Nursing Informatics in Health Care Essay
Nursing Informatics in Health Care Essay
Nursing Informatics in Health Care Essay
Over the years, there has been an enormous development of technology and technological applications in various fields, such as healthcare. Inventions in healthcare technology and technological applications have enhanced patient outcomes (Pepito & Locsin, 2019). Nursing informatics is one of such inventions and innovations that has played a critical role in improving patient outcomes. While nursing informatics has been embraced by many healthcare organizations, some of the organization still lag behind in exploiting the limitless potential that nursing informatics present. Therefore, the purpose of this assignment is to write a proposal on the need to create a new nurse informaticist position.
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Nursing Informatics and the Nurse Informaticist
Nursing informatics can be defined as a field that focuses on integrating nursing science, computer science, and information science to collect, process, manage and transfer data and information for informed decision-making in nursing (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2021). The significance of nurse informatics has long been recognized by various organizations, such as the American Nurses Association, which is among the first organizations to recognize it. Nurse informaticists, therefore, are nurses who focus on this specialty as a regular practice. The implication is that they are nurses who are specialists in nursing informatics. They work mostly with patient data and computer systems to enhance patient care outcomes. As such, in most cases, they operate as a communication link between the clinical nurses and the information technology staff. Nurse informaticists also play a critical role in designing systems upon an adequate analysis and assessment of an organization’s technology needs, testing such systems, and implementing them. They also offer training to other nursing staff on the effective use of new and useful technology to enhance patient outcomes.
Nurse Informaticists and Other Health Care Organizations
Nurse informaticists, by their training, can impact patients’ health and healthcare organizations in various ways, large thanks to the various benefits they can bring on board. For example, they enhance patient data integrity and patient safety by ensuring that various initiatives, such as medical devices, are effectively implemented (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2021). They can also play an important role in helping healthcare organizations digitize manual procedures and processes, hence leading to cost and time-saving. Nurse informaticists also help health care organization to improve their services and practice by promoting strategies for sharing and protecting information. Such interventions assist the healthcare organization in attaining success when implementing various evidence-based practice initiatives. Implementation of such initiatives also leads to patient satisfaction which further boosts the organization’s image. A good example is the implementation of electronic health records and medical records, which help patients to easily and effectively access health data and history.
For a long time, interdisciplinary collaborations have been associated with improved patient outcomes. Therefore, it is important to enhance such collaborations in the health organizations. Nurse informaticists have fostered such interdisciplinary collaborations by formulating appropriate technological solutions which enhance coordination and communication among interprofessional teams (Strudwick et al.,2019). They also ensure that there are effective collaborations between various departments within the organization to ensure that the operations within the organization run smoothly.
The Impact of Full Nurse Engagement in Health Care Technology
It is evident that nurse informatics plays a critical role in the healthcare environment. Therefore, it is important for nurses to fully engage in healthcare technology for various reasons. For example, they need to engage fully to help improve patient outcomes by fostering communication and improving workflow (Ehrler et al.,2018). The nurses need to communicate with other professionals, such as physicians, to help solve patient problems that may need a multidisciplinary approach. In most cases, the inter-professional staff is in different physical locations. Therefore, the application of communication technology can help enhance information sharing. The technologies can also enhance patient participation and encourage them to actively participate in matters pertaining to their health.
When nurses are fully engaged in healthcare technology, they also enhance the chances of effective protection of patient health information by using various technological applications. In addition, it also ensures that there is effective documentation which then ensures that there is an improved workflow in providing effective care to the patient. When there is an efficient workflow, then benefits such as reduced medical errors are expected. The use of technological applications such as informatics also increases the chances of avoiding medical and medication errors which would otherwise have occurred in the absence of nursing informatics (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2021). The use of such technology can also lead to reduced costs in the long run, implying an increase in return on investment. This will ensure that the organization grows and is healthy financially.
Opportunities and Challenges
The addition of the nurse informaticist role in the organization is expected to come with various opportunities and challenges for the nurses and the interdisciplinary team. For example, a nurse informaticist can formulate effective platforms and tools to enhance interdisciplinary communication and collaboration. Such aspects can enhance the quality of care provided. The other opportunity is a more streamlined process that positively impacts workflow hence better patient outcomes and experience (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2021). On the other hand, various challenges are expected with the inclusion of the new role. For example, the nursing staff may feel frustrated with new proposed changes, for example, using new tools and processes as proposed by the nurse informaticist. Such is likely to lead to change resistance. Therefore, the nurses may need some training and education on the proposed changes.
Summary of Recommendations
The discussions presented so far makes it evident that nursing informatics has a big role to play when it comes to enhancing the use of healthcare technology to improve patient outcomes. Nurse informaticists help other healthcare professionals and nurses with the effective use of healthcare technology to help improve outcomes, eliminate medical errors and reduce healthcare and operation costs. They also play a critical role in identifying any system errors and ensuring that they are eliminated to avert security, privacy, and confidentiality breaches. Nurse informaticists also promote the development of research in healthcare organizations and support the implementation of various evidence-based practice initiatives. Therefore, nursing informatics is an important field in the healthcare department. Hence organizations need to add this role to their list of staff for better outcomes.
Conclusion
There is a need for healthcare organizations to recognize the important role played by nursing informatics and embrace the idea of employing nurse informaticists to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations. Therefore, this proposal shows that the organization needs to include this role as part of the staff to enhance the use of healthcare technology. The incorporation of a nurse informaticist is also expected to reduce running costs and improve return on investment.
References
Ehrler, F., Ducloux, P., Wu, D. T., Lovis, C., & Blondon, K. (2018). Acceptance of a mobile application supporting nurses workflow at patient bedside: Results from a pilot study. In Building Continents of Knowledge in Oceans of Data: The Future of Co-Created eHealth (pp. 506-510). IOS Press. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29678012/
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2021). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Pepito, J. A., & Locsin, R. (2019). Can nurses remain relevant in a technologically advanced future? International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 6(1), 106-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2018.09.013
Strudwick, G., Nagle, L., Kassam, I., Pahwa, M., & Sequeira, L. (2019). Informatics competencies for nurse leaders: a scoping review. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 49(6), 323-330.Doi: 10.1097/NNA.0000000000000760
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Write a 4-5 page evidence-based proposal to support the need for a nurse informaticist in an organization who would focus on improving health care outcomes.
Introduction
As you begin to prepare this assessment, you are encouraged to complete the Team Perspectives of the Nurse Informaticist activity. Completion of this will help you succeed with the assessment as you explore the nurse informaticist’s role from the different perspectives of the health care team. Completing activities is also a way to demonstrate engagement.
Nurses at the baccalaureate level in all practice areas are involved in nursing informatics through interaction with information management and patient care technologies. Nurses must not only demonstrate knowledge of and skills in health information and patient care technologies, but also how to use these tools at the bedside and organizational levels. Moreover, nurses need to recognize how information gathered from various health information sources can impact decision making at the national and state regulatory levels.
Scenario
For this assessment, assume you are a nurse attending a meeting of your state’s nurses association. A nurse informaticist conducted a presentation on her role and its impact on positive patient and organizational outcomes in her workplace. You realize that your organization is undergoing many technological changes. You believe this type of role could provide many benefits to your organization.
You decide to pursue proposing a nurse informaticist role in your organization. You speak to your chief nursing officer (CNO) and human resources (HR) manager, who ask you to prepare a 4–5 page evidence-based proposal to support the new role. In this way, they can make an informed decision as to whether the addition of such a role could justify the return on investment (ROI). They need your proposal before an upcoming fiscal meeting.​ This is not an essay, but instead, it is a proposal to create a new Nurse Informaticist position.
One important part of this assessment is the justification of the need for a nurse informaticist in a health care organization and references from relevant and timely scholarly or professional resources to support the justification for creating this nurse informaticist position. The term justify means to show or prove that the nurse informaticist position brings value to the organization. This justification must include evidence from the literature to support that this position will provide a return on investment for the organization.
Preparation
To successfully prepare for this assessment, you will need to complete these preparatory activities:
Review assessment resources and activities.
Conduct independent research on the nursing knowledge and skills necessary to interact with health information and patient care technology.
Focus your research on current resources available through peer-reviewed articles, professional websites, government websites, professional blogs, wikis, job boards, and so on.
Consult the BSN Program Library Research Guide for help in identifying scholarly and authoritative sources.
Interview peers in your network who are considered information technology experts.
Ask them about how information technology advances are impacting patient care at the bedside, at the organizational level, and beyond.
Proposal Format
The chief nursing officer (CNO) and human resources (HR) manager have asked you to include the following headings in your proposal and to be sure to address the bullets following each heading:
Nursing Informatics and the Nurse Informaticist
What is nursing informatics?
What is the role of the nurse informaticist?
Nurse Informaticists and Other Health Care Organizations
What is the experience of other health care organizations with nurse informaticists?
How do these nurse informaticists interact with the rest of the nursing staff and the interdisciplinary team?
IMPACT OF FULL NURSE ENGAGEMENT IN HEALTH CARE TECHNOLOGY
How does fully engaging nurses in health care technology impact:
Patient care?
Protected health information (security, privacy, and confidentiality)?
In this section, you will explain evidence-based strategies that the nurse informaticist and interdisciplinary team can use to effectively manage patients’ protected health information, particularly privacy, security, and confidentiality. Evidence-based means that they are supported by evidence from scholarly sources.
Workflow?
Costs and return on investment?
Opportunities and Challenges
What are the opportunities and challenges for nurses and the interdisciplinary team with the addition of a nurse informaticist role?
How can the interdisciplinary team collaborate to improve quality care outcomes through technology?
Summary of Recommendations
What are 3–4 key takeaways from your proposal about the recommended nurse informaticist role that you want the CNO and the HR manager to remember?
This is the section where the justification for the implementation of the nursing informaticist role is addressed. Remember to include evidence from the literature to support your recommendation.
Additional Requirements
Written communication: Ensure written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
Submission length: 4–5 double-spaced pages, in addition to title and references pages.
Font: Times New Roman, 12 point.
Citations and References: Cite a minimum of three current scholarly and/or authoritative sources to support your ideas. In addition, cite a minimum of one current professional blog or website to support your central ideas. Current means no more than five years old.
APA formatting: Be sure to follow APA formatting and style guidelines for citations and references. For an APA refresher, consult the Evidence and APA page on Campus.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
Competency 1: Describe nurses’ and the interdisciplinary team’s role in informatics with a focus on electronic health information and patient care technology to support decision making.
Define nursing informatics and the role of the nurse informaticist.
Explain how the nurse collaborates with the interdisciplinary team, including technologists, to improve the quality of patient care.
Justify the need for a nurse informaticist in a health care organization.
Competency 2: Implement evidence-based strategies to effectively manage protected health information.
Explain evidence-based strategies that the nurse and interdisciplinary team can use to effectively manage patients’ protected health information (privacy, security, and confidentiality).
Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly communication to facilitate use of health information and patient care technologies.
Follow APA style and formatting guidelines for citations and references.
Create a clear, well-organized, and professional proposal that is generally free from errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
