Step 1 Read each of the following scenarios: Scenario 1: Helen has recently graduated from nursing school and passed her boards. Last week, she completed her orientation period in the medical nursing unit at Good Samaritan General Hospital. Scenario 2: Paul is a registered nurse in the neurosurgery unit at Good Samaritan General Hospital. He has been a staff nurse for ten years and provides direct patient care. In addition, Paul chairs the unit’s nursing council to improve patient care. The Nurses Role in Informatics The Nurse’s Role in Informatics Scenario 3: Lisa is a nurse manager and leads the medical intensive care unit and surgical intensive care unit at Good Samaritan General Hospital. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations, staff adherence to policies and procedures, staffing, and payroll.
The Nurses Role in Informatics
Scenario One: Helen
As a newly graduated nurse at Good Samaritan General Hospital, Helen primarily utilizes informatics by learning and applying technology and information systems to support patient care. She is responsible for data entry and documentation, ensuring the accuracy and completeness of patient information in electronic health records (EHRs). Helen should also use clinical decision support systems (CDSS) to access evidence-based guidelines and recommendations, helping her make informed clinical decisions. Additionally, she should employ barcode scanning technology to verify medications and prevent medication errors during medication administration (Strudwick et al., 2019). Helen should secure communication systems to collaborate with the healthcare team and access digital resources for patient education and discharge planning.
Scenario Two: Paul
As an experienced registered nurse in the neurosurgery unit at Good Samaritan General Hospital and the chair of the unit’s nursing council, Paul has significant responsibilities in informatics. He should actively engage in quality improvement initiatives, using data collected through informatics systems to identify areas for improvement in patient care and outcomes. He should lead staff training on effective informatics tool usage, ensuring his colleagues are proficient in leveraging technology for patient care. Patient safety is a priority, and he should encourage the reporting of near misses and incidents through the electronic incident reporting system (Strudwick et al., 2019). He should also collaborate with the hospital’s informatics team to streamline workflows and optimize tasks. Paul should analyze data trends and reports to identify enhanced patient care and outcomes opportunities.
Scenario Three: Lisa
As a nurse manager overseeing the medical and surgical intensive care units at Good Samaritan General Hospital, Lisa has significant responsibilities in informatics integration. She engages in strategic planning to align informatics initiatives with the hospital’s objectives. Lisa should ensure compliance with informatics-related hospital policies and regulations and allocate resources for informatics tools and infrastructure within her units. Workflow management is crucial, and she should collaborate with her staff to optimize workflows using informatics systems. Lisa should also prioritize staff training and competency maintenance using informatics tools for patient care (Strudwick et al., 2019). She should use data analytics and informatics reports to monitor unit performance, identify improvement areas, and implement changes to enhance the quality of patient care.
References
Strudwick, G., Nagle, L., Kassam, I., Pahwa, M., & Sequeira, L. (2019). Informatics competencies for nurse leaders: A scoping review. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 49(6), 323-330.