Assignment : Transforming Nursing and Healthcare through Technology (NURS – 6051N – 37)
Assignment : Transforming Nursing and Healthcare through Technology (NURS – 6051N – 37)
The Effects of “To Err Is Human” in Nursing Practice
The 1999 landmark study titled “To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System” highlighted the unacceptably high incidence of U.S. medical errors and put forth recommendations to improve patient safety. Since its publication, the recommendations in “To Err Is Human’ have guided significant changes in nursing practice in the United States.
In this Discussion, you will review these recommendations and consider the role of health information technology in helping address concerns presented in the report.
To prepare:
Review the summary of “To Err Is Human” presented in the Plawecki and Amrhein article found in this week’s Learning Resources.
Consider the following statement:
“The most significant barrier to improving patient safety identified in “To Err Is Human” is a “lack of awareness of the extent to which errors occur daily in all health care settings and organizations (Wakefield, 2008).”
Review “The Quality Chasm Series: Implications for Nursing” focusing on Table 3: “Simple Rules for the 21st Century Health Care System.” Consider your current organization or one with which you are familiar Reflect on one of the rules where the “current rule” is still in operation in the organization and consider another instance in which the organization has effectively transitioned to the new rule.
Please Provide References
Learning Resources
Required Readings
American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing informatics: Scope & standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Springs, MD: Author.
“Introduction”
This portion of the text introduces nursing informatics and outlines the functions of the scope and standards.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2015). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.
Chapter 1, “Nursing Science and the Foundation of Knowledge”
This chapter defines nursing science and details its relation to nursing roles and nursing informatics. The chapter also serves as an introduction to the foundation of knowledge model used throughout the text.
Chapter 2, “Introduction to Information, Information Science, and Information Systems”
In this chapter, the authors highlight the importance of information systems. The authors specify the qualities that enable information systems to meet the needs of the health care industry.
Wakefield, M. K. (2008). The Quality Chasm series: Implications for nursing. In R. G. Hughes (Ed.), Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses (Vol. 1, pp. 47–66). Rockville, MD: U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Pages 1–12
These 12 pages highlight the issues raised by the Quality Chasm Series and examine their long-term implications for nursing. The text reviews external drivers of safety and quality, design principles for safe systems, and guidelines for health care redesign.
Cipriano, P. F., & Murphy, J. (2011). Nursing informatics. The future of nursing and health IT: The quality elixir. Nursing Economic$, 29(5), 282, 286–289.
In this article, the authors focus on how nurses can use health information technology to help transform health care using the recommendations included in the 2010 Institute of Medicine report “The Future of Nursing, Leading Change, Advancing Health.” The author also discusses the 2011 National Strategy for Quality Improvement in Health Care.
Plawecki, L. H., & Amrhein, D. W. (2009). Clearing the err. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 35(11), 26–29.
This article presents a summary of the Institute of Medicine report “To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System.” The authors provide an overview of what has been accomplished in the decade following the IOM report, focusing in particular on health information technology.
Required Media
Laureate Education (Producer). (2012e). Introduction to nursing informatics. Baltimore, MD: Author.
In this video, Doris Fischer, Richard Rodriguez, Carina Perez, and Carmen Ferrell introduce the concept of nursing informatics. These individuals provide insight into how informatics is transforming the health care system by improving efficiency and quality of care
Optional Resources
Hilts, M. E. (2010). Up from the basement. Health Management Technology, 31(9), 14–15.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
DISCUSSION-2
Nursing Informatics Competencies
Today’s fast-paced health care environment demands nurses to be skilled not only in their clinical practice or specialty area but in the use of technology tools that improve practice and lead to better patient care. Basic and advanced technology competencies are required and expected as technology increasingly touches and changes the job of every nurse. Numerous organizations, including the American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), have developed nurse-specific technology competencies. The challenge for nurses is to identify both needs and training opportunities.
In this Discussion, you identify the role informatics plays in your professional responsibilities. You pinpoint personal gaps in skills and knowledge and then develop a plan for self-improvement.
To prepare:
Review Nursing Informatics: Scope and Standards of Practice in this week’s Learning Resources, focusing on the different functional areas it describes. Consider which areas relate to your current nursing responsibilities or to a position you held in the past. For this Discussion, identify one or two of the most relevant functional areas.
Review the list of competencies recommended by the TIGER Initiative. Identify at least one skill in each of the main areas (basic computer competencies, information literacy competencies, and information management competencies) that is pertinent to your functional area(s) and in which you need to strengthen your abilities. Consider how you could improve your skills in these areas and the resources within your organization that might provide training and support. Assignment : Transforming Nursing and Healthcare through Technology (NURS – 6051N – 37)
Please Provide References
Learning Resources
Required Readings
American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing informatics: Scope & standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Springs, MD: Author.
“Functional Areas for Nursing Informatics”
This chapter describes the key functional areas of nursing informatics. It also clarifies the roles of informatics nurse specialists and informatics nurses.
“Informatics Competencies: Spanning Careers and Roles”
This chapter details an informatics competencies matrix that has been developed by reviewing research. It outlines best practices for successful use of health information technology.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2015). and the foundation of knowledge (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.
Chapter 7, “Informatics Roles and the Knowledge Work of Nursing”
This chapter details the roles, competencies, and skills that ensure effective nursing informatics practice. The text also details the future of nursing informatics.
Chapter 8, “Information and Knowledge Needs of Nurses in the 21st Century”
In this chapter, the author emphasizes the need for embedding the core concepts and competencies of informatics into the practice of nurses. The chapter describes how this integration of concepts and competencies is necessitated by the integration of clinical information technologies into nursing practice.
Wakefield, M. K. (2008). The Quality Chasm series: Implications for nursing. In R. G. Hughes (Ed.), Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses (Vol. 1, pp. 47–66). Rockville, MD: U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from
Pages 12–19
This chapter discusses four of the Institute of Medicine’s reports on the quality and safety of health care. Specifically, the chapter focuses on the issues, concepts, findings, and recommendations of To Err Is Human, Crossing the Quality Chasm, Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality, and Quality Through Collaboration: The Future of Rural Health Care.
Cheeseman, S. E. (2011). Are you prepared for the digital era? Neonatal Network, 30(4), 263–266.
This article explores the application of health information technology (HIT) in neonatal intensive care units. In addition, the article highlights national initiatives advocating for the implementation of HIT throughout the health care delivery system.
AMIA. (2012). AMIA. Retrieved from
This homepage of AMIA (formerly known as the American Medical Informatics Association) details the activities of the AMIA, including its publications, programs, events, and policies.
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. (2012a). Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. Retrieved from
This homepage of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society displays research conducted by HIMSS and introduces various tools, events, and resources for professional development.
