The Role of the Informatics Specialist in Healthcare
The Role of the Informatics Specialist in Healthcare
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Nurse Informaticist [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
Analyze interactions between nurse informaticists, data/technology specialists, and other professionals in healthcare organizations
Recommend strategies to improve interactions between nurse informaticists and other professionals
Analyze how nursing informatics as a specialty and new technologies impact interactions between nurse informaticists and members of healthcare teams The Role of the Informatics Specialist in Healthcare
Recommend nursing informatics projects to improve outcomes or efficiencies in healthcare organizations
Identify stakeholders impacted by nursing informatics projects
Analyze how nursing informatics projects improve outcomes or efficiencies in healthcare organizations
Identify technologies required for implementation of nursing informatics projects
Analyze the role of the nurse informaticist in nursing informatics project teams
Learning Resources
Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus. The Role of the Informatics Specialist in Healthcare
Required Readings
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Chapter 25, “The Art of Caring in Technology-Laden Environments” (pp. 525–535)
Chapter 26, “Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge” (pp. 537–551)
Rutherford, M. A. (2008). Standardized nursing language: What does it mean for nursing practice? Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 13(1), 1–12. doi:10.3912/OJIN.Vol13No01PPT05.
Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.
Wang, Y. Kung, L., & Byrd, T. A. (2018). Big data analytics: Understanding its capabilities and potential benefits for healthcare organizations. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 126(1), 3–13. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2015.12.019.
Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.
Required Media
Module 2: The Role of the Informatics Specialist in Healthcare (Weeks 3-4)
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Nurse Informaticist [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Accessible player
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Analyze interactions between nurse informaticists, data/technology specialists, and other professionals in healthcare organizations
- Recommend strategies to improve interactions between nurse informaticists and other professionals
- Analyze how nursing informatics as a specialty and new technologies impact interactions between nurse informaticists and members of healthcare teams The Role of the Informatics Specialist in Healthcare
- Recommend nursing informatics projects to improve outcomes or efficiencies in healthcare organizations
- Identify stakeholders impacted by nursing informatics projects
- Analyze how nursing informatics projects improve outcomes or efficiencies in healthcare organizations
- Identify technologies required for implementation of nursing informatics projects
- Analyze the role of the nurse informaticist in nursing informatics project teams
| Due By | Assignment |
| Week 3, Days 1–2 | Read/Watch/Listen to the Learning Resources. Compose your initial Discussion post. |
| Week 3, Day 3 | Post your initial Discussion post. Begin to compose your Assignment. |
| Week 3, Days 4-5 | Review peer Discussion posts. Compose your peer Discussion responses. Continue to compose your Assignment. |
| Week 3, Day 6 | Post at least two peer Discussion responses on two different days (and not the same day as the initial post). |
| Week 3, Day 7 | Wrap up Discussion. Deadline to submit your Assignment. |
| Week 4, Days 1-6 | Continue to compose your Assignment |
| Week 4, Day 7 | Deadline to submit your Assignment |
Learning Resources
Required Readings
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
- Chapter 25, “The Art of Caring in Technology-Laden Environments” (pp. 525–535)
- Chapter 26, “Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge” (pp. 537–551) The Role of the Informatics Specialist in Healthcare
Discussion: Interaction Between Nurse Informaticists and Other Specialists
Nature offers many examples of specialization and collaboration. Ant colonies and bee hives are but two examples of nature’s sophisticated organizations. Each thrives because their members specialize by tasks, divide labor, and collaborate to ensure food, safety, and general well-being of the colony or hive.
Of course, humans don’t fare too badly in this regard either. And healthcare is a great example. As specialists in the collection, access, and application of data, nurse informaticists collaborate with specialists on a regular basis to ensure that appropriate data is available to make decisions and take actions to ensure the general well-being of patients. The Role of the Informatics Specialist in Healthcare
In this Discussion, you will reflect on your own observations of and/or experiences with informaticist collaboration. You will also propose strategies for how these collaborative experiences might be improved.
To Prepare:
- Review the Resources and reflect on the evolution of nursing informatics from a science to a nursing specialty.
- Consider your experiences with nurse Informaticists or technology specialists within your healthcare organization.
By Day 3 of Week 3
Post a description of experiences or observations about how nurse informaticists and/or data or technology specialists interact with other professionals within your healthcare organization. Suggest at least one strategy on how these interactions might be improved. Be specific and provide examples. Then, explain the impact you believe the continued evolution of nursing informatics as a specialty and/or the continued emergence of new technologies might have on professional interactions.
By Day 6 of Week 3
Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days, offering one or more additional interaction strategies in support of the examples/observations shared or by offering further insight to the thoughts shared about the future of these interactions.
*Note: Throughout this program, your fellow students are referred to as colleagues.
Submission and Grading Information
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 3 Discussion Rubric
Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 6 of Week 3
To participate in this Discussion:
Week 3 Discussion
Assignment: The Impact of Nursing Informatics on Patient Outcomes and Patient Care Efficiencies
In the Discussion for this module, you considered the interaction of nurse informaticists with other specialists to ensure successful care. How is that success determined? The Role of the Informatics Specialist in Healthcare
Patient outcomes and the fulfillment of care goals is one of the major ways that healthcare success is measured. Measuring patient outcomes results in the generation of data that can be used to improve results. Nursing informatics can have a significant part in this process and can help to improve outcomes by improving processes, identifying at-risk patients, and enhancing efficiency.
To Prepare: The Role of the Informatics Specialist in Healthcare
- Review the concepts of technology application as presented in the Resources.
- Reflect on how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence may help fortify nursing informatics as a specialty by leading to increased impact on patient outcomes or patient care efficiencies.
The Assignment: (4-5 pages not including the title and reference page)
In a 4- to 5-page project proposal written to the leadership of your healthcare organization, propose a nursing informatics project for your organization that you advocate to improve patient outcomes or patient-care efficiency. Your project proposal should include the following:
- Describe the project you propose.
- Identify the stakeholders impacted by this project.
- Explain the patient outcome(s) or patient-care efficiencies this project is aimed at improving and explain how this improvement would occur. Be specific and provide examples.
- Identify the technologies required to implement this project and explain why.
- Identify the project team (by roles) and explain how you would incorporate the nurse informaticist in the project team.
- Use APA format and include a title page and reference page.
- Use the Safe Assign Drafts to check your match percentage before submitting your work. The Role of the Informatics Specialist in Healthcare
By Day 7 of Week 4
Submit your completed Project Proposal.
Submission and Grading Information
To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:
- Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK4Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
- Click the Week 4 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
- Click the Week 4 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
- Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK4Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
- If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
- Click on the Submit button to complete your submission. The Role of the Informatics Specialist in Healthcare
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 4 Assignment Rubric
The Role of the Informatics Specialist in Healthcare
Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity
To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:
Submit your Week 4 Assignment draft and review the originality report.
Submit Your Assignment by Day 7 of Week 4
To participate in this Assignment:
Week 4 Assignment