Reply to peers:
Professor instructions:
In the reply to the post discussion it must be a “substantive post” demonstrating understanding of concepts while replying to the post and express thoughts clearly and logically.
Response(s) should be substantial — which means it should be more than 2 sentences and offer way beyond saying “I agree…” or “I like your post…” or “That is great!”.
PLEASE RESPOND TO PEER’S POST DIRECTLY AND INDIVIDUALLY (100-150 words)
Please use reference and citation from the book or lesson (provided below) and/or other reliable sources if needed
Hebda, T., Hunter, K., & Czar, P. (2019). Handbook of informatics for nurses & healthcare professionals (6st ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
• Chapter 1: An Overview of Informatics in Healthcare (pp. 1–5, 8-13)
• Chapter 2: Informatics Theory and Practice (pp. 22-26, 34-37)
• Chapter 4: Electronic Resources for Healthcare Professionals (pp. 58-60)
• Chapter 18: Consumer Health Informatics (pp. 373-376)
Discussion – AACN Essentials Self-Assessment
Complete the self-assessment of your current comfort levels and total your score. If you are willing, please share your total score with your classmates in your discussion post. If you prefer to not share your specific score, that is fine as well. Provide a general description of your skill and comfort level.
Identify areas where your knowledge could use improvement. Whether you are a new graduate or a seasoned nurse, it is important to keep in mind that all professional nurses are knowledge workers. What questions do you have as they relate to nursing informatics and the AACN essentials?
Bridget wrote:
As I tallied up my score from the AACN Essentials Self Assessment, I wasn’t completely surprised by the score. I scored a 28. I have been in nursing for 32 years at the same hospital. I have done paper charting and electronic charting. The first company our hospital went with when they went electronic was McKesson. Which was pretty basic in retrospect. But a lot of the older nurses had a hard time making the transition. Our current system is Epic; which when compared to McKesson is much more involved and thorough. Our hospital is part of a pretty large healthcare system and the intent was the interdisciplinary use of the same electronic system between doctors offices, hospitals, clinics and labs.
What some nurses have discovered are ways around the electronic charting, that aren’t exactly what was taught: workarounds. As cited by Barrett and Stephens (2017), workarounds “have been characterized as both imperative and problematic for successful organizations”. At my hospital , we have experienced both. Some nurses were using improper techniques when scanning meds; when scanning the med, if it came up with dose not due, or med not found, they would override the med and just type in the dose given. Some errors had been made using this improper technique. Some nurses also had additions they wanted added to our dropdown boxes for assessments to make the choices more pediatric friendly. We are able to request additions and they are built into our charting. Therefore the walkarounds were advantageous.
Improvement for me, would be in the application of technology. I catch on quickly to new equipment for patient care and processes, especially when I’m taught the “whys” of a process. My computer skills are mediocre. Just 15 years ago, we were starting to use email at work. I have never done a power point, and there are many things on the computer that baffle me ( excel, for one). It’s hard to imagine that my eldest child is a web designer. I have been in my present position for 1.5 years ( nightshift manager), and need to learn more about audits, combining data , spreadsheets etc, and hope this class can help me to understand it a bit more.
I’m not sure what questions I have about informatics and the AACN essentials, only because I don’t know what to ask or what I don’t know. According to McGonigle, Hebda, Hunter and Sipes (2014) nursing informatics “is the practice of using nursing science and technology to enhance the pathway that data take to become knowledge to improve patient care”. Hence, the data, information, knowledge, understanding, wisdom continuum from our lesson and textbook. The accumulation of data and information about a specific patient problem, our understanding and knowledge we obtain from the data, and the wisdom when applying it towards patient care.
References
Barrett, Ashley K.; Stephens, Keri K; Health Communication (2017); Making Electronic Health Records
(EHRs) Work: Informal talk and Walkarounds in Healthcare Organizations; 32(8); pp.1004-1013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2016.1
McGonigle, D; Hunter, K; Sipes, C; Hebda, T. (2014); AORN Journal; Why Nurses Need to Understand Nursing Informatics; September 2014; 100(3); pp324-327
Hebda, T; Hunter, K; and Czar, P (2019); Handbook of Informatics for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals (6thEdition); New York, NY Pearson
Fernando wrote:
I scored 42 on the self assessment. The hospital that I work at is very advanced technologically and I have been there long enough to have seen these changes be implemented. I became a nurse only three years ago but even then, when I first started, everything was still on paper. A few months later, we made the switch to EHR (electronic health records). Even though I am very capable of using computers and other electronics, there was still a learning curve when we made the switch to EHR. As I reflect on my self assessment I know that I am great at the technical aspect but I need work in the area of protecting patient information. I have a terrible habit of leaving my computer unlocked when I leave the desk to do things. As I said in my intro, I work in one of the largest ERs in South Florida and the fast paced environment tends to undermine patient privacy. We leave our computers open for quick and easy access to documentation as were running from room to room. But, I have realized that other nurses come by in their own rush and use my computer to check on their own patients orders. I definitely need to work on locking my screen even if it means waiting an extra second as it unlocks before I can use it. “Billing, regulatory, research, documentation, and administrative functions determined by the operational requirements of health care systems, payers, and others have resulted in EHRs that are better able to satisfy such external functions than to ensure that patient care needs are met. The profession has a responsibility to identify and address this mismatch” (Sulmasy, 2017).
Sulmasy, L.S., López, A.M., Horwitch, C.A. et al. J GEN INTERN MED (2017) 32: 935. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-017-4030-1