Have you ever thought about a nursing career in informatics? Have you ever wondered about the clinical documentation system you use to document your assessments? Or does the “whole thing” scare you? Technology can be very intimidating, particularly if you do not understand it. Many nurses have become involved in informatics almost by accident because they were in the “right place at the right time”. For example, nurses were needed to teach other healthcare professionals how to use new software applications. Consequently, many nurses have learned to become informatics nurses by “on the job training”.
How many of you know what nursing informatics is? The American Nurses Association (ANA) defines informatics as:
Nursing informatics is a specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice. Nursing informatics facilitates the integration of data, information, knowledge, and wisdom to support patients, nurses, and other providers in their decision-making in all roles and settings. This support is accomplished through the use of information structures, information processes, and information technology. (ANA, 2008)
The specialty of nursing informatics (NI) is a relatively new field, starting in the 1950’s in response to the introduction of computers in the healthcare environment. In the 1980s, NI became an accepted specialty with many nursing experts entering the field. It was approved as a nursing specialty in 1992 by the American Nurses Association (ANA). During the 1990s, the demand for nurses experienced in information technology increased tremendously in the healthcare setting. Today, demand still exists for nurses to participate in all aspects related to health information systems. Since nurses are members of the largest group of healthcare professionals, they need to be at the “table” when decisions are made regarding information technology. This technology has, and will have, a significant impact on the quality and efficiency of healthcare services.
What do nurses who specialize in informatics do? The ANA’s definition very broadly defines these roles. There are numerous stages throughout the information technology development process for nurses to participate in. The field is “wide open” to the opportunities and areas in which nurses can function. Today, with the intense pressure to implement electronic medical records (EMR) in the healthcare setting, nurses can and should function as full partners from the inception to the implementation of information technology. For example, nurses can be involved in the analysis of workflows (what tasks are performed), content to be included, configuration of the system’s design, training of the users, functioning as super users (experts), and assisting the other disciplines as they learn how to use the application. Furthermore, since no application is “perfect” when it is first “rolled out”, nurses can participate in the “tweeking” of applications.
Informatics nurses can assume very technical roles intimately involved in the design of information systems, or less technical positions, such as project manager for the adoption of a new application or trainer of the users. Nurses bring institutional knowledge and experience to the table when applications are designed. This is extremely important so that the application will meet the needs of the user. If the user cannot use the application to effectively provide quality patient care, then it a useless tool.