The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is a model for planning and implementing change within an organization. It is important for many individuals to be represented in the process, especially the end users of the system or the employees who must live with the change. As informatics become more and more widespread throughout the health care field, collaboration between information technology (IT) professionals and health care practitioners is becoming increasingly important. The nurse informaticist is able to combine the perspective of the information technology side with the clinical nursing perspective.
While the titles and specific responsibilities of nurse informaticists vary across organizations and practice settings, the fundamental purpose of the role remains the same. Nurse informaticists synthesize their knowledge of how technology can improve health care with an understanding of clinical practice and workflow. This is why nurse informaticists can be instrumental in facilitating the SDLC for informatics in health care. For this Discussion, you examine the relationship between the nurse informaticist and the use of the SDLC.