Final Paper Nursing Informatics-1
Final Paper Nursing Informatics-1
Final Paper Nursing Informatics-1
Nursing Informatics
GNRS 500
Professor Holt
David Staten
Nursing Informatics
1980s has led to nursing informatics (Thede, 2012). Nursing informatics integrated basic
computer skills, information literacy, and information management that are essential to modern
healthcare (Foster & Sethares, 2017). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the significance of
The foundations of nursing informatic was started by Florence Nightingale (Betts &
Wright, 2009). Florence Nightingale nursed wounded soldiers during the Crimean War (Betts &
Wright, 2009). Nightingale realized that soldiers have been dying from preventable causes (Betts
& Wright, 2009). She utilized statistical data of wounded soldiers dying from unsanitary
conditions and overcrowding (Betts & Wright, 2009). She wrote that accurate statistics would
lead to improvements to medical and surgical procedures (Betts & Wright, 2009). Nightingale’s
statistical analysis influenced future nursing informatics such as Grave – Blum Model (Betts &
Wright, 2009).
nursing data, information, and knowledge” (Nelson, p.1, 2018). Procedural knowledge involves
the interaction between data, information, and knowledge to perform nursing tasks (Nelson,
2018). Bruce Blum’s taxonomy and definitions influence Grave’s Model (Nelson, 2018).
Blum defines the three components: a) data, b) information, and c) knowledge. Data is an
uninterpreted item such as age which is difficult to interpret without context of other data
(Nelson, 2018). Information is a group of data elements that are significant for a person to
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interpret (Nelson, 2018). Body mass indexes are an example of information that are calculated
with data elements such as height, weight, age, and gender (Nelson, 2018). Body mass index is
interrelationships between data and information. (Nelson, 2018). Individuals that have a body
mass index of thirty being interpreted as healthy and not obese is an example of knowledge
(Nelson, 2018). Nurses utilize the Graves and Blum model to meet patient needs with medical
technology (Nelson, 2018). Graves and Blum model are used in electronic medical records
(Nelson, 2018).
The first electronic medical record is implemented in 1971 by clinicians and engineers
(Thede, 2012). Electronic medical records were successful in incorporating true integration,
workflow support, and ease of use (Thede, 2012). Different healthcare clinician processes
integrated electronic medication administration and ordering abilities (Thede, 2012). Clinical
words and phrases were critical components that promoted ease of use compared to
computational coding systems (Thede, 2012). The system design of electrical records is
implemented for nursing roles and nursing culture (Thede, 2012). A goal of nursing informatics
is to free nurses from excessive documentation and engage in quality patient care (Thede, 2012).
There are many barriers to overcome in the modern era of nursing informatics. Barriers in
the modern era include system integration, inadequate screen design, difficulty innovating new
informatic tools, and failure to implement informatic principles (Thede, 2012). Healthcare
agencies lack proper system integration (Thede, 2012). The systems for these agencies provide
automation for one department, but lack interfacing with other departments or systems (Thede,
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2012). The ideal system for integration includes data from every department (Thede, 2012). Non-
interfaced systems that require each department to enter the repetitive data can cause decreased
quality control (Thede, 2012). Nurses that enter repetitive data with non-interface systems
increase their risk for errors (Thede, 2012). Therefore, inadequate screen designs cause
Vendors and consumers need to create adequate screens for proper nursing use (Thede,
efficiency (Thede, 2012). In addition, screen designs include human-interface principles can
decrease or prevent data errors (Thede, 2012). Also, scanning of patient records into computers
The practice of scanning patient healthcare records into digital records are difficult
compared to physical records (Thede, 2012). Information scanned are not retrievable in a
structuralized format (Thede, 2012). There is difficulty in scanning ineligible hand written
computer text or extensive editing requires accurate translation (Thede, 2012). Nursing
informatics can utilize greater systems and implementation of informatic principles (Thede,
2012).
Failure to implement informatic principles are due to lack of cultural changes (Thede,
2012). A cultural shift from silo mentalities to multidisciplinary perspectives are required to
implement effective informatic principles (Thede, 2012). Silo mentalities create disparities
between different healthcare disciplines that affect patient care (Thede, 2012). Multidisciplinary
perspectives implement integrated processes that provide better patient care which require
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increased investments of time, money, and effort (Thede, 2012). Nursing informatic education
population (Honey & Procter, 2017). Nursing education prepares students to act as information
management that advocate for patients (Honey & Procter, 2017). Essential concepts of nursing
expectations (Honey & Procter, 2017). Initial focus of informatic education is performing basic
computer skills or task (Honey & Procter, 2017). The focus has shifted from performing basic
computer skills to understanding information management and informatic issues (Honey &
Procter, 2017). An initiative that improved nursing education for informatics is known as
initiative is setting minimum informatics competencies for modern nursing education (Noble-
Britton, 2014). This approach is set for nursing leaders and educators to integrate technology and
informatics into nursing practices (Noble-Britton, 2014). The goal of this initiative is promotion
of polarity thinking that balances traditional methods with innovation and individuality (Noble-
Britton, 2014). This initiative promotes innovate technologies and sustainable transformation that
respects humanistic and individualized patient care (Noble-Britton, 2014). Nursing informatic
education requires differing strategies for different academic groups (Foster & Sethares, 2017).
Different strategies are required for faculty, undergraduate students, and graduate
students in implementing nursing informatics (Foster & Sethares, 2017). In addition, faculty
needs support from outside personnel or peers to master informatic competencies (Foster &
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Sethares, 2017). Faculty can integrate mastered informatic competencies into educational
curriculums (Foster & Sethares, 2017). Therefore, faculty without peers need to consult with
other educational institutions that provide training for informatic integration (Foster & Sethares,
2017). Institutions need to provide faculty members with informatic resources and tools to
assessment tools for immediate feedback for implementing nursing informatics (Foster &
Sethares, 2017). Faculty can direct students to resources that help to develop baseline
competencies (Foster & Sethares, 2017). In addition, faculty can design specific informatic
content as students progress throughout college (Foster & Sethares, 2017). Another strategy to
implement are case scenario that increase in difficulty as students progress throughout college
Faculty can implement two different strategies for graduate students (Foster & Sethares,
2017). One strategy for graduate students is information extraction from clinical data sets to
guide ethical decision making with computers (Foster & Sethares, 2017). Another strategy for
graduate students is language specific informatics that ensure activities have expected outcomes
(Foster & Sethares, 2017). The implementation of nursing informatics also includes educational
barriers.
Nursing informatic education faces challenges, barriers, and classroom pitfalls that hinder
nursing roles that require working with technology (Honey & Proctor, 2017). Nursing roles are
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blurred which causes professional boundaries to overlap and increase workload (Honey &
Proctor, 2017). A division between service delivery and nursing preparation leads to delayed
response of curriculum design and service improvement (Honey & Proctor, 2017). Delayed
responses increase the construct of general nursing education that includes a lack of professional
informatics, lack of support for informatic knowledge, and lack of collaboration within an
organization (Foster & Sethares, 2017). There are unclear methods of integrating informatic
competencies into nursing education (Foster & Sethares, 2017). A lack of support and training
faculty members results to unclear methods of integrating informatic competencies (Foster &
Sethares, 2017). A lack of collaboration within an organization result from faculty resistance due
Increase use of technology within classroom setting causes challenges to effective nurse
teaching and classroom management (Noble-Britton, 2014). Faculty need to ensure that devices
are used for educational purposes and not student leisure (Noble-Britton, 2014). Rules must be
established to limit classroom distraction from devices (Noble-Britton, 2014). Faculty need to
Classroom issues with technology are faculty mastery over technology, classroom control, and
privacy/legal concerns regarding social media (Noble-Britton, 2014). Clinical nursing site issues
with technology are cellphone usage in patients’ rooms, cellphone pictures of patients or their
conditions, and recording patient conversations (Noble-Britton, 2014). There are two major
The two major focuses for future nursing informatics are wisdom and research priorities.
Researchers for nursing informatics propose to add the concept of wisdom with Graves and
Blum Model (Nelson, 2018). Wisdom is defined as appropriate use of data, information, and
knowledge to implement patient focused care (Nelson, 2018). Wisdom includes integrating data,
information, and knowledge that is specific to the individual’s problem or condition (Nelson,
2018). Some nursing informatics experts believe that wisdom cannot be considered a function of
technology (Nelson, 2018). Other nursing informatics experts believe that nurses will incorporate
Information systems become automated to produce data and information (Nelson, 2018).
Automated systems have decisional systems that support or provide decisions based upon data
(Nelson, 2018). In addition, humans prior to automated systems made decision based upon data
(Nelson, 2018). Artificial intelligence systems can process automated systems information to
create new knowledge (Nelson, 2018). The next question for nursing informatics would be
where would the application of wisdom fit in future automated and artificial intelligence systems
A survey explores the top ten research priorities for future nursing informatics (Alhuwail
et al., 2016). The top ten research priorities were listed respectively as big data science,
usability, patient safety, data exchange, patient engagement, and clinical quality measures
(Alhuwail et al., 2016). Big data science is defined as large and multidimensional data that are
analyzed and display patterns, trends, and associations related to health promotion with
computational technique (Alhuwail et al., 2016). Big data analytics compare effectiveness among
various areas such as research, personalized medicine, and more (Alhuwail et al., 2016).
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Standard terminology is the second highest voted after big data sets which indicates
applied terminology research are needed (Alhuwail et al., 2016). There are gaps between
integrated real-world terminology and numerous terminology that exist on national and
international levels (Alhuwail et al., 2016). Integrated terminology has assigned unique codes
that results in difficulty to compare data across different terminologies (Alhuwail et al., 2016).
This causes limited nursing data to be communicating among nursing professionals (Alhuwail et
al., 2016). There are needs to make nursing terminology and data exchangeable and standardized
to improve clinical practice and research (Alhuwail et al., 2016). The remaining eight priorities
are voted to improving general health policies, globally, by adopting health information
Conclusion
The overall purpose of this paper is to analyze the significance of the past, present, and
future of nursing informatics. The significance of past nursing informatics begins with Florence
(Betts & Wright 2009). The Graves and Blum Model has provided a core definition to nursing
communicate, order, and search information at rapid speeds prior to computers. Nursing
informatic barriers and nursing informatic educational barriers exist in modern times. Possible
solutions are addressed for these barriers and challenges. Modern nursing informatic education
can prepare nursing students for future technological advancements and nursing role changes.
The future of nursing informatic influences research priorities and possible inclusion of wisdom
within Graves and Blum Model. Automated systems and artificial intelligence will influence the
References
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