for those pursuing a career in nursing informatics in Illinois include a master’s degree in health informatics or a post-baccalaureate certificate in health information management.

Illinois master’s degree programs in nursing often offer informatics as a major or specialty.  Programs cover health care, information systems, computer science and research with a practicum typically coming at the end of the course to give students practical experience with nursing informatics in a health care setting. Acceptance into a master's degree program usually requires a bachelor's degree in nursing, from an accredited nursing school and a registered nurse (RN) license from the state of Illinois.

Illinois nurse informatics professionals may also take advantage of training and certification through the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center (ANCC). This counts as an Illinois nursing informatics certification as well. The ANCC provides a computer-based examination with applications open throughout the year. Candidates may take the test any time during a 90-day window at a time at a location convenient for them. Certifications must be renewed every five years.