The Roles of Nurse Informaticists Academic Essay

Just as the Internet and other technological innovations have radically changed the world, the constant evolution of informatics continues to transform nursing and health care. The nurse is at the forefront of this transformation, serving as a knowledgeable leader in system development, implementation, and management. As new technologies become integrated into health care settings, the role of the nurse informaticist will continue to become more critical.

For this Discussion, you examine the informatics roles that have evolved to facilitate this transformation. You consider different functional roles and responsibilities that nurse informaticists may fulfill and how they contribute to technological progress throughout the health care field.

Note: There are many different terms used to refer to “nurse informaticist,” including informatics nurse, nurse informatician, and informatics specialist. In this specialization, the term “nurse informaticist” is applied, adhering to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) terminology.

To prepare:

Review this week’s media presentation, The Role of Nurse Informaticists, reflecting on the impact that informaticists have on health care settings.
Using the web resource “Working Group – Nursing Informatics: Roles” in this week’s Learning Resources, investigate the job descriptions of and responsibilities aligned with various nursing informatics roles. Consider how these roles might have grown in breadth and importance since the original postings.
Identify a nursing informatics role that is of particular interest to you. Conduct further research to find out how this specific role might contribute to patient safety, quality of care, nurse efficiency, the implementation of new informatics initiatives, and/or electronic health records.

Post A minimum of 550 words with 4 references in APA format

1) A description of a nursing informatics role that that is of interest to you and why.

2) In your posting, explain how the nurse informaticist in this role impacts one or more of the following: patient safety, quality of care, nurse efficiency, the implementation of new informatics initiatives, and/or electronic health records.

3) Justify your reasoning by citing authentic examples and references to the research literature.

Readings

American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing informatics: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.
Read the following Chapter:
- “Functional Areas for Nursing Informatics”
  This section details nine distinct functional areas that nurse informaticists often fulfill in their various job titles and specific positions. These functional areas include administration, analysis, integrity management, consultation, and others.
Saba, V. K., & McCormick, K. A. (2015). Essentials of nursing informatics (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
- Chapter 48, “Information Literacy and Computerized Information Resources”
  In this chapter, the authors focus on electronic sources that are easily accessible to nurses and how vital they are to professional credibility and growth. They elaborate on three main points: staying up-to-date with the published literature, developing and maintaining a list of resources, and collaborating and networking with your colleagues.
Ericksen, A. B. (2009). Informatics: The future of nursing. RN, 72(7), 34–37.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.