Students will: Summarize how informatics has impacted or changed nursing practice Evaluate the influence of informatics competencies on quality of care and nursing practice Apply online learning resources to professional growth and development Compare the contributions of two nursing informatics pioneers
In the United States (US), the early adopters, developers, and innovators of technology in nursing practice are referred to as Pioneers of Nursing Informatics. These individuals are the innovators, spear headers, and groundbreakers in the specialty of nursing informatics. This paper seeks to compare two nursing informatics pioneers, Patricia Abbott and Virginia Saba, focusing on their professional accomplishments and how their contributions have influenced nursing practice.
Professional Accomplishments of Each Individual
Dr. Patricia Abbott undertook her nursing degree at the University of Maryland and later developed an interest in informatics. Dr. Abbott was among the first nurses to employ data-mining techniques in nursing (Shortliffe, 2004). She explored the existing databases in long-term care to understand factors that contribute to patient outcomes. In addition, she expanded her preliminary work into the patient safety aspect (Shortliffe, 2004). She ensured strong informatics content in programs funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration and AHRQ (American Medical Informatics Association [AMIA], (2021). She took leadership roles in preparing scholars and practitioners in nursing informatics. Besides, she led the establishment of the ANA Standards of Practice for Nursing Informatics and has been the country’s representative to the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) Nursing Special Interest Group.
Dr. Virginia Saba is a nationally and globally recognized pioneer of information technology in nursing. She has led the nursing informatics movement for over 40 years. Dr. Saba started academic technology programs and has supported the expansion of healthcare information technology systems such as the Clinical Care Classification (CCC) System (AMIA, 2021). During her nursing career, Dr. Saba provided national leadership and fostered technology in nursing practice. When serving in academia, she incorporated nursing technology in nursing programs, facilities (AMIA, 2021). She also undertook federally funded research developing CCC System, National Nursing Standard. She is currently the President/CEO of Sabacare Inc & CCC System, where she integrates the CCC system into electronic healthcare documentation systems.
How Their Contributions Have Influenced Nursing Practice
Dr. Abbott’s contributions have influenced nursing practice by helping nurses to provide better patient care resulting in improved health outcomes. She explored existing databases in long-term care, which enabled nurses to understand better factors that contribute to patient outcomes (Shortliffe, 2004). As a result, nurses factor in these factors when planning patient care and implement interventions to improve outcomes. Dr. Abbott’s contributions have also influenced nurses to provide safe patient care (Shortliffe, 2004). Dr. Saba’s contributions have improved patient care efficiency through information technology systems such as the CCC system (AMIA, 2021). The system provides nurses with a unique coding structure for assessing, documenting, and classifying patient care by nurses. Her contribution has also eased and improved nursing documentation, promoting easy access to patients’ health data.
How Their Contributions Have Shaped the Field Of Nursing Informatics
Dr. Abbott’s contributions have shaped nursing informatics by informing nurse informaticians how they can mine data from databases. As a result, informaticians obtain large data sets and use them to improve healthcare delivery (AMIA, 2021). Her contribution in leadership in preparing scholars and practitioners in nursing informatics has helped to increase the number of nurse informaticians, which promotes the growth of the informatics field. Dr. Saba shaped nursing informatics by introducing academic technology programs, which gave nurses the chance to gain informatics knowledge and thus apply technology in nursing practice (AMIA, 2021). She also supported the development of the CCC system, which helps in the electronic documentation of nursing plans of care. Besides, the CCC System is acknowledged as the terminology of choice for documenting patient care in the electronic health record system.
Lessons I Can Take Away From Their Experiences
Dr. Abbott’s experiences teach me to pursue my passion and interests in nursing. For instance, she developed a growing interest in informatics, which led her to pursue a master’s degree in nursing informatics and a Ph.D. in information systems. I have also learned that I should use my leadership skills to influence other nurses and foster the growth of the nursing profession. Lessons learned from Dr. Saba include using my knowledge and skills to develop innovative ways to im