| |
What is Nursing Informatics? The American Nurses Association has defined nursing informatics (NI) as "the specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science in identifying, collecting, processing and managing data and information to support nursing practice, administration, education, research and the expansion of nursing knowledge." (1) It has also been defined as "the combination of computer science, information science and nursing science designed to assist in the management and processing of nursing data, information, and knowledge to support the practice of nursing and the delivery of nursing care." (8) The core product of nursing is patient care and nursing informatics, like the other practice areas of nursing research, education and administration, exists to support the highest possible quality of care.(1) |
|
| Why is it defined as a nursing specialty? In order to be defined as a specialty , an area must demonstrate certain characteristics. They are a differentiated practice, an educational program, organizational representation, a mechanism for credentialing and a research program. (2) The reason nurses are needed is that they are best qualified to describe nursing needs and requirements. It is the blending of their nursing knowledge and skills with their information technology knowledge and skills that distinguishes them from other other specialties both in nursing and information systems. They are in a better position to articulate nursing's needs to system designers and ensure nursing's contribution to the health care process is documented. (6) However, while focusing on a nursing perspective, NI education and experience is interdisciplinary and recognizes the need for collaboration with all care providers in order to develop integrated information tools that meet patient needs while controlling costs. (3) [top] Where do informatics nurses work? Informatics nurses can practice in a variety of settings: traditional health care settings, vendor communities, educational and private business settings and with consulting firms. Executives are increasingly seeing the importance of clinically driven technology as a way to improve patient care, while cutting costs. (5) There are currently not enough informatic nurses to meet the increasing demand bought about by needs in the vendor, customer and educational communities. Adding to the demand are mandates and guidelines by such groups as Joint Commission on Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) and Institute of Medicine (IOM) regarding nursing's role in the management of informations systems, evidence of quality of care and the collection and communication of clinical data. (3, 5, 6, 7) What type of work do they do? The role has been described in terms of components of practice (e.g., designing, selecting, implementing information technology), consultation (e.g., advising others on the use of technology), research (e.g. information systems impact, human-computer interface issues), marketing (e.g., promotion of either products or ideas), education (development of technologies, training or presentations), or management (e.g., overseeing change issues and project planning).(3) [top] Who
is it that certifies in informatics and how does one get
further information about such a certification? Who is eligible to sit for the exam? Eligibility requirements are:
What areas does the test cover?
|
||
