Assignment: Technology in Nursing
Assignment: Technology in Nursing
The writer’s nursing background includes work within an emergency department, and a BScN program. Professional interests include emergency medicine, nursing education to both students and staff, and student retention.
Informatics has pushed the nursing profession to move forward and embrace the advancement of health care technology. By doing so, the nursing profession ensures to remain up-to-date and applies emerging technologies (Ball et al., 2011). The use and application of technology within nursing allows for the improvement of patient safety, quality, and access to care. Within Sault Area Hospital, advancements of healthcare technology have seen updated versions of electronic medical records (EMR) within the platform of Meditech. In 2018, Sault Area Hospital introduced Meditech expanse EMR as part of the NELHIN ONE initiative. This provided nurses with the ability to complete documentation and assessments electronically.
The use and application of technology allows for nurses to meet standards of care. Informatics competencies, such as those noted by TIGER, ensure that nurses can efficiently and effectively utilize technology. TIGER competencies provide guidelines to prepare nurses to adopt electronic health records (Ball et al., 2011; Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (TIGER). (n.d). Informatics allows nurses to ensure that patients have access to a variety of services from the comfort of an individual office, or even their home, thus enhancing the quality of care. By allowing the use of an EHR, records are available to practitioners which can avoid duplication of diagnostics and result in timely diagnosis and treatment (American Nurses Association, 2015).
In an individual assessment, the writer feels they have a good basis of knowledge regarding informatics. Strengths include application of resources in assessment including instruments and tools to ensure efficient workflow and communication (American Nurses Association, 2015). Through bedside nursing and education, the application of healthcare technology and resources to involve the client, family, and other healthcare providers is also a strength (American Nurses Association, 2015). The TIGER initiative provides a more detailed, and specific list including strengths such as how to access email, utilize search engines, and how to save a document (Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (TIGER). (n.d). Challenges regarding informatics includes advanced competencies and knowledge development such as gaining further comprehension of statutes, rules, and regulations (American Nurses Association, 2015). To build this knowledge base, it would be beneficial to utilize these topics in further posts to provide further learning opportunities.
Jessica
References
American Nurses Association. (2008). Nursing informatics: Scope and standards of practice. Silver Spring,
MD: Author.
Ball, M. J., Douglas, J. V., Hinton Walker, P., DuLong, D., Gugerty, B., Hannah, K. J., . . . Troseth, M. R.
(Eds.) (2011). Nursing informatics: Where technology and caring meet (4th ed.). London,
England: Springer-Verlag.
Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (TIGER). (n.d). The TIGER Initiative: Informatics
competencies for every practicing nurse: Recommendations from the TIGER collaborative.
Retrieved from http://www.mhsinformatics.org/CI-Fellowship/Workforce-
Development/Competencies/Tiger.Report_Competencies_final.pdf
Question Description
Research Activity
We conducted primary research last week to prepare an annotated bibliography for the sources we will use extensively in our research. This week, you will improve your research project by gathering additional information through ONE of the two activities listed below. You have the option!
Choose an activity that is relevant to your research topic and adds to the information you have already gathered.
Before you choose, click each activity to learn about the assignment criteria.
>> CLICK HERE TO SEE OPTION 1 – HOLD AN INTERVIEW
CLICK HERE TO VIEW OPTION 2 – PERFORM A DATA ANALYSIS
You will write and submit a 2-3-page APA formatted paper after completing your chosen activity.
Examine the assignment rubric.
You should proofread your paper. However, do not rely solely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part, and your grade will suffer as a result. Papers with a high number of misspelled words and grammatical errors will be penalized. Before submitting your paper, go over it in silence and then aloud, and make any necessary changes. It is often beneficial to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Uncorrected mistakes are preferable to handwritten corrections.
Briefly share your nursing background and professional interests.
I have been a nurse for 11 years and have worked in a variety of areas. I started on a med surg floor and then transferred to MICU. After working bedside for almost two years, I was offered an opportunity to become an Assistant nurse manager. I worked as an Assistant Nurse Manager for about three years before I transferred to Surgical Intensive care, I stayed there for about 4 years and then worked in the Same Day Surgery Center. From there I worked in an outpatient clinic in which I was hired to be the Assistant Nurse Manager. I am still currently the Assistant Nurse Manager. I enjoy leadership and having the ability to adapt easily to change. I like being a resource to staff and being able to help in staffing, so I do not lose my nursing skills. I plan to be a Nurse Manager one day and then a Nursing chief to possibly a director of nursing.
Summarize how informatics has impacted or changed nursing practice. Provide an example from your professional experience.
Informatics has a huge influence on nursing practice. It is how agencies like Joint Commission audits patient care. For example, in my own experience, if a patient in the unit had a pressure ulcer/injury that was acquired while in the unit the hospital was not reimbursed for their care. How this information was audited, was by the admission note. If the patient has a pressure ulcer/injury in the nursing admission assessment, then the hospital would be reimbursed. If this was not in the nursing admission assessment, then it was hospital-acquired and the facility was not reimbursed for the care of the injury. We at one time in the ICU had an influx of new staff and pressure ulcers/injuries were being missed and the facility was losing a large amount of funding. As a result, we had informatics create a need for a cosigner on the note. This caused the nurses to have two RNs assess the skin upon admission instead of one. It helped significantly with our pressure ulcers/injuries noted upon admission. It also helped increase the facility’s funding. This also helped to improve patient care. Informatics help improves patient safety, budget, and documentation.
On the other hand, I have worked with informatics and had a hard time getting the computer to do what I needed it to do. An article talks about how information is continually trying to improve “computer language” (Cesnik & Kidd, 2010). it is sometimes difficult for the individual to communicate with the computer in the proper language to get it to do what is need (Cesnik & Kidd, 2010). Therefore, it is key to work with informatics to help improve this process.
Evaluate how established informatics competencies influence the quality of care, safety improvements, and excellence in nursing practice.
As I mentioned earlier, it has a large influence on the quality of care, and safety improvements, and excellence in nursing practice. Informatics helps provide proof of the nursing care that is provided. I have heard all of my nursing practice “if you don’t chart it, you did not do it!”. Informatics helps ensure that we are providing all of the necessary steps for safe patient care to be provided. Informatics is used to conduct research to help develop new evidence-based practices. This is what helps nursing practice continue to improve and evolve. Informatics is key to our development as nurses.
Assess your informatics strengths and preferences, as well as potential challenges and areas for development. (Be sure to refer to specific TIGER and ANA competencies.)
TIGER Informatics competencies collaborative team’s competency model is made up of three components (TIGER, n.d.). They are basic computer competencies, information literacy, and information management (TIGER, n.d.). I feel that my strength is basic computer competencies. I can handle the basic things when it comes to computers when it comes to the more specialized areas are when I begin to struggle. I feel that the area of challenge for me that needs further development is information literacy.
Describe one strategy for enhancing your informatics skills and competencies.
To help improve my information literacy, TIGER recommends that I can have and verbalize the importance of health information systems to clinic practice (TIGER, 2010). This resonates with me because I truly felt at one point that Health Information Systems get in the way of patient care, even though it is imperative for safe patient care. This is why it was hard for me to navigate it because I did not have an understanding of why it was important. So working on this, helps me realize that Health Information Systems are in place to help me, not hinder me.
Reference
Cesnik, B. & Kidd, M.R. (2010). History of health informatics: A global perspective. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 151, 3-8
Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (TIGER). (n.d.). The TIGER Initiative: Informatics competencies for every practicing nurse: Recommendations from the TIGER collaborative. Retrieved from: http://www.mhsinformatics.org/CI-Fellowship/Workforce-Development/Competencies/Tiger.Report_C,[etemcoes_final.pdf
Use a standard 10 to 12 point typeface (10 to 12 characters per inch). Smaller or compressed type, as well as papers with narrow
margins or single spacing, are difficult to read. It is preferable to allow your essay to exceed the recommended number of pages rather than attempting to compress it into fewer pages.
Large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are also unacceptable, waste trees, and will not fool your professor.
The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced, and have a one-inch margin on all four sides of each page. When submitting hard copies, use white paper and print with dark ink. It will be difficult to follow your argument if it is difficult to read your essay.