The article by Joyce Sensmeier states that nurses have to be given a more visible role in patient care and this can only be done through their being allowed access to patient’s medical information. Sensmeier suggests that the best way through which nurses can have a more active role in patient care is through the use of information technology and being active participants in nursing informatics within their institutions (Seinsmeier, 2011). As individuals who have a greater access to patients and are actively involved in ensuring patient recovery, it is essential for them to be provided with all necessary information so that their provision of care can be more efficient since this will help in improving patient outcomes. Nurses have for a long time played a pivotal role in health provision, but despite their efforts, Sensmeier notes that they are being left behind by government healthcare policies. She declares that if the government is indeed willing to reform the healthcare system, it is essential that nurses be actively involved because it is they, more than any other medical practitioner, who have an active knowledge of patient problems, as well as most weaknesses in healthcare provision. Therefore, new technology should be taken advantage of to bring about a change in health care by nurses, and this should include an inclusion of nursing informatics in patient care. Nursing informatics should be given a prominent role in breaking the barriers that prevent nurses from being more efficient in their work because it provides them with much needed information concerning how to bring care to their patients at a personalized level. The article recommends that the future of healthcare depends on ensuring nurses receive at least a bachelor’s degree whose significant parts involve informatics, allowing them leadership positions within healthcare as well as ensuring that they all provided with the opportunity to practice without any barriers as has previously been the case.
Susan Rosenberg and Jeff Rodik in their article declare the role of bedside nurses in informatics is quite limited in scope and this is mainly because it is normally not included in their training. They state that most organizations which have implemented go-live projects tend to ignore including bedside nurses for ongoing maintenance as required for clinical application programs (Rosenberg & Rodik, 2012). Go-live projects tend to be discontinued after one week and this does not provide bedside nurses with ample time to utilize the system on behalf of their patients. These circumstances make it extremely difficult for bedside nurses to function because after go-live gets discontinued, they end up becoming unidentifiable to other staff members which results in their having to seek out information services rather than their coworkers. Such situations make their work more difficult because they are unable to get information which can be used in enhancing their efficiency in care provision. It is often quite difficult for bedside nurses to gain feedback from information services regarding technological issues and this makes the process to be quite frustrating for them. Rosenberg and Rodik cite the unique approach taken by Salem Community Hospital in Ohio which increased the duration of its go-live project for its bedside nurses by another two weeks and this ensured that there was also an increase in their efficiency. The period for achieving feedback was greatly reduced with failures in communication being fixed in such a manner that all inquiries and concerns were acted upon in record time and to the satisfaction of end users. While there are some limitations to these projects, Salem Community Hospital makes it possible for bedside nurses to work together and give each other support in matters concerning nursing informatics. Furthermore, when they are not working in groups, there is constant communication between nursing informatics nurses which makes possible the continued use of technology in nursing informatics. Rosenberg and Rodik conclude that it should be recognized that bedside nurses should be recognized as part of the larger nursing community and because of this, they should be provided with knowledge on nursing informatics in their training.
The articles above show the importance of nursing informatics not only in higher levels of nursing, but at all levels because it allows for a more active and personalized role for nurses in provision of care. Nursing informatics has for a long time been a domain of higher levels of nursing, a situation which has made it difficult for healthcare to be more efficient since not all nurses were provided with much needed support when conducting their tasks. Moreover, a deficiency in nursing informatics in the nursing profession can be blamed on a lack of courses on it at the university level of nursing and this has allowed for a lack of knowledge among nurses. Efficient communication as well as quick access to information by nursing professionals makes possible their becoming more involved in their works resulting in greater efficiency. In a world which is quickly adopting newer technologies, it is essential for this technology to be included in nursing informatics because it allows for a more personalized provision of services by nurses. Technology has made it possible for nurses to bring care to their patients rather than the latter seeking it out physically. Through numerous online applications, it has become possible for patients to contact their nurses directly on a face to face basis and this has also ensured that there is a reduction in hospital visits. Nursing informatics makes it easier for nurses to gain information concerning diverse medical conditions and this ensures that there is improvement in nursing practice.
As a result of its being able to integrate the sciences that involve nursing, computer and information, nursing informatics is of the fastest growing aspects of nursing because it allows for an analysis, development, and implementation of knowledge into nursing practice (Murphy, 2010). Therefore, nursing informatics should be given utmost priority especially in nursing because this is the only way through which nurses can have access to information which is useful in their practice. The development of newer technologies has made it essential for nursing informatics to help the nursing profession turn towards the modern world and this in such a way that nurses become active participants in analyzing patient information. In this way, nurses, being the largest group of health workers, are allowed to take an unprecedented step in making the health care system more efficient. Nursing informatics helps in developing efficiency in nursing practice because it is nurses who spend the most time with patients which allow them to gain firsthand insights into patients’ conditions. Change from current forms of nursing into one which is based on information informatics is inevitable if there is to be an improvement in healthcare and patient outcomes because the world is swiftly shifting from and environment which is paper-based to one which is centered on paperless technology which ensures that patient information is made readily available. Therefore, including nursing informatics in everyday nursing makes nurses to be more accepting on new technology and this helps them to remain in constant communication with their patients because a majority of them are users of newer technology.
In conclusion, nursing informatics is an inevitable result of technological development in the modern world and it needs to be made a part of basic nursing so that efficiency in healthcare can be achieved. Without the inclusion of nursing informatics in nursing, there develops instances where it is difficult to make much needed reforms to the healthcare system so that patient outcomes can be improved. Therefore, nursing informatics is an essential step in making the role of nurses to be more central in healthcare rather than keeping it them in a supporting role, as is currently the case.
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