Nurse informatics is defined as a specific field of nursing that incorporates information sciences, nursing, and computer to implement and develop medical systems that support nursing practice and help to improve health outcomes. As health care delivery is currently developing “in an increasingly competitive information marketplace,” nursing professionals should be prepared to harness appropriate and time-sensitive information (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015, p. 2). Nurse informatics improves health care quality by the integration of information management and cognitive and computer sciences into nursing practice. Nurse informaticists traditionally implement, design, and test systems technology, develop organizational standards and guidelines, assist in staff training, and serve as a link between information technology experts and medical personnel.
Concerning the Pre-TANIC Self-Assessment this week, my perceived level of competency before and after the completion of the questionnaire was substantively different. Before the required Self-Assessment, I had only a general idea concerning nursing informatics and did not expect to have in-depth knowledge of it. However, this assignment demonstrated that my competency level is appropriate. Nursing informatics implies the use of basic computer skills familiar to virtually every competent specialist in any field of activity. However, the clinical aspect of nursing informatics requires my particular attention for efficient practice in the future.
From a personal perspective, there are two main competencies related to informatics that should be applied by a nurse professional – basic computer literacy and information literacy. In the present day, due to technological progress, these competencies are highly essential not only for health care providers but professionals in any sphere of action as well. In my current clinical role, I do a substantial part of my work with the use of a computer, and that is why I am familiar with common software applications, information retrieval systems, and information databases. At the same time, as my clinical practice implies accurate analysis of received data, I am competent in finding and evaluating information for its effective use in the future.
Due to the completion of Self-Assessment, I realized that I inevitably need the development of my competency skills for efficient health care delivery. I decided to develop an improvement plan and chose two useful resources that contain highly essential information for my professional growth. The first resource is the official site of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing as it provides important information concerning informatics competencies that are expected for various program graduates (AACN Essentials, n.d.). In general, the Association’s curriculum guidelines and education resources help nurses to prepare for healthcare challenges in the 21st century.
The second reliable resource is the site of the Alliance for Nursing Informatics (ANI). It does not list necessary skills for nurse informaticists, however, it contains a considerable number of statements that provide significant information for nursing professionals who would like to develop in the area of informatics (Statements & Positions, n.d.). These two resources help to identify professional and basic skills necessary for every competent health care specialist. For the improvement of my competency, I will make a list of all essential informatics skills. Taking into consideration the results of the Self-Assessment, I will identify categories I am most familiar with. I plan to develop other skills with the help of knowledge I will receive from my clinical practice and the critical reviews of scholarly articles.
References
AACN Essentials. (n.d.). American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Web.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2015). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (3rd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Statements & Positions. (n.d.). ANI. Web.