Key Functional areas of Nursing Informatics
The functional areas of nursing informatics are important to health care delivery for patients. The area of administration, leadership, and management is one functional area that is relevant to my position as an intensive care nurse. This functional area in a large hospital requires “supervision, representation of nurse interest, oversights of nursing standards and vocabularies used in applications” (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018 p. 20). Recently, out hospital upgraded the electronic health record (EHR) system to a newer vision of the same system. I was chosen to be a superuser to identify issues, facilitate knowledge to my peers, and observe the change is put into practice. One of the new areas of the update included adding an avatar of the patient’s body. Key Functional areas of Nursing Informatics Essay Example

This device shows the tubes and lines placed on the patient and by clicking them enables the nurse to chart on them. A problem was identified when it was used in practice. The avatar was useful when adding lines and clicking on current ones, however when the line was removed and it needed to be documented completed, it did not perform this action. The only way to get this done was to go back into the chart and use the document flow sheet. I was able to relay that information to the team responsible for the build and they are currently working on a solution. Although it is a small task it will affect the whole hospital when using this application.
Another functional area that is essential in nursing informatics is consultation. This function includes “consulting with individuals and groups in defining healthcare information problems and identifying methods for implementing, utilizing, and modifying IT solutions and data structures to support healthcare access, delivery, and evaluation”( McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018 p. 24). Part of the role being in charge nurse on my unit is doing daily quality audits using the electronic health record. These audits are time-consuming and require frequent flipping back and forth from flow sheets to notes. In order to make the information quickly available, a team from my unit meet with our informatics specialist to discuss a way to combine this information. A nursing quality tab was developed thorough the EHR that allows for all this information to be seen on one screen. The ability to look back at specific times and groups of information is included in the form. This saved countless hours of searching and made it so that quality outcomes can be seen and measured by all nurses that are involved in the patients care.  Key Functional areas of Nursing Informatics Essay Example

TIGER Competencies
Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (TIGER) was formed to “bring together nursing stakeholders to develop a shared vision, strategies, and specific actions for improving nursing practice, education, and the delivery of patient care through the use of health information technology (IT)” (The TIGER initiative, 2009 p. 2). A set of competencies was developed to meet this goal that includes: basic computer information literacy, and information management (The TIGER initiative, 2009). These were initiated to ensure all nurse were able to function in practice and education by using up to date technology (The TIGER initiative, 2009).
Basic computer information is a competencies that must be met in order to work in a large academic hospital where everything is electronic (The TIGER initiative, 2009). This competencies represents the use of patient care technologies (e.g., monitors, pumps, computer-assisted devices.) (The TIGER initiative, 2009). All are vital to properly caring for a patient. Nursing curriculums now require a basic computer education class as a prerequisite to admission (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018). The group’s goal is to have nursing informatics classes in all levels of nursing education (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018). This competencies is important for bedside nurses to be able to find and access evidence-based practice care (The TIGER initiative, 2009). For example, a policy or procedure that a nurse is utilizing the computer system to retrieve so ensure it is being done correctly. At times I struggle with finding certain policies especially when I am orienting a new nurse. This is partly due to the way they are embedded into the intranet where I work. Recognizing I am a beginner in informatics helps me prioritize my learning (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018). I can use the intuitions systems and get information to manage patients (The TIGER initiative, 2009). Being enrolled in this master’s level class is one way I plan to improve in this competencies (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018). The exposure, literature search, and review will allow me to grow into an experienced nurse level (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018).
The second competencies are information literacy and are defined as a set of abilities allowing individuals to recognize when information is needed and to locate, evaluate and use that information appropriately” (The TIGER initiative, 2009 p.9). This is an essential skill to have while working in the intensive care unit. This skill requires recognizing what information is needed regarding a patients care by performing an assessment and applying critical thinking (The TIGER initiative, 2009). Then find the information needed to provide care that includes evidence-based practice and policies retrieval (The TIGER initiative, 2009). Synthesizing this information includes validation of sources and finally implementation of the practice to the patient (The TIGER initiative, 2009). This, in a nutshell, is what I do as an ICU nurse on a daily basis, but instead of challenging the protocols and policies I follow them. I need to work on evaluating the creditability of the sources, especially when already in a policy (The TIGER initiative, 2009). Again, I plan on stretching from the beginning nurse that can access these applications to someone who is apart of researching and implementing these protocols (The TIGER initiative, 2009).
Lastly, information management is a competency that implies a process consisting of “collecting data, processing the data, and presenting and communicating the processed data as information or knowledge” (The TIGER initiative, 2009 p. 11). Part of this competency is to protect the patients right to privacy (The TIGER initiative, 2009). This competency is supported where I work by creating a badge tap system for access to patient’s records. In order to log into the computer the nurse must tap their badge on the systems card to open the chart. It also logs you out after 5 minutes of no activity. This meets one of the specific competency requirements to protect patient’s privacy (The TIGER initiative, 2009).

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These competencies are necessary because they set strict parameters and highlight areas where further education is needed (American Nurses Association, 2015). The biggest areas of necessity are to be able to access evidence-based practice and implement it into practice (American Nurses Association, 2015). These competencies will improve patient outcomes and advance the nursing profession (American Nurses Association, 2015).
Plan for Developing Competencies
One way to develop these competencies is by completing an online course created by the nursing informatics-learning center (The TIGER initiative, 2009). This program provides a self-assessment review and then offers tutorials and education tailored to each student (The TIGER initiative, 2009). Another program is TIGER staff development. This can be done through a virtual learning environment provided by the TIGER initiative (The TIGER initiative, 2009). It is an education portal that has three learning levels and allows staff to work at their own pace (The TIGER initiative, 2009). There is access to online webinars, meeting critical leaders in informatics, and modules with resources (The TIGER initiative, 2009). There is a nursing informatics specialist that works directly with all of our intensive care units. She rounds to ensure there are no problems. She offers WebEx meetings and classroom time when new issues arise to educate the staff. Developing a plan to incorporate these competencies into the classes is a way to implement these practices. Being efficient and effective are two crucial aspects of bedside nursing (The TIGER initiative, 2009). Computers in the patient rooms provide a way to chart and discuss with the patient their concerns (American Nurses Association, 2015). This is a time management skill that is effective. Scanning medications at the bedside as a nurse allows for the information to be present if the patient has any questions regarding medications (American Nurses Association, 2015). Decreasing the amount of time to find policies and being more efficient would help improve nursing effectiveness (American Nurses Association, 2015). An integration of nurse informatics competencies is necessary with the ever-changing arena of health care.  Key Functional areas of Nursing Informatics Essay Example

References
American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing informatics: Scope & standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Springs, MD: Author.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2018). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.
The TIGER initiative. (2009). Informatics Competencies for Every Practicing Nurse: Recommendations from the TIGER Collaborative. Retrieved from http://thetigerinitiative.org/docs/TigerReport_InformaticsCompetencies_001.pdf

Key Functional areas of Nursing Informatics

For the area of administration, leadership, and management and following the upgrading of the electronic health record (EHR) system, it would be worthwhile to enroll in an education program to gain knowledge and become competent in using all clinical support systems integrated within the EHRs Ali, 2018).

To realize the TIGER objectives, as a nurse one ought to support the collection and sharing of accurate information and data and more importantly support best practices and always push for implementation of the most recent technology in healthcare (Ali, 2018). It is important to always consult the evidence-based clinical during practice to guide your practice.

Moreover, it would be important to enroll in HITS – Health Informatics Training System and obtain a certification. HITS program has content that is significantly similar to the TIGER recommendation and therefore this program will enable one to acquire the basic computer competencies. Certification from HITS will not only open up more opportunities but will improve your competency in many areas of information systems (Gonen et al, 2016).

Finally, strong and effective leadership and communication between nursing practice and the management is essential in order to promote a positive clinical atmosphere for learning and embracing information systems (Ali, 2018). Apart from incorporating adequate informatics skills, it is important to put into consideration the ethics and legal aspects allied to accessing private and personal information.  Therefore as a nurse, there is a need to familiarize oneself with the appropriate ethics regarding the use of information systems (Gonen et al, 2016).

References

Ali R. (2018).A Review of Informatics Competencies Tools for Nurses and Nurse Managers. Canadian Journal of Nursing Informatics. 13(1).

Gonen A, Sharon D, Lilac L & Wang S. (2016). Integrating Information Technology’s competencies into academic nursing education–An action study. Journal of Cogent Education. 3(1). Key Functional areas of Nursing Informatics Essay Example