National Nursing Informatics Project Discussion Paper
National Nursing Informatics Project
Discussion Paper
A project sponsored by the Canadian Association of University Schools of Nursing, Canadian Nurses Association, Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia, Academy of Canadian Executive Nurses, and the Nursing Informatics Special Interest Group of COACH
Working Committee Members
Heather F. Clarke, RN, PhD
Director, Policy and Communication
Registered Nurses Association of B.C.
Vancouver, BC
Karen E. Abbott, RN, BScN, MA
Nurse Educator
The University College of the Cariboo
Kamloops, B.C.
Lynda Atack, RN, BSN, MEd
Professor
Centennial College
Scarborough, Ontario
Kay Desborough, RN, BScN, MEd Education Consultant
Professor, School of Nursing …show more content…
These systems included clinical applications (e.g. order entry and results reporting) and Information Systems (IS) Departments quickly realized they could not implement these systems without some clinical knowledge of operations. Hospitals hired nurses to provide this clinical-technical bridge in response to the need for clinical input. These nurses had a variety of titles such as “Nursing Systems Coordinator,” “Nurse Analyst” and “Nursing Coordinator-Computer Project.” Initially the NI Specialist role centered around implementation and training nurses to use the technology. In many institutions this role has now been expanded to include support for all clinical areas, hence a change in title to Clinical Systems Coordinator.
Nursing Informatics continues to be seen by many nurses and other health care workers as a purvey of specialists, resulting in relatively few nurses being involved in decisions around how information systems will be used by nurses to support nursing practice. For this reason, a national strategy for NI education should address ways to broaden all nurses’ interest, involvement and competence in Nursing Informatics. As well it must demonstrate the benefits of this approach to nurses, health information system specialists and …show more content…
Consensus on a definition is required for the NI education project to progress in a coordinated and consolidated fashion. While the history of Nursing Informatics reflects one of specialization, the potential scope for nursing involvement and influence is more extensive than that. The intent of the proposed definition is to convey NI in a broader context, one that is relevant to all domains of practice:
Nursing Informatics (NI) is the application of computer science and information science to nursing. NI promotes the generation, management and processing of relevant data in order to use information and develop knowledge that supports nursing in all practice domains.
4.0 Establishing Nursing Informatics Competencies
Evidence-based practice in all practice domains requires competencies in informatics. However, there have been no systematic processes for determining competencies or the education required to meet
Discussion Paper
A project sponsored by the Canadian Association of University Schools of Nursing, Canadian Nurses Association, Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia, Academy of Canadian Executive Nurses, and the Nursing Informatics Special Interest Group of COACH
Working Committee Members
Heather F. Clarke, RN, PhD
Director, Policy and Communication
Registered Nurses Association of B.C.
Vancouver, BC
Karen E. Abbott, RN, BScN, MA
Nurse Educator
The University College of the Cariboo
Kamloops, B.C.
Lynda Atack, RN, BSN, MEd
Professor
Centennial College
Scarborough, Ontario
Kay Desborough, RN, BScN, MEd Education Consultant
Professor, School of Nursing …show more content…
These systems included clinical applications (e.g. order entry and results reporting) and Information Systems (IS) Departments quickly realized they could not implement these systems without some clinical knowledge of operations. Hospitals hired nurses to provide this clinical-technical bridge in response to the need for clinical input. These nurses had a variety of titles such as “Nursing Systems Coordinator,” “Nurse Analyst” and “Nursing Coordinator-Computer Project.” Initially the NI Specialist role centered around implementation and training nurses to use the technology. In many institutions this role has now been expanded to include support for all clinical areas, hence a change in title to Clinical Systems Coordinator.
Nursing Informatics continues to be seen by many nurses and other health care workers as a purvey of specialists, resulting in relatively few nurses being involved in decisions around how information systems will be used by nurses to support nursing practice. For this reason, a national strategy for NI education should address ways to broaden all nurses’ interest, involvement and competence in Nursing Informatics. As well it must demonstrate the benefits of this approach to nurses, health information system specialists and …show more content…
Consensus on a definition is required for the NI education project to progress in a coordinated and consolidated fashion. While the history of Nursing Informatics reflects one of specialization, the potential scope for nursing involvement and influence is more extensive than that. The intent of the proposed definition is to convey NI in a broader context, one that is relevant to all domains of practice:
Nursing Informatics (NI) is the application of computer science and information science to nursing. NI promotes the generation, management and processing of relevant data in order to use information and develop knowledge that supports nursing in all practice domains.
4.0 Establishing Nursing Informatics Competencies
Evidence-based practice in all practice domains requires competencies in informatics. However, there have been no systematic processes for determining competencies or the education required to meet