What Is Nursing Informatics? Camille Jensen, RN BS NURS 500 September 2011

Objectives To provide a brief history of the evolution of nursing informatics To give an explanation of the nurse informaticist role To discuss the scope of practice and competencies of the nurse informaticist To provide examples of practice environments To explain outcomes associated with nursing and the use of information technology

History of Nursing Informatics In the 1880 ’ s, Florence Nightingale first hinted at the benefits of tracking hospital records. Harriet Werley worked with IBM to standardize patient data collection in the 1950 ’ s and 1960 ’ s. The first computer applications in nursing were used in the 1970 ’ s. Ozbolt and Saba (2008)

History of Nursing Informatics The personal computer was introduced in the 1980 ’ s. Major advances including internet, PDAs, and search engines were developed in the 1990 ’ s saw the government mandate of electronic medical records. Ozbolt and Saba (2008)

Focus Nursing informatics has standardized the data nurses obtain from patients. Through evidence based practice research, NI has improved patient outcomes. Nursing Informaticists have participated in developing computer applications used in patient care settings. Many nursing informaticists are responsible for the education of RNs in his or her facility. Schleyer, Burch, and Schoessler (2011)

Scope of Practice “ Computers are incredibly fast, accurate and stupid. Human beings are incredibly slow, inaccurate and brilliant. Together they are powerful beyond imagination. ” – Albert Einstein The ANA defines nursing informatics as “ the specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge and wisdom in nursing practice. ” Nursing Informatics is not just data entry into the medical record.

Competencies All nurses are at least beginner informaticists. The Informatics Nurse Specialist pairs advanced clinical skills with advanced computer skills. The new definition includes “ wisdom. ” The importance of the role has led to formal education and certification.

Practice Environments Developers Educators Researchers Telehealth

Practice Outcomes Nursing informaticists use best practice and evidence based care to improve healthcare for everyone. They use information to standardize nursing practice, improving quality and safety. Specialists educate nurses, patients and families giving everyone access to available healthcare information.

Summary Nursing informatics was has been a concept since Florence Nightingale realized the benefits of tracking patient data for comparison and analysis. Through gathering and analyzing of data, best practices have been established improving patient outcomes and quality of care.

Summary With the electronic medical records mandate all nurses are informaticists at some level. There are many opportunities available in nursing informatics. Informatics will continue to advance nursing as a practice and improve patient care.

References American Nurses Association. (2008). Nursing informatics: Scope and standards of practice. Washington, D.C.:Nursesbooks.org. Ozbolt, J., & Saba, V. (2008). A brief history of nursing informatics in the United State of America. Nursing Outlook, 56(5), Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Schleyer, R.H., Burch, C.K., & Schoessler, M.T. (2011). Defining and integrating informatics competencies into a hospital nursing department. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 29(3), Doi: /NCN.0b013e3181f9db8c