Health Informatics Specialists

Apply knowledge of nursing and informatics to assist in the design, development, and ongoing modification of computerized health care systems. May educate staff and assist in problem solving to promote the implementation of the health care system.

Most important skills

Reading Comprehension
Complex Problem Solving
Active Listening
Writing
Speaking
Critical Thinking
Judgment and Decision Making
Active Learning

Key knowledge

Computers and Electronics
English Language
Medicine and Dentistry
Education and Training
Customer and Personal Service
Administration and Management
Mathematics
Design

What the work involves

Design, develop, select, test, implement, and evaluate new or modified informatics solutions, data structures, and decision-support mechanisms to support patients, health care professionals, and their information management and human-computer and human-technology interactions within health care contexts.
Disseminate information about nursing informatics science and practice to the profession, other health care professions, nursing students, and the public.
Translate nursing practice information between nurses and systems engineers, analysts, or designers, using object-oriented models or other techniques.
Use informatics science to design or implement health information technology applications for resolution of clinical or health care administrative problems.
Develop, implement, or evaluate health information technology applications, tools, processes, or structures to assist nurses with data management.
Analyze and interpret patient, nursing, or information systems data to improve nursing services.
Analyze computer and information technologies to determine applicability to nursing practice, education, administration, and research.
Apply knowledge of computer science, information science, nursing, and informatics theory to nursing practice, education, administration, or research, in collaboration with other health informatics specialists.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Conventional, Social.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: Master's Degree (52.4% of respondents)
Related experience: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (40%)
On-the-job training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (23.8%)
Preparation level: O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Licensing: Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.

Check before planning

Licensing for Health Informatics Specialists is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Projection education uses SOC 15-1211 (detailed_parent); it may describe a broader group.

Limits

Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	Moderate	Lower on contact with others than 51% of occupations compared	48% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others”
Dealing with the public	Moderate	Lower on dealing with the public than 51% of occupations compared	29% of surveyed respondents chose “Important”
Teamwork	Very high	Higher on teamwork than 95% of occupations compared	85% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Freedom to make decisions	Low	Lower on freedom to make decisions than 67% of occupations compared	67% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom”
Time pressure	Low	Lower on time pressure than 69% of occupations compared	43% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Conflict situations	Moderate	Higher on conflict situations than 55% of occupations compared	38% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	Moderate	Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 50% of occupations compared	52% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Consequence of error	Moderate	Lower on consequence of error than 54% of occupations compared	33% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: low
Conflict situations: moderate
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
Consequence of error: moderate

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions