Nursing informatics specialists

Nursing informatics specialists are found in almost every clinical setting (Nagle, Sermeus, & Junger, 2017). This nursing specialty builds on the essential concepts of the nursing profession including communication skills, the importance of documentation, teamwork, and practicing within the legal and ethical boundaries upheld by the profession (Honey, & Procter, 2017). Unfortunately, I have not had the privilege of interacting with one. I am sure that our company has one at the corporate level. However, we do not have one on site nor have I been able to speak with one on the phone so I have not personally witnessed what interactions these specialists have with other professionals. According to Nagle et al. (2017), these nurse specialist interact with other professionals by providing guidance and support to others utilizing emerging knowledge. In addition, a nurse informatics specialist informs and teaches others about emerging data and knowledge (Nagle et al., 2017).    

            As I have not personally been able to witness the interactions of a nurse informatics specialist with other professionals within our organization, my recommendation for improvement would be that our organization makes these specialty nurses more accessible to us and more interactive with us. When we run into any technical issues during our workday, we call the IT department. However, sometimes the issue is difficult for them to understand as they are not nurses themselves. It would be very beneficial if we were able to speak with a nurse informatics specialist as they would be able to understand what we are having issues with if the issue includes an aspect of nursing care. Instead, we have to try and explain to the IT department what we are trying to do as nurses and then explain what the system is not allowing us to do. It can be very frustrating to have to explain all this additional information when trying to get an issue resolved. By supplying a nurse informatics specialist to assist with our issues, it would eliminate that frustrating factor from the equation.

            I believe the future of nursing will rely heavily on the nurse informatics specialist. The nursing profession and medicine, in general, has beengradually and continues to, transition to more virtual care. Our organization currently utilizes telehealth medicine to provide specialty care to the inmates. Iforesee a future where the majority of health care, particularly primary preventative care, will be provided remotely. This will create an increased need for the informatics specialist as much will be relying on technology. These specialists will have to be more involved with other nursing specialties and provide guidance and share knowledge with these colleagues. Teamwork and communication skills will be imperative for future informatics nurse specialist.

      Honey, M., & Procter, P. (2017). The Shifting Sands of Nursing Informatics Education: From Content to Connectivity. Studies In Health Technology And Informatics, 232, 31–40. Retrieved from https://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mnh&AN=28106579&site=eds-live&scope=site

     Nagle, L. M., Sermeus, W., & Junger, A. (2017). Evolving Role of the Nursing Informatics Specialist. Studies In Health Technology And Informatics, 232, 212–221. Retrieved from https://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mnh&AN=28106600&site=eds-live&scope=site

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