Resent Trends in Nursing Informatics - Term Paper Example

? RECENT TRENDS IN NURSING INFORMATICS Written by In partial fulfillment of the requirement of [program Presented to [mentor [department name] [date] ABSRACT Nursing informatics in many ways is still in its stages of infancy due to the numerous challenges it is facing. The integration of new form of data acquisition, maintenance and management are the main challenges to which many older nurses are not accustomed to. Those who are getting accustomed to it cannot integrate the theoretical and clinical aspects of the nursing informatics. Understanding and identifying such challenges is the first requirement in order to find solutions to the problems faced by the nursing informatics today. RECENT TRENDS IN NURSING INFORMATICS INTRODUCTION A very interesting fact about health informatics is its smooth and rapid integration in the health care systems of the world. Now, advanced health care facilities cannot even bear to think running their services without computerized equipment at their disposal (Caraway, 2008). They have valid reasons, for computers and informatics systems have made processing and handling patients much quicker and efficient. Nurses in many ways can be considered as the pioneers in adopting such technologies within their services. This is the sole reason why nursing informatics is an important feature of the nursing curriculum (Caraway, 2008). Informatics is defined as the science of “representation, processing and communication of information in natural and artificial systems” (Fourman, 2003), where as in health care it would be defined as “a discipline focused on the acquisition, storage and use of information in a specific setting or domain” (Hersh, 2009). So how are nurses using these technologies in their daily healthcare provision? Firstly they are using informatics as an analyzing tool, and with that they are better able to choose, implement and evaluate the information gathered and create better care systems. Such systems are also now widely being used to provide information and education to the staff (Caraway, 2008). This trend has given a boost to the already implemented evidence based health care provision, by keeping nurses up to date about the most recent researches and clinical studies. It is therefore, easier for nurses to advance themselves as they move forward in their career (Caraway, 2008). WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW? The current trends are very much the continuation of the efforts of the past. With the understanding of the potential impact of informatics in medicine and health care delivery, there is emphasis to explore new areas and integrate this new technology deeper (Kampov-Polivoi, 2010, Jensen, Meyer and Sternberger, 2009). this reflects itself in the number of programs that have evolved related to informatics not only in nursing but in other medical areas as well. the technical advancement of these programs is reflected in the high number of such programs delivered online for studying (Kampov-Polivoi, 2010). Nursing informatics is based on three principles, which include data, information and knowledge. Utilizing these three principles has been able to provide one of the best methods applicable in evidence based nursing and medicine (Kaminski, 2010). This is why the evolution of the current nursing informatics programs has been made from bachelor levels to master levels. These developments in the academic areas indicate that informatics in all of its forms are becoming an essential subject to be learnt for future health care systems (Kampov-Polevoi, 2010). The integration of this system may be able to help reduce the work load that is presented to the current nurses. Currently, there is a gradual shortage of nursing staff across the globe due to the most demanding and time consuming work nurses do (Kaminski, 2010). The introduction of information technology in nursing may be able to reduce the burden of such long hours, and may even entice fresh graduates into taking up nursing as a profession (Kaminski, 2010). Currently there are three main domains of information technology being applied in the health care and nursing sector. These include functional, technological and integrated sophistication. These aspects allow for smoother operation of patient admission, treatment, care and discharge, along with the billing and medication maintenance (Alexander and Madsen, 2009). The newer trends point towards addition of clinical services and management of clinical protocols along with the administrative aspects of nursing care (Alexander and Madsen, 2009). The main concern however, is determining whether such innovation is helping improve quality of health care provision. The nursing homes for example, can benefit immensely from such innovations, with improved care and management of symptoms of the patients (Alexander and Madsen, 2009). The challenges however remain. Many new questions were raised with the introduction of nursing informatics. For example, how will data be transferred to a health care facility that is different from the one which is sending it, more so if it is another country or region altogether (Kaminski, 2010). This necessitated the need to create a universal nursing language, which means that now, nurses will have better access to the global nursing research without confusion, thereby increasing their productivity (Kaminski, 2010). Nursing therefore is now more computer savvy and technical, since it is becoming an every day part of the profession (Jensen, Meyer and Sternberger, 2009). Therefore, the recent trends advocate learning computer workings from nurses in order to prevent any problems in the provision of care (Kaminski, 2010). This means that the current teaching systems must incorporate and include subjects pertaining to the use of computers and analyzing data from such systems. Information management is another essential but very different area, where the right information is utilized and made common among the nursing staff (Hersh, 2009). Such management and learning systems are hoped to improve the critical evaluation and diagnosis quality of the nurses, improving their clinical judgment and thereby preventing morbidity and mortality risks (Jensen, Meyer and Sternberger, 2009). Nurses are now using informatics in many parts of their job including clinical decision support, improved reporting capability of patient and provider interactions, remote monitoring of the patients, administrative activities, continued education and networking among affiliate providers respectively (Alexander and Wakefield, 2009). Another research on the effects of information technology in nursing homes has found it to be more organized and convenient to access and manage, thereby saving time. Clinical decision making is improved by earlier detection of resident problems, which result in earlier interventions (Alexander and Madsen, 2009). However, in order to motivate nurses to use such technology, an important factor is to provide them with the necessary training. Study by Koivunen et al in 2008 showed that knowledge of the computer and ease of operatability are some of the key factors that influence the motivation and frequency to use informatics technology among nurses (Koivunen et al, 2008). Alongside, the nurses must be motivated to take an interest in computers; otherwise, they may not be willing to use those (Koivunen et al, 2008). Another key challenge is the lack of experts in the field of nursing informatics, and even health informatics, to design programs, curriculums and courses that can address the needs of the growing demands in IT health care sector (Hersh, 2009). Nurses therefore, are put in a divide, with one half of the nurses still working by older working standards, while the newer ones trying to embrace the IT technology, but failing to do so due to lack of guidance, information or education in this regard (Jensen, Meyer and Sternberger, 2009). The need therefore, is to critically analyze the different method that can help improve knowledge and application of these new concepts more successfully in the field of nursing. These challenges are especially daunting for those who are learning to make critical clinical decisions on these systems (Jensen, Meyer and Sternberger, 2009). Providing regular tutorial sessions within different health care facilities pertaining to the systems that are being used in that facility may help nurses gain confidence in using and applying these systems (Jensen, Meyer and Sternberger, 2009). So why is there such an emphasis to educate nurses about the various aspects of information technology? Firstly, the nursing force is one of the largest health care forces in the world (Honey and North, 2009). This group is perhaps the most engaged and involved in the patient care and treatment planning, which means that it is the most informed about the changes that take place in a patient during the course of his or her treatment. it is for this reason that nurses must be well educated, trained and equipped with the best medical knowledge to provide the most competent and efficient health care services. Again, this means that education programs of the nurses must be complete, organized, intense as well as up to date to ensure nurses are not compromised due to lack of knowledge or technical expertise (Honey and North, 2009). With the advent of new technological advancements in healthcare, and integration of these new systems, the most likely person to be handling them is again the nursing staff. this means that if the nursing staff is not trained well, and if they do not keep themselves up to date about the new advancements taking place around them, not only will they be left behind, but may also possibly jeopardize the health and safety of the patients around them. Creation of flexible learning programs is another very effective method to overcome this lack of technical knowledge (Honey and North, 2009). As mentioned above the use of internet online accessible course materials and degrees can motivate nurses to take up more degree related initiatives, and thereby increase the number of educated and talented workforce in this particular aspect of nursing (Hersh, 2009). These flexible learning modules and methods however, do have their own weaknesses, the most prominent among them being lack of good evaluation systems (Honey and North, 2009). Therefore, such systems and learning programs must also have a rigorous competency and evaluation protocol in order to ensure that the nurses understand the aspects delivered in the program succinctly (Hersh, 2009). Finally, the last challenge in all these problems is the proper integration of both clinical and theoretical knowledge successfully in the technical development of nursing informatics (Honey and North, 2009). Providing linkage and relation between the two can help nurses overcome gaps in both types of learning and ensure that nurses are better able to utilize these learnt skills in clinical practices (Honey and North, 2009). CONCLUSION Nursing informatics holds much potential and interest in the current health care industry, mainly due to the increased pace of the technological development and also the increased burden of patients that now come to health care services for help (Hersh, 2009). Creating proper education and training programs are an essential requirement of the nursing staff in order to promote smooth working environments, and lesser stress and work hours for the nursing staff. With almost all other fields of medicine eagerly embracing new forms of health informatics, nursing should not be left behind. Any one component of the health care system that fails to adapt to the new challenges of health care will affect the outcomes in all other aspects of healthcare industry. Creation of more pioneers and visionaries through education and incentive can help overcome these obstacles. REFERENCES Alexander GL and Madsen R, 2009. IT Sophistication and Quality Measures in Nursing Homes. J Gerontol Nurs 35(7): 22-27. Alexander GL and Wakefield DS, 2009.Information Technology Sophistication in Nursing Homes. JAMDA Vol 10, Issue 6, pp 398-407. Caraway Trudi, 2008. Trends in Healthcare Technology. Paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for NSG 6634, Role of the Informatics Specialist in the School of Nursing, Troy University, Troy, Alabama, February 20, 2008. Fourman MP, 2003. Informatics in : Feather J, Sturges P, editors. International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science. 2nd Edition. London, UK: Routledge; 2003, pp 237-243. Hersh WA, 2009. A Stimulus to Define Informatics and Health Information Technology. BMC Med Infom Decis Mak 2009;9(24). Honey M and North N, 2009. Supporting Workforce Development of Nurses- Exploiting the Synergies Between Technology in Education and Development. Healthcare and Informatics Review Online. Site last accessed on March 23rd, 2011 from http://www.hinz.org.nz/journal/2009/02/Supporting-Workforce-Development-of-Nurses--Exploiting-the-Synergies-Between-Technology-In-Education-And-Practice/1003 Jensen R, Meyer L, and Sternberger C, 2009. Three Technological Enhancements in Nursing Education: Informatics Instruction, Personal Response Systems and Human Patient Simulation. NEP vol 9, Issue 2, pp 86-90. Kaminski J, 2010.A Revealing of Nursing Informatics. Site prepared as part of PHD#2 Comprehensive Exam Work, University of British Columbia, Department of Education, Faculty of Curriculum and Pedagogy Studies. Site last accessed on March 10th, 2011 from http://www.nursing-informatics.com/revealing/agency.html Koivunen M, Valimaki M, Koskinen A, Staggers N, Katajisto J, 2008. The Impact of Individual Factors on Healthcare Staff’s Computer Use in Psychiatric Hospitals. Journal of Clinical Nursing vol 18, Issue 8, pp 1141-1150. Read More