NR 361 Discussion AACN Essentials Informatics Self-Assessment

The rendering of healthcare service entails an all encompassing approach to the patient’s queries and needs. As a healthcare professional, I was at first unaware of the functions and the potential applications of informatics in the field until I took the AACN Self- assessment (score was 24) which inadvertently led to my understanding of its relevance in today’s healthcare needs. As per definition, “Informatics has been viewed as an integral factor in the delivery of quality healthcare service”. Consequently, the need for a dynamic healthcare system that vividly anchors culturally appropriate scientific breakthroughs for continuous improvement and innovation (Hebda et al., 2018). Correspondingly, I was fully unaware of how technology could be incorporated to the clinical practice and to what extent it could be applied on. Despite these perceptual shortcomings, the admittance of the AACN self-assessment was essential in my realization that there is indeed a great room for applicability and improvement. Although I am not entirely proficient in delving into the technicalities of IT processes, I am learning to appreciate the significance of this undertaking. Hopefully, I will be able to fully grasp the concepts embedded within each lessons and apply them into my work as a healthcare professional. Also, I am looking forward to be able to understand how each of the medical apparatus, the patient identification system, IV pumps and the electronic health records rely on the efficient management of Information technology.

References

American Association Colleges of Nursing (2008). The essentials of baccalaureate education for professional nursing practice. http://www.aacn.nche.edu/education-resources/baccessentials08.pdf/(Links to an external site

Hebda, T., Hunter, K., & Czar, P.(2018). Handbook of Informatics for nurses and healthcare professionals. NY, NY: Pearson.

I’ve been a Registered Nurse for a little over six months, everyday at work I’m learning something new or a quicker way of doing certain things. But I barely found out the role of informatics. “Informatics is an essential component of healthcare today. The Institute of Medicine (2013a) noted its vision for the development of a continuously learning health system in which science, informatics, incentives, and culture are aligned for continuous improvement and innovation, and new knowledge is captured as a by-product of care processes.” (Hebda, Hunter, Czar, 2019)Everyday at work I was implementing informatics and didn’t realize it. In doing the AACN, I have very little knowledge of the field, but reading the assigned chapters gave me another point of view in healthcare. I did not score that high, I received a 22 , but hopefully as the weeks go by in the class, I’ll gain a better understanding of the role in informatics in nursing. Using the iv pumps while medicating a patient, using the electronic health record in documenting and looking up orders, and charting notes all fall under informatics. Hopefully by the end of the eight weeks, I’ll double my scores.

American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2008). The essentials of baccalaureate education for professional nursing practice. Washington, DC: AACN. Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/education-resources/baccessentials08.pdf/Links to an external site.

Hebda, T., Hunter, K., & Czar, P. (2018). Handbook of informatics for nurses and healthcare professionals. NY, NY: Pearson.

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I scored a 31 on the AACN Essentials Self-Assessment. I have been a nurse for 4 years, I still consider myself a new nurse because I’ve only worked in one specialty. There are many specialties that I am not familiar with and still learning. My current knowledge base in informatics is information literacy. “Information literacy builds on computer literacy and refers to a user’s ability to identify information needed for a specific purpose, locate pertinent information, evaluate the information, and apply it correctly” (Hebda, Hunter, & Czar, 2019 p. 36). I am able to navigate information systems to find needed information and apply in my nursing care. I am still learning how to communicate the data into knowledge. The area that I need the most improvement is “participating in evaluation of information systems in practice settings through policy and procedure development” (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2008 p. 19). In the self-assessment I gave myself a poor in this area because I don’t have any experience related to this. Ways I can improve in this area are taking this course, being more involved with the development of policy and procedure in my agency, and continuing to learn by practicing nursing. “The use of health information technology will foster and support nurses in providing health care and improving its quality” (Samadbeik, Shahrokhi, Saremian, Garavand, & Birjandi, 2017 p. 381). Nursing is a field that is always changing and growing. Nurses are continuously learning to improve their skills and knowledge this will ensure that patients receive the best quality care possible.

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2008). The essentials of baccalaureate education for professional nursing practice. http://www.aacn.nche.edu/education-resources/baccessentials08.pdf/Links to an external site.

Hebda, T., Hunter, K., & Czar, P. (2019). Handbook of informatics for nurses & healthcare professionals (6th ed.). Pearson.

Samadbeik, M., Shahrokhi, N., Saremian, M., Garavand, A., & Birjandi, M. (2017). Information Processing in Nursing Information Systems: An Evaluation Study from a Developing Country. Iranian Journal of Nursing & Midwifery Research, 22(5), 377. https://chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=127038106&site=eds-live&scope=siteLinks to an external site.

Learning to communicate data into knowledge is an ongoing process for us because technology is and will always be changing in our profession. I also found myself needing improvement in the “Participating in the evaluation of information systems in practice settings through policy and procedure development”. I would like to take more classes to familiarize myself with the different systems available out there and the differences between them. It is exciting that we get to work in a field where things are always changing. Nursing certainly is not a mundane profession. We are constantly growing in experience and knowledge. It is so important that we are open and enthusiastic about change, to be encouraging to our peers as well. My hospital changed our system over to Epic last year. Many nurses were very apprehensive about it. Some seasoned nurses even opted to retire early just so they would not have to go through the process. It was quite different from the system we were previously using. The classes were extremely helpful, and I learned so much. I found that the support of my peers and the encouragement we gave one another was helpful. We developed a supportive culture for change and growth. I can see the benefit now of the change in many ways related to my practice, but I particularly appreciate the efficiency of interdisciplinary communication.

You said it nursing is ever changing and growing which is the best part about being a nurse. I love the fact that we continuously learn and improve daily. It really shocked me during the transition to EPIC that some nurses were so apprehensive. “NISs help nurses to provide better care to patients and the possibility of assessment and exchange of clinical information with other health care providers” (Samadbeik, Shahrokhi, Saremian, Garavand, & Birjandi, 2017 p. 381). Information systems are designed to improve patient center care, reduce nursing workloads, and improve coordination of care. That is why I was shocked that nurses didn’t want to learn and implement these systems. As a patient advocate it is a part of our job to give quality care so why would nurses not want to be a part of that. I understand that it is a process to learn computers for some but with peer encouragement and help it goes a long way. Thank you for your response.

References

I have scored a 29 on the Nursing Self-Assessment. I was reluctant to take this class initially because I come from a generation that does not find computer science intuitive. I would never question the fact that I could use a better I.T. knowledge base especially as it pertains to terminology. I only bought my first laptop for my personal use in 2013 and had no idea how to use it. I now appreciate how much information is at my fingertips.

In our profession it is imperative to be able to, at the very least, research information to not only educate ourselves but our patient population as well. As Hart (2008) states, “Establishing a baseline of informatics competencies in the existing workforce is vital to forecasting and planning for growth in an expanding electronic healthcare delivery area”. Although the area of nursing informatics does intimidate me, I am reassured when I think back to all the different systems, I was able to use when I spend my years as a registry nurse. At that time, I had been able to enter a new facility for work almost every shift, when every computer system was different and still manage to do my job without the benefit of orientation or training. Not only the computers but the bedside machines and monitors. For this example, I convince myself that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

I think that expanding on my knowledge base in Informatics will enable me to bring a lot of things together. I have information and skills in my head that I am unable to articulate. As Heba (2019) explains, “the internet provides a wealth of knowledge, but being able to effectively interpret and use that information requires information literacy”. I understand that with my 21 years of bedside experience as an R.N., I may very well have valuable contributions in this arena. I need to educate myself through this class for instance, so that I have a better foundation in informatics. I want to understand what I can do in my role to contribute to my profession and improve my patient’s care and experiences. I want to know how I can improve the workflow regarding CIS systems in my workplace. I also want to know how I can more efficiently use the technology that is available to me.

References

HART, M. D. (2008). Informatics Competency and Development Within the US Nursing Population Workforce. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 26(6), 320-329. DOI: 10.1097/01.NCN.0000336462.94939.4c.

Hebda, T., Hunter, K., & Czar, P. (2019). Handbook of informatics for nurses & healthcare professionals (6th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

I have been nurse for 26 years and am finishing up my BSN. My AACN Essential Self Assessment yielded a score of 33. I am hoping to improve this score with this class. When I began my nursing career, we used paper charts and had to decipher the doctors handwriting!!! (I’m showing my age!!).

Technology is a helpful tool in the healthcare delivery system and is important in the way we work and communicate with our colleagues and even families of our patients. “Technology is a pervasive part of every aspect of society including healthcare delivery'”. (Hedba, Hunter, Czar, 2019). I have seen in my nursing practice using technology to provide improved patient outcomes and deliver comprehensive patient care plans can be challenging. I would like to see personal improvement in this area. This can also improve workflow once data is collected and new process’ can be put in place.

Hebda, T., Hunter, K., & Czar, P. (2018). Handbook of informatics for nurses and healthcare professionals. NY, NY: Pearson.

Assuming I have understood the scoring system correctly I gave myself a 31/48 on the AACN Nursing self-assessment. I have been in nursing for 9 years now (primarily in oncology) and before that I spent 6 years working as an unlicensed nurse aid working in home with adults with physical and developmental disabilities. I have worked both in nursing practice where everything where all documentation was handwritten (from the MAR to progress notes to incident reports) as well as a practice that is primarily paperless. I have been through two major EMR transitions and spend time evaluating the cost verses benefit of new technology/products. If I feel, after the review, that product or technology will assist the practice I present a proposal to the partners and if agreed upon write the policy surrounding its use.

One area I could use improvement in is participating in evaluation of information systems in practice settings through policy and procedure development. Sweeney states that in regard to informatics, “considering these systems and how they effect the process and flow of the clinical setting , it is important to not only consider the technology at hand but also the workflow and the data collection process” (2017, p. 1). In my current position I must define how we collect data in a reportable format. It’s one of my job requirements that I don’t really care for. I am all for creating policies that enhance patient safety and increases efficiencies but I dislike being forced to create cumbersome policies simply so that we can get a higher MIPS score, Our EMR computes the big data for us, but rather than “provide new opportunities for healthcare to discover new insights and create new methods to improve healthcare quality ” (Hebda, et. al, 2019,p. 5) we are forced to focus on perhaps not what is best for specialty patient group but what the government suggests that we do. The amount of time spent on writing policies to ensure we get patients enrolled into our sub-par; not very useful, patient portal could have been spent writing new comprehensive training manuals for nurses new to oncology. The time we spend clicking all the right buttons so that our EMR can pull the data is time that could have been spent performing care calls on patients. I take the time do click the right buttons and write the policies but in my particular care setting (outpatient medical oncology) I’m doing it because I have to, not to improve or enhance patient care and outcomes. If I can find a way to glean something of actual value from this data collection and reporting then I’m sure my motivation would change and I could give myself a higher score in this area. Perhaps this program will help me figure out how programs like MIPS can be used to bring care back to being patient centered.

Reference:

Hebda, T., Hunter, K. & Czar, P. (2019). Handbook of Informatics for Nurses & Healthcare Professionals 6^th edition. Pearson.

Sweeney, J. (2017). Healthcare Informatics. Online Journal of Nursing Informatics 21(1). https://web-a-ebscohost-com.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=11&sid=6ae9fe7d-c036-4e7b-abf4-3f272609a961%40sdc-v-sessmgr01&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=ccm&AN=128848047&anchor=AN0128848047-2Links to an external site.

NR 361 Discussion AACN Essentials Informatics Self-Assessment