Career Exploration Beyond the Bedside

November 2025

Welcome to this edition of The Nontraditional Nurse Newsletter!

The Nontraditional Nurse spotlight

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This month, we’re diving into a career that’s equal parts clinical, strategic, and tech-forward: Nursing Informatics.

We sat down with Whende Carroll, MSN, RN-BC, a nationally recognized nurse leader and informaticist with over two decades of experience spanning hospitals, startups, and global thought leadership. Whende has built her career at the intersection of nursing and technology — and she’s on a mission to make sure nurses have a voice in the systems we use every day.

In this episode, Whende shares how she made the leap from cardiac step-down to digital health, the foundational skills nurses already have to thrive in tech roles, and how AI is reshaping the future of nursing — fast.

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Key Takeaways

Nurses in informatics are the bridge between technology and clinical care — and that bridge is essential.

Informatics connects clinical expertise with the design and delivery of healthcare technology. Nurses bring crucial insight that ensures tools like EHRs, AI models, and digital workflows actually work in real-life care settings.

If you’ve ever created a workaround at the bedside, you’re already thinking like an informaticist.

Nurses are natural problem-solvers. Informatics gives you the chance to formalize that skill and design better systems from the start.

You don’t need a master’s degree to get started.

Volunteer for tech projects. Become a superuser. Join professional organizations. These small steps can open big doors.

AI isn’t going to replace nurses — but it will reshape how we practice.

New roles are already emerging in nursing related to AI implementation, ethics, workflow alignment, and training. Whende encourages nurses to re-skill, reallocate, and retain their power in this shift.

Informatics still centers around the patient.

Even when you leave the bedside, your work directly impacts patient safety, care quality, and clinician support. You’re still helping — just in a different way.

Career Deep Dive

Nursing Informatics

Nursing informatics is a specialty that combines clinical nursing knowledge with information and computer sciences to improve patient care, safety, workflows, and system design. At its core, it’s about translating the realities of bedside practice into better technology — and making sure nurses have a voice in how that technology is built and used.

Informatics nurses act as a bridge between clinical staff and technical teams, making sure new tools (like EHRs, AI models, and decision support systems) are safe, usable, and aligned with real-world nursing workflows.

You might be designing clinical documentation templates, testing new software before rollout, training staff on digital tools, or leading quality improvement projects driven by data. Some informaticists work in hospitals or health systems, while others work for health tech companies, consulting firms, or even independently.
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“ ​ I think that’s the best description of what informaticists do — it’s that human interface between the technology and the clinicians that we work with. ​ — Whende Carroll

Perks

• Potential for remote work: Especially in health tech, consulting, and vendor roles, many informatics jobs can be done from home — or with flexible in-office requirements. That can mean fewer commutes and more control over your schedule.
• System-level impact: Instead of fixing the same issue over and over, you work upstream — designing solutions that improve care for entire units, departments, populations, or systems.
• Career growth: Informatics opens doors into digital health, tech leadership, data strategy, and more. It’s a launchpad into roles you may not have even heard of yet.
• Representation: Informatics gives nurses a seat in tech decisions that shape daily workflows. Instead of getting handed a tool that doesn’t work, you help design it.
• Collaborative environment: You may work with developers, engineers, analysts, quality teams, and frontline staff. It’s a multidisciplinary role where your voice matters.
• Early access to innovation: Informatics professionals are often among the first to see — and shape — emerging tech in healthcare, including AI tools and digital care models.

Challenges

• Learning curve: You don’t need to be a coder, but you will need to get comfortable with tech terms, data flows, system thinking, and sometimes new platforms. It’s learnable, but it requires effort and curiosity.
• Lifelong learning: Technology evolves fast — especially with the rise of AI. Staying current means being proactive: reading, networking, attending webinars, and sometimes pursuing certifications or advanced training.
• User resistance is real: Even the best-designed systems face pushback. Healthcare staff can be hesitant to adopt new tech, and you may find yourself navigating skepticism or frustration — especially during go-lives or major changes.
• Lack of camaraderie: Many informatics roles are remote or hybrid. If you’re used to the deep, in-the-trenches team dynamic of bedside nursing, this shift can feel isolating at first.
• You'll have to advocate in your role: Nurses in informatics often have to speak up to make sure clinical voices are heard in tech decisions. That kind of advocacy can be uncomfortable, but it’s essential.
• Imposter syndrome is common: Many nurses feel like they “don’t know enough about tech” to belong in informatics. The truth? Your clinical experience is the value — the tech skills will come.

Work-life balance

Nursing informatics often offers a more sustainable rhythm than traditional bedside roles — but what that looks like depends on the setting.

In hospital-based roles, hours are usually Monday through Friday, with occasional off-hours during system upgrades or go-lives. You’re not taking physical patients, but you may still be on-site, in meetings, or supporting staff across units.

In vendor, tech, or consulting roles, many nurses work fully remote or hybrid. These jobs often come with greater autonomy, project-based deadlines, and flexible schedules — but fewer built-in team dynamics.

That shift can be both freeing and jarring. Some nurses love the quiet and control. Others miss the spontaneous camaraderie that comes from being on a unit.

Nursing Skills that Translate

You don’t always need a tech background to succeed in informatics. You do need to recognize the skills you already use every day.

Here are a few that transfer beautifully:

Critical Thinking​
Informatics is all about solving problems upstream. Your ability to assess situations, prioritize, and troubleshoot makes you a natural fit.

Process Improvement​
Nurses constantly find ways to make systems safer and more efficient. (Can you say workarounds?) Informatics lets you formalize that instinct — and finally fix the root cause instead of just patching it.

Care Coordination​
Understanding how patients move through the system helps you spot gaps, reduce redundancies, and design smarter workflows.

Clinical Communication (SBAR)​
Whether you’re talking to a developer or a CMO, the ability to communicate clearly and concisely is key — and something you already know how to do.

Documentation & EHR Experience​
If you’ve ever wished the charting system made more sense — guess what? You’re qualified to help fix it. Your deep familiarity with documentation workflows is a huge asset.

Adaptability​
New policies, new platforms, new workflows — nurses are used to learning on the fly. That flexibility is critical in tech-driven environments.

Advocacy​
You’ve spent your career speaking up for patients. In informatics, you do the same — but at the systems level, ensuring safety, usability, and equity are built into the tools we use.

How Much Experience Do you Need?

There’s no official requirement to enter nursing informatics — but most nurses in these roles have at least a few years of clinical experience under their belt.

That said, it’s less about years and more about what you’ve done with them.

If you’ve:

• Participated in an EHR rollout
• Led or contributed to a quality improvement project
• Been the go-to for tech on your unit
• Created workarounds to fix broken workflows
• Helped train new staff on documentation tools

…then you’re already doing informatics-adjacent work.

Some roles may prefer candidates with formal experience or certifications, especially in competitive health systems or corporate settings. But Whende reminds us to first: “just raise your hand to be involved.”

If you’re naturally curious, open to learning, and ready to speak up for nurses and patients at the systems level — you may be already more qualified than you think.
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Getting Started:

Wondering how to break into nursing informatics? You don’t have to wait for a formal job title — you can start building experience right now.

Here’s what Whende recommends:

Get involved where you are: If your workplace is rolling out a new tool, platform, or digital process — raise your hand. Volunteer to be a super user, join a workflow improvement committee, or ask to help with training. These opportunities let others see your interest and give you real-world experience with technology projects.

Get plugged into the community: Join professional organizations like ANIA (American Nursing Informatics Association), HIMSS, or local nursing tech groups. Can’t attend a conference? No problem. Start with webinars, articles, or discussion boards. There’s a ton of free content out there if you know where to look.

Find a mentor/network: This doesn’t have to be super formal. Reach out to someone already in the role — even on LinkedIn — and ask for a 20-minute chat. The informatics community is incredibly welcoming, and Whende emphasizes that “micro-mentors” can offer direction, reassurance, and opportunities you didn’t know existed.

Start where you are: Look for informatics-adjacent work in your current role:

• Document outcomes from process improvements
• Track your involvement in tech implementations
• Practice translating clinical pain points into system solutions

These stories are powerful in interviews and show you’re already thinking like an informaticist.

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Salary

According to Nurse.org’s 2024 Nursing Informatics Salary Guide, nurses in informatics earn between $61,000 and $136,000 per year, with most professionals falling in the $85,000 to $115,000 range. Salaries vary based on setting, experience, and role type. Hospital-based informatics nurses typically earn on the lower end of that spectrum, while those working in health tech companies, government agencies, or consulting roles often command higher salaries — especially when leading large-scale implementations or working in project-based positions.

Advanced degrees or certifications (such as the Informatics Nursing Certification through ANCC), prior experience with EHR rollouts or tech projects, and familiarity with data systems can all boost your earning potential.

And the field is growing. As AI, automation, and digital health continue to evolve, demand for informatics professionals is expected to rise — along with compensation.

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What to search for when job hunting.

One of the trickiest parts about breaking into nursing informatics? The job titles don’t always say nursing informatics.

Here are some of the keywords Whende recommends — plus a few more you should keep on your radar:

Titles to search:

• Nursing Informatics
• Clinical Informatics
• Clinical Content Builder
• Clinical Analyst
• Informatics Specialist
• Workflow Optimization Specialist
• Clinical Applications Analyst
• Decision Support Analyst
• EHR Specialist
• Health IT Specialist

Broader roles that often include informatics work:

• Digital Health
• Clinical Transformation
• Healthcare Innovation
• Project Management
• Program Management

Even if a title feels vague (like Director of Clinical Transformation), don’t skip it — many informatics roles are buried in broader categories related to tech, quality, or operations.

Your laughter injection.

How do you calm a frustrated nurse informaticist? Turn them off and back on again.

Thanks for reading!

If this resonated with you, consider forwarding it to a friend, manager, or nurse who’s always the first to figure out new systems. You never know who might be one tech project away from a whole new career path.

We’d love to hear from you

Thank you for being on this journey with us. If you’ve been enjoying The Nontraditional Nurse, I would truly love to hear your feedback — what you’re loving, what else you want to see, or anything that could make this better for you.

Just hit reply and let me know. Your input helps shape what we build next.

Appreciate you being here.

Ellie