Nursing Informatics Denotes the Scientific Field of Medical Studies - Coursework Example

? Nursing Informatics      Nursing Informatics Introduction Nursing informatics (NI) de s the scientific field of medical studies concerned with acquiring, storing, communicating, managing, disseminating and processing data into usable information. The field is important in processing and managing nursing information and data so as to support clinical practice, research, education, decision-making and policy development (ANA, 2008). NI is an integration of information science, computer science, cognitive science and nursing science. This integration is meant to enhance communication, management and expansion of knowledge, information, wisdom and data within the nursing practice (Bickford, 2009). Nursing informatics development can partly be attributed to the developments in the computer world whose applications have pervaded the whole medical field continuum. Computer application in knowledge management is currently applicable in clinical practice, nursing research and nursing education (Anderson et al., 2012). The recognition of the importance of NI led to the development of certification of nurses specializing in NI from 2005. The NI nurses have led to better patient outcomes through the application of their expertise in information technologies, structures and processes. This has helped other medical providers and nursing and medical practitioners in creating evidence-based practice and a clear record of practice that facilitates research, decision-making and policy development (Anderson et al., 2012). This paper critically reviews three nursing informatics job advertisements to determine whether the job descriptions are in line with the NI scope of operation, functional area definition and standards of practice. It is an analytical review aimed at determining whether the jobs have the right designation, which should take consideration of all elements of the nursing informatics field. In addition to analyzing the jobs, the paper also determines the deficiencies of the job description in relation to standards, scope of operation and functional areas. The identification of the deficiencies is thereafter followed by recommendations on how the job descriptions should be outlined so as to meet NI specifications. Job Requirement Summaries Descriptive Details Job One Job Two Job Three Job Title -Nurse Informatics -Nursing Informaticist -Clinical Informatics Supervisor Academic Qualifications -Bachelors degree (BSN). -Information system courses. -Bachelors degree (BSN). -Bachelors degree (BSN). -NI Certification by “American Nursing Credentialing Centre” (ANCC). Competencies & skills. -Computer skills. -Customer service skills. -Communication skills. - (missing). -Knowledge on computer applications and documentation. - Experience -1 year teaching or administrative role. -2 years in a clinical role with systems application. -5 years clinical nursing experience. -3-4 years’ experience in clinical nursing. -2 years’ experience in nursing staff education. -5 years’ experience in acute care set up. -Healthcare information systems’ knowledge. -Experience in NI. Job Type -Full time -Full time -Regular/Full time Other Requirements -RN Licensure -RN licensure -RN licensure -Membership in relevant nursing body. Job Descriptions Job One Create liaison with the medical staff, nursing practitioners, house staff and other care sectors in order to plan, design, develop, implement, maintain and evaluate electronic medical records and systems. Analyze structural processes and clinical operations in a manner that facilitates development of decision-making structures relating to clinical systems. Determine clinical processes that deserve computerization using clinical practice experience and knowledge. Ensure compliance of information systems with regulations and standards of practice. Assist with data analysis, quality assessment and design workflow and CKI. Job Two Change work culture related to technology implementation. Provide technological support in clinical information system. Plan, develop and design solutions to meet organization objectives. Facilitate the integration of knowledge, information and data to support efficiency, productivity, better outcomes and swift decision-making. Develop, implement and manage data analysis and information systems. Provide and develop reports on system functionalities. Offer consultancy on technical and clinical matters to all organizations and entities linked to the organization. Provide education and training to personnel interacting with and using the system. Job Three Oversee functions and operations of the department. Offer support to leadership and staff alike on issues of information systems Allocate resources effectively and monitor the use of resources Facilitate continuous improvement and compliance Develop work schedules and oversee productive working and hiring as well as compliance to regulations and standards Direct all information system operations Ensure proper use of clinical applications Acts as the coach and mentor of the team in charge of information systems Supervise team members and facilitate evaluation and feedback processes Job Analysis The first job description on ‘Nurse Informatics’ covers a comprehensive scope of NI operations and functional areas such as analysis, coordination, development, compliance, management, leadership and administration. However, there are notable functional areas that are missing from the first job description. These include research, policy development, and educational and development functional areas. These functional areas are not included in the job description of the first job. Similarly, standards of nursing practice closely related to these functional areas are also missing. These standards of practice include standard 13 (research), standard 15 (advocacy), standard 14 (resource utilization) and standard 7 and 5b (education) (Sunderman & Johnson, 2008). This deficiency fails to recognize that the nurse informatics job will entail educational activities, resource allocation and research oriented tasks. The second job description -Nursing Informaticist - covers a comprehensive scope of NI operations and functional areas such as development, management, leadership, consultation, professional development and integration and coordination. The description is, however, not comprehensive because there are various functional areas missing. The missing functional areas in the description include research, advocacy, policy development and integrity and compliance management. Standards of informatics practice related to these functional areas are also notably missing. The missing standards are not expressed explicitly within the description, and these include standard 12 (ethics), standard 15 (advocacy), standard 13 (research), standard 14 (resource utilization) (ANA, 2008). The lack of explicit descriptions that capture the functional areas and their related standards imply that the descriptions are indeed deficient. The third job description - Clinical Informatics Supervisor - has a comprehensive description of NI operations and functional areas including leadership, compliance, professional and educational development, evaluation, coordination, analysis, facilitation and integration. Like the rest of the descriptions, the third job description also fails to mention some functional areas such as research, policy development and advocacy. These lacking functional areas also imply that their related standards are missing from the description. The deficiencies in the job descriptions imply that applicants have fewer responsibilities and this may raise challenges in practice. It is essential for professionals willing and qualified to take NI roles to be made aware of their full responsibilities prior to employment (Hunt, Breckenridge-Sproat & Rutherford, 2004). Improvement Recommendations The three examples of job advertisements used in this assignment show deficiencies with regard to the description of the scope of operation and functional areas. As such, all the job descriptions need an expansion of the specifics so as to explicitly and comprehensively cover all the operational areas and ensure standards worth adhering to are well elaborated. In order to develop a clear recommendation the ‘Nursing Informaticist’ job description shall be used as an example because it is the most deficient considering that it even lacks competency basic outlines. Firstly, there is a need to develop a clear outline of specific competencies and skills necessary for the nurse informaticist’s post. Apart from basic qualifications it is necessary for prospective employees to have skills that can enhance optimal performance (Anderson et al., 2012). For example, communication is an essential requirement in meeting needs of developing coordination and collaboration, which are essential aspects of NI functional areas. Nursing informaticists lacking proper interpersonal communication skills cannot possibly lead other staff and coordinate appropriately. The competencies should also include computer skills for system management and communication skills for collaboration and coordination enhancement. Functional areas that are missing from the job description should also be included so as to make the role clearer to applicants. For example, the research element is clearly missing in the second job’s description. Data collected does not simply serve as a record or tracking instrument, but also as a tool towards revealing underlying factors in observable trends (Anderson et al., 2012). As such, NI collection of information is indeed a pillar of research. Research oriented tasks should be clearly defined so that prospective applicants can understand their full scope of roles. Information gathered by nursing informatics is often analyzed for trends and various forms of significance that may be helpful to clinical practice. Advocacy and policy formulation, which also stem from evidence derived from research, form essential functional areas that should be incorporated. Evidence-based practice requires that decisions should be made based on evidence derived from research and this evidence should support policy formulation and advocacy towards appropriate practice (ANA, 2008). Therefore, prospective applicants should be made to understand from the description that any systematic data collection should be purposeful and any evidence and inferences generated should be used to support evidence-based practice and policy development. Additionally, the changes in legislations such HIPPA call for greater compliance with regard to handling patient information. This is an essential aspect in standards of practice that should be complied with because it could be costly to both NI professionals and the health facility (Anderson et al., 2012). NI roles mainly deal with handling of data, and this data needs to be handled confidentially, accurately and safely so as to facilitate confidentiality and error reduction. Any failures in this regard could prove costly to the facility and practitioners due to possible legal suits. Additionally, patient safety may be compromised and positive safety outcomes negated. Finally, resource allocation should also be mentioned because information gathering, analysis and storage involves resource use, and is also a resource in itself. As such, there should be objective decisions on who should access and use the resources used to collect information as well as the information, which is a resource in itself (Hunt, Breckenridge-Sproat & Rutherford, 2004). Conclusion Computer technology application has pervaded virtually all sectors of the healthcare continuum. Education of practitioners, clinical management, active patient treatment and monitoring as well as primary care and epidemiologic studies (research) are just a few examples along the continuum where computer systems are applicable. This has led to the emergence of the ‘Nursing Informatics’ profession, which is a specialty that combines computer science, nursing science and information science. The resultant knowledge is applied in manage information and data, and effectively disseminate and communicate the data to relevant professionals and healthcare clients including patients and third parties such as insurance cover providers and the government. The NI profession facilitates integration of these profession and various functional areas to facilitate improved patient care and outcomes. The process is accomplished by using information technology, processes and structures. The whole structural organization is aimed at meeting administrative, managerial, analytical, educational, and leadership roles. Other functional areas that NI serves include research, consultation, development, evaluation, coordination, integration, compliance and integrity as well as advocacy and policy development. In order to meet the needs of all these functional areas the nursing informatics department and professionals have to ensure that they adhere to overarching standards in their field that define the identified functional areas. These standards define assessment of system needs, need identification, planning, development, implementation, management, coordination, consultation and facilitation of education to all. The standards of practice are thus factor pursued to ensure that all NI functional areas are addressed with optimal requirements that will fulfill compliance, facilitate better care and improved outcomes. Exclusion of any areas along the functional areas or standards’ continuum is likely to lead to non-compliance and the result may be poor outcomes for overall care systems. Therefore, all areas have to be bridged for full compliance and better outcomes. As such, NI professionals should be made fully aware of their scope of responsibilities, how to fulfill them and the need to fulfill them completely. References American Nurses Association (ANA) (2008). Nursing Informatics: Scope & Standards of Practice, American Nurses Association. Silver Spring, Maryland. Anderson, C., Barthold, M. F., Duecker, T., Guinn, P. G., MacCalum, R., M. & Sensmeier, J. (2012). Nursing Informatics 101. retrieved from http://www.himss.org/handouts/ni101.pdf Bickford, J. C. (2009). Nursing Informatics: Scope and Standards of Practice. Studies in Health Technology & Informatics, 146 (1), 855-1. Hunt, C. E., Breckenridge-Sproat S. & Rutherford, R. K. (2004). The Nursing Informatics Implementation Guide. New York, NY; Springer Publishers. Sunderman, C. & Johnson, C. (2008). The Scope of Practice within the Field of Health Informatics. Retrieved from http://people.duke.edu/~cls42/Nusing%20Informatics%20The%20Scope%20of%20Practice%20within%20the%20Field%20of%20Health%20Informatics.pdf Appendix Job One VCU Health System Job Description Job description: Liaison to nursing, medical staff, house staff, and other patient care areas to coordinate aspects of planning, design, development, implementation, maintenance, and evaluation of clinical systems including the electronic medical record. Analyzes complex clinical operations and structure processes to facilitate decision-making regarding clinical systems. Utilizes the knowledge and skills of clinical practice to determine clinical functions that are suitable for computer applications. Ensures information systems are consistent with professional standards of practice, regulations and accrediting guidelines. This position will assist with QA, data analysis, start content (Cerner) analysis and design, CKI use, and Workflow Testing for MU-related system changes. Job Requirements Education, training, experience: - Bachelors degree is required - Appropriate licensure is required - Computer skills are required - Customer service skills are required - Excellent communication skills are required - Experience is required 2 years in a role using a clinical system · 5 years of relevant clinical nursing experience Current RN licensure in Virginia or eligible 1 year of administrative or teaching experience Graduate of accredited School of Nursing required. ( BSN) Courses in Information systems a plus Job Two Nursing Informaticist Job Description We are seeking an experienced Nurse Informaticist to join our Information Services and Nursing Teams!   The Nursing Informaticist is responsible for changing the culture in nursing related to the implementation of technology.  The Nursing Informatics serves as the primary technology resource for related clinical information systems in Nursing.  Responsibilities include planning and design of business solutions and resources needed to meet business goals/objectives, facilitation of the integration of data, information, knowledge and/or systems to support improved productivity, efficiency, decision making, and/or quality outcomes in all roles and health care settings.   Position is responsible for implementation and management of system configurations, analyzing data, information and information system requirements.   Develops and provides a variety of reports.  Provides clinical and technical expertise as a consultant to the user community, branch locations, and affiliate or managed sites, Information Services, vendors, etc.  Responsible for the orientation and on-going training and education of all user personnel.  Job Requirements The successful candidate will have at least 2 years of experience with an EMR, design builds and education of nursing staff.  A BSN is required with 3-4 years of clinical nursing experience.  Must be able to be licensed as an RN in the state of Montana, licensure is required prior to start date. AA/EOE e-verify employer Job Three SUPERVISOR; CLINICAL INFORMATICS Tracking Code 9041 Job Description Responsible for oversight of the activities and functions of a department.  Provides functional expertise to staff and leadership.  Ensures effective use of system resources.  Participates in standards of practice and process improvement activities.  Participates in hiring, oversees daily productivity, and creates staffing schedule.  Ensures policy and procedures are followed by staff. Oversees and directs activities of the I.S. Nursing Informatics Team engaged in I.S. applications Ensures Information Technology competency in using clinical applications Supports the team as a mentor and coach Is accountable for behaviours by using appropriate supervision to members of the team through effective feedback, evaluation and acknowledgement of team contributions Basic Qualifications (Required): Registered Nurse in the State of California (active status); National certification in field of specialty (NI) through American Nursing Credentialing Centre (ANCC) (recommended and if absent actively pursued). Minimum Qualifications (Required):  Bachelors in Nursing plus 5 years acute care experience in nursing with progressive advancement. Preferred Qualifications: Master’s degree; active member of appropriate nursing professional organization(s); current practice maintained through continuing education and profession development. Broad knowledge of health care information systems, documentation and computer applications.  Experience in clinical/nursing informatics. *LI-SH1 Job Location Position Type Full-Time/Regular Department Information Services Job Type Full-Time Shift Type Days Shift Hours 8 Hour Shift Days Worked Monday-Friday Division Administrative Services Read More