Nursing informatics integrates nursing science with information and analytical sciences to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice. It requires specialists trained in both technology and nursing, and important communication between medical disciplines to provide quality patient care. When one hospital transitioned from paper to electronic charting, meetings between nursing informatics specialists and staff from different departments helped ensure the new system supported easy and accurate charting while maintaining access to necessary information for patient care and safety. Designating certain staff as "superusers" to receive advanced training and assist colleagues adapted the electronic system based on user experience and feedback.
Making communications land - Are they received and understood as intended? we...
According to What is Nursing Informatics (2019), Nursing infor.docx
1. According to "What is Nursing Informatics?" (2019), "Nursing
informatics is the specialty that integrates nursing science with
multiple information and analytical sciences to identify,
define, manage, and communicate data, information, knowledge,
and wisdom in nursing practice." The most important part of
informatics is being specialized and trained in technology and
nursing but the next important is communication. This involves
many areas in the medical field. "To provide proper care and
improve patient outcomes, today’s nurses must collaborate
effectively with members of the health care team from other
disciplines" (Jakubowski, 2018). I have personally participated
in meetings over the years with the informatics team while our
hospital was going from paper charting to electronic charting.
Some of these nurses who work in informatics have experience
taking care of patients and charting but some do not. Also, if
they have taken care of patients, they do not always know the
most convenient ways to integrate charting for the staff on the
floors. It was important for the different departments to send
nurses and other staff to speak to the informatics team and
discuss issues with the flow of charting and the access, or lack
of access, to make charting as easy as possible for the staff. It
was also to make sure information was accessible, if needed, to
other departments. The pharmacy was also a huge part of these
meetings. They were highly involved in the orders and making
sure medications were correct in order to keep patients and staff
safe.
One great way to make these processes easier is to make certain
staff superusers. "A "superuser" is a staff member who receives
additional in-depth training on a specific program and
sometimes receive greater access privileges to programs"
(Androus, 2020). These Superusers help to train staff and help
with any problems or questions they have. These superusers
also have a direct relationship with the informatics team to
2. assist in giving suggestions, learned from floor charting and
staff, to help develop the electronic charting to make it more
user friendly. Without these superusers, there would be a huge
gap in communication and lost information.
Androus, Amanda B. (2020).
How Does Becoming A “SuperUser” Advance a Nursing
Informatics Career?
. Retrieved June 14, 2020, from
https://www.registerednursing.org/answers/how-does-becoming-
super-user-advance-nursing-informatics-career/.
Jakubowski, Tami L. (2018).
Interprofessional collaboration improves healthcare.
Retrieved June 14, 2020, from
https://www.reflectionsonnursingleadership.org/features/more-
features/interprofessional-collaboration-improves-healthcare.
What is Nursing Informatics?
. (2019). Retrieved June 01, 2020, from
https://www.himss.org/resources/what-nursing-informatics.