Study guide · outline and reference list of May 3, 2023
An NI-BC study guide built on Scope and Standards
Facts checked against nursingworld.org, codeofethics.ana.org and 2 more sites · Last checked Nov 6, 2026 · Not affiliated with ANCC, ANA, AONL, NLN or AACN.
ANA's Nursing Informatics: Scope and Standards of Practice is the first knowledge item on the outline and frames the specialty. Most points, though, sit in the lifecycle and data domains, which the systems analysis and informatics texts on ANCC's list cover.
Open the NI-BC practice test60 questions, mixed content domainsANCC certifications
Where the scored points sit
- Foundations (36%) is broad, not deep. It mixes informatics theory, management basics, health equity, federal law and team communication. A one-page sheet per topic pays off more than long reading.
- The lifecycle (35%) is one story. Planning, build, testing, go-live and support follow a single project from start to finish. Study it in that order and each phase explains the next.
- Data and technology (29%) is vocabulary-heavy. Terminologies, messaging standards, database terms and device types each come with names that sound alike.
Reading Scope and Standards for the exam
The edition to read is the 2022 third edition: ANA's Nursing Informatics: Scope and Standards of Practice, as cited on ANCC's reference list. If you borrow a copy, check the edition.
Read it for the framework rather than for detail: how ANA defines the specialty and its data-to-wisdom basis, and how the standards of practice and professional performance translate the nursing process into informatics work. Those ideas run through the professional-practice part of Foundations.
One date to watch: the same list cites the 2015 guide to the ANA Code of Ethics, while ANA published a revised Code in 2025. Study the current Code; what changed is covered on NE-BC ethics and regulation.
Six weeks, domain by domain
- Week 1, a cold run. Sit the practice test before any review and log how each domain went.
- Weeks 2–3, the lifecycle. Planning and build first, then testing, go-live and support. Draw one project of your own through every phase.
- Week 4, data. Data management and technology: make one table of standards (what each one codes or carries) and one of devices.
- Week 5, foundations. Foundations of practice: a one-page sheet of laws and what each requires, plus the theories by name.
- Week 6, mixed review. Retake the practice test on the clock and reread the rationales you missed, wrong options included.
Stale material that costs points
- The credential name. Prep sites that still say RN-BC for informatics are out of date; the current letters are NI-BC.
- The 2018 sample questions. ANCC's free samples apply to exams from March 23, 2018, before the current outline; use them for style only.
- Change models. Kotter and Lewin are tested on the leadership exams (CNML leadership); this outline names improvement techniques such as IHI methods, Agile and TQM instead.
- RCA and FMEA. Here they appear as analytics tasks, such as the data or query that supports the analysis. The methods themselves are on NEA-BC quality and safety.
Reference texts and where they help
ANCC's reference list has 11 titles and says it is not all-inclusive. Grouped by where each title helps most:
- The specialty: ANA's Scope and Standards (above); McGonigle and Mastrian, Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge, 5th ed. (2022).
- The lifecycle and projects: Dennis, Wixom and Roth, Systems Analysis and Design, 8th ed. (2022), or Kendall and Kendall's text of the same name, 10th ed. (2019); Schwalbe, Information Technology Project Management, 9th ed. (2019).
- Data, records and standards: Saba and McCormick, Essentials of Nursing Informatics, 7th ed. (2021); Amatayakul, Health IT and EHRs, 6th ed. (2017).
- Broad informatics reviews: Hebda, Hunter and Czar's handbook, 6th ed. (2019); Sewell, Informatics and Nursing, 6th ed. (2019).
- Management fundamentals: Marquis and Huston, Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing, 10th ed. (2021).
Commercial review courses and question banks are optional. Check that any you buy names the outline of May 3, 2023. ANCC itself posts only free sample questions.
Informatics exam pages
- NI-BCWho qualifies, three domains, and how it differs from AMIA and HIMSS
- NI-BC practice testOne set drawn from all three NI-BC domains in outline proportions
- NI-BC exam factsFormat, outline, scaled scoring, retakes and the credential itself
- NI-BC costExam fee by membership, the ANIA math, window move, retake, renewal
- NI-BC eligibilityDegree, RN years, informatics CE and the three hour routes, with worked cases
The NI-BC outline
- 36%Foundations of Practice
- 35%System Design Lifecycle
- 29%Data Management and Healthcare Technology
Short sessions, most days
The same NI-BC questions with every option explained, in a study app.
Studying for the NI-BC: quick answers
Which edition of Scope and Standards should I read?
The third, published by ANA in 2022. It is the edition on ANCC's current reference list.
Is one informatics textbook enough?
For the specialty and data standards, one broad text goes a long way. The lifecycle domain leans on systems analysis and project management texts, which nursing informatics books cover more briefly.
Do I need to know SQL?
The basics. The outline lists database querying and reporting with SQL as an example, so expect to read a simple query, not to write a long one. Practice items are on data management and technology.
Sources
- ANCC: NI-BC Test Content Outline, effective May 3, 2023 (PDF, reposted Aug 29, 2025) prd.healthynursehealthynation.org · checked Nov 6, 2026
- ANCC: Informatics Nursing (27) Reference List, effective May 3, 2023 (PDF) nursingworld.org · checked Nov 6, 2026
Each figure is reread against its document on a fixed cycle, and the date beside a source is its latest pass. Where a number here and the document part ways, the document wins (how corrections happen).