Information science - interdisciplinary field primarily concerned with analysis, collection,
classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval, movement,
... [Show More] and dissemination of
information.
information processing - cognitive processing theory, how mind functions.
acquisition, recording, organization, retrieval, display, and dissemination of information.
information systems - study of complementary networks of hardware and software that
people and organizations use to collect, filter, process, create, and distribute data.
nursing informatics - may be broadly defined as the use of information and computer
technology to support all aspects of nursing practice, including direct delivery of care,
administration, education, and research. The definition of nursing informatics is evolving
as advances occur in nursing practice and technology; there have been many different
definitions throughout the years as the discipline has evolved.
Nursing informatics is a specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science,
and information science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge and
wisdom into nursing practice.
Nursing informatics facilitates the integration of data, information, knowledge and
wisdom to support patients, nurses, and other providers in their decision making in all
roles and settings.
This support is accomplished through the use of information structures, information
processes, and information technology.
data - collection of numbers, characters, or facts that are gathered according to some
perceived need for analysis and possibly action at a later point in time.
Examples of data include a client's vital signs.
Other examples of data are the length of hospital stay for each client; the client's race,
marital status, or employment status; and next of kin.
Sometimes these types of data may be given a numeric or alphabetic code.
a collection of data can be examined for patterns and structure that can be interpreted.
information - is data that have been interpreted.
example, individual temperature readings are data.
When they are plotted onto a graph, changes in the client's temperature over time and
comparison with normal values become evident, thus turning into information.
data and information are collected when nurses record the following activities: - • Initial
client history and allergies
• Initial and ongoing physical assessment
• Vital signs such as blood pressure and temperature• Response to treatment
• Client response and comprehension of educational activities
knowledge - is the synthesis of information derived from several sources to produce a
single concept or idea.
based on a logical process of analysis and provides order to thoughts and ideas and
decreases uncertainty.
dynamic and derives meaning from its context.
Validation of information provides knowledge that can be used again. Historically,
nursing has acquired knowledge through tradition, authority, borrowed theory, trial and
error, personal experience, role modeling, reasoning, and research.
Current demands for safer, cost-effective, quality care require evidence of the best
practices supported by research.
example of knowledge - can be seen in the determination of the most effective nursing
interventions for the prevention of skin breakdown.
If a research study produces data related to the prevention of skin breakdown achieved
through specific interventions, these data can be collected and analyzed.
The trends or patterns depicted by the data provide information regarding which
treatment is more effective than others in preventing skin breakdown.
The validation of this information through repeated studies provides knowledge that
nurses can use to prevent skin breakdown in their clients.
information technology (IT) - management and processing of information with the
assistance of computers.
computers and IT provide tools that aid data collection and the analysis associated with
research to support the overall work of nurses.
wisdom - occurs when knowledge is used appropriately to manage and solve problems.
It results from understanding and requires human effort.
The trip from data to wisdom is neither automatic nor smooth.
comes from cumulative experiences, as the result of learning skills and ways of thinking
that can be viewed as predecessors to wisdom, and via the creation of conditions that
help participants to use their accumulated knowledge effectively.
It represents the human part of the equation in the move along the continuum from data
to information to knowledge to wisdom.
Large-scale use of data, information, and knowledge requires that they be accessible. -
Traditionally, client data and information have been handwritten in an unstructured
format on paper and placed in multiple versions of the patient record at hospitals,
clinics, physician offices, and long-term and home health agencies.
This process makes the location, abstraction, and comparison of information slow and
difficult, limiting the creation of knowledge.
Increasing demands for improvements in healthcare delivery call for the use of IT as a
means to automate and share information for quality measurement and improvement,
research, and education.Technology exists to move from paper-based to computer-based records. It is essential
that nurses collaborate with technical personnel to plan what information to include, the
source of the information, and how it will be used.
Nurses must be active participants in the design of automated documentation to ensure
that information is recorded appropriately and in a format that can be accessed and
useful to all healthcare providers.
Nurses also have a responsibility to safeguard the security and privacy of client
information via education, policy, and technical means.
nurses in roles of educator and researcher - educators track info about students class
and clinical performance and compare with norm.
nsg ed prepare students handle data: teach basic computer and info literacy, use nsg
info systems, realize significance of automated data collection for quality assurance
purposes and recognize benefits of using computers to manage clinical data for
research.
data gatherer - In this role the nurse collects clinical data such as vital signs.
facilitated when input from monitoring devices is fed directly into clinical documentation
systems.
information gatherer - The nurse interprets and structures clinical data, such as a
client's report of experienced pain, into information that can then be used to aid clinical
decision making and patient monitoring over time.
Quality assurance and infection control activities exemplify other ways in which nurses
use information to detect patterns.
supported when computer capability quickly discerns patterns that help translate data
into information, saves time and labor for nurse, and provides useful info in a timely
fashion.
knowledge user - This role is seen when individual patient data are compared with
existing nursing knowledge.
clinical practice guidelines, expert systems to support decision making, or research that
supports evidence-based care and/or online drug databases.
knowledge builder - Nurses display this role when they aggregate clinical data and show
patterns across patients that serve to create new knowledge or can be interpreted within
the context of existing nursing knowledge.
examine aggregate data (this capability is not available at the bedside in all facilities) for
relationships among variables and interventions.
QSEN - quality and safety of the healthcare delivery system.
seeks to prepare future nurses with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) needed
to continuously improve the quality and safety of the healthcare delivery system.
6 competencies: pt-centered care,
teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and
informaticsAACN - American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
organization that provides a voice for baccalaureate and higher degree nsg ed
programs in US.
provide curriculum elements and a framework for baccalaureate and higher degree nsg
programs.
established informatics as curriculum element for baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral
programs.
Baccalaureate: expected to provide skills needed to manage info and apply to pt care
technology.
MSN: expected to use pt care technologies to deliver and enhance care, use
communication technologies to integrate and coordinate care, analyze data to improve
pt outcomes, manage info for evidence based care and pt ed, use and facilitate
electronic health records (EHRs) to improve pt care.
Advanced practice grad should be able to answer questions that arise in practice, use
new knowledge to analyze the outcomes of interventions and initiate change, use
technology inclusive of information systems for the purpose of storage and retrieval of
data, and query databases for the purpose of using available research in practice.
DNP graduates should be active participants in the design, selection, and use of IT for
the purpose of supporting patient care and healthcare systems
NLN position paper: preparing next generation of nurses to practice in a technology rich
environment: an informatics agenda - called for nursing education and the NLN itself to
take steps to ensure that every nursing graduate demonstrate computer and information
literacy as well as up-to-date skills in informatics.
intent of the position paper was to reform nursing education to support quality measures
to produce a graduate capable of working in a technologically rich healthcare delivery
system.
INCP - The International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP), a common code
language for data, falls under the professional practice arena. The ICNP is extremely
important for meaningful exchange of electronic data in a format that retains its meaning
across settings and countries.
computer literacy - popular term used to refer to a familiarity with the use of personal
computers, including the use of software tools such as word processing, spreadsheets,
databases, presentation graphics, and e-mail.
The majority of students admitted to nursing schools now enter with some level of
computer literacy.
information literacy - has a broad meaning.
Information literacy is defined as the ability to recognize when information is needed as
well as the skills to find, evaluate, and use needed information effectively.
important in today's environment of rapid technological change and knowledge growth,
with information available from many sources and in different formats, including text,graphics, and audio. important to all disciplines because it forms the basis for ongoing
learning.
In healthcare the definition of information literacy must also include an awareness of the
conceptual differences between various classifications and standardized languages,
critical thinking skills, the ability to use the tools offered by technology to solve
information problems, as well as an understanding of the ethical and legal issues
surrounding the access and use of information.
relate concept of information literacy to nursing informatics - The significance of
information literacy for nursing is that it represents an important step in promoting
evidence-based nursing practice because the information-literate nurse can weigh the
quality and significance of research findings for application.
Despite the recognition of information literacy as a bridge to evidence-based practice,
the connection is not automatic. Problems include a lack of awareness of the
importance of evidence-based practice, inconsistent role modeling by registered nurses
(RNs), a lack of comfort in using database searches, and a lack of exposure to
evidence-based clinical practice [Show Less]