The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation
The potential for information and communication technology application in nursing is limitless. The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is an iterative process or a series of actions used for planning and implementing change within an organization (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018). According to McGonigle and Mastrian (2018), this conceptual model is particularity useful in project management and the development of new health information technologies (HIT) or systems. The purpose of this paper is to describe the role of a graduate-level nurse to guide their participation on the implementation team during the execution of a new nursing documentation system. Additionally, this paper will clearly define how this individual will participate in and impact each of the five steps in the SDLC which are as follows; planning, analysis, design, implementation, and post-implementation support (Laureate Education, 2018).
It is important for the nurse manager to consider both the benefits and challenges associated with involving a nurse leader on an implementation team for HIT to ensure that the new system will be usable and acceptable for the nurses impacted. Nurse leaders can be instrumental in facilitating the SDLC for informatics in health care, as their role includes synthesizing knowledge of how technology can enhance the quality of care (McKay & Vanaskie, 2018).
Role Description
Planning. The planning stage, the first and most critical of the SDLC stages, provides direction to the entire project that will ultimately affect the outcomes of successive stages (Rehani, n.d.). In this stage, the role of the graduate-level nurse collaborates with the interdisciplinary team members to accomplish the following tasks; define the scope and problems, explore and select potential solutions, assimilate required resources, determine a project schedule and timeline, and launch the project (Rehani, n.d.). Clinical knowledge of the workflow and processes, in conjunction with critical thinking skills, allows nurses to help identify objectives, establish project goals, and set realistic expectations (Rehani, n.d.). Portfolio Assignment: The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation Sample Essay. Nurse involvement in this stage is necessary to provide a clinical nursing perspective to assist in the development of safe and effective systems (Rehani, n.d.).
Analysis. During the analysis phase, the role of the nurse is to help prioritize project requirements, generate and evaluate possible alternatives, and make recommendations for management (Weckman & Janzen, 2009). As stated by Thomas, Seifert, and Joyner (2016), failure to complete these tasks efficiently and meet organizational and user needs could result in project delays, data loss, errors, and breakdown of communication processes. According to Rojas and Seckman (2014), an internal part of the analysis process includes analyzing the workflow processes, communication, and decision-making tools. Another important component of the analysis stage is to analyze technical requirements and additional demands such as hardware, software, staffing and space needs (Rehani, n.d.). Nurse involvement in this stage is also imperative to review relevant organizational policies and changes required to accommodate new work processes and new technology (Dennis, Wixom, & Roth, 2015) Portfolio Assignment: The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation Sample Essay.
Design. The nurse plays a vital role in the design phase, which is a critical part in the SDLC. It ensures that the software’s overall configuration is defined properly and determines the architecture and operation of the system with regard to the following; processes, hardware, software, networking, data retrieval, archiving and use, and user interface (Rehani, n.d.). Nurses play an integral role in reinforcing the primary purpose of the system, to improve patient safety (Rehani, n.d.). The nurse will assist in customizing the system to provide clinical decision support to accommodate practices in different specialties (Rehani, n.d.). Portfolio Assignment: The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation Sample Essay.
Implementation. In the implementation stage, the nurse works closely with the team to further customize, test, and install the system (Rehani, n.d.). The role of the nurse in this phase is critical because it involves staff training, system maintenance, and evaluation of outcomes (Rehani, n.d.). The nurse is also responsible for ensuring two-way communication between the staff and management to solicit feedback that may be useful when redesigning the system for better outcomes (Rehani, n.d.). According to Rehani (n.d.), “the feed