This first post is to discuss how nursing informatics can be applied to various aspects of nursing
practice, including clinical practice, administration, education, and research. It moves forward
for you to begin considering the biggest significance of nursing informatics. How is nursing
informatics different from healthcare informatics?
Nursing informatics is a system that nurses use in the healthcare system. It is defined in the
textbook as “a specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and information
science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing
practice” (McGonigle, 2018). In other words, the textbook describes nursing informatics as
combining science, computer science and information science to assist the nurse and
healthcare professionals to direct health care, making nursing decisions and communicate.
In clinical practice, informatics can help the nurse with formal and informal guidelines when
reviewing diagnostic tests and strategies for treatment. For instance, the electronic health
record uses prompts and popups, such as allergies and contraindications, to assist avoid errors
in clinical practice. During the administration process, the health care team uses technology
and informatics for electronic billing, scheduling visits, insurance and drug recall. Informatics
helps organize the aspects of the administration process to facilitate communication within the
healthcare team and ensure proper documentation of bills and other information. Furthermore,
informatics can be used for educating nurses as well. There are groups such as Quality and
Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) that use learning modules to enhance education for
nurses. These learning modules are usually on the computer and are considered informatics.
Informatics is also used in research. Nurse researches use informatics to conduct research by
using technology for feedback and communication. For instance, informatics may help a
researcher read oxygen levels with a pulse oximeter while conducting research. Also,
informatics allows researchers to publish their findings quickly over the internet so other
nurses can utilize this new knowledge. This can be done by publishing articles online. Nursing
informatics is different from healthcare informatics. According to Capella University’s online
resource, it states that nursing informatics is more patient focused and is primarily used for
improvement of in-patient care (The Difference Between Health Care and Nursing Informatics,
2018). Healthcare informatics deals with many different roles in the healthcare system besides
nursing, highlighting compliance with regulations and refining hospital finances. Basically,
nursing informatics focus in the patient’s health condition and Healthcare informatics is
broader, involving all aspects of technology and other healthcare professionals.
Sources:
“The Difference Between Health Care and Nursing Informatics.” (2018) How Long Does It
Take to Become a Psychologist? - Psychology Frequently Asked Questions - Capella
University, www.capella.edu/blogs/cublog/healthcare-informatics-vs-nursing-informatics/.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2018). Nursing informatics and the foundation
of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett.
Brandy Parks
practice, including clinical practice, administration, education, and research. It moves forward
for you to begin considering the biggest significance of nursing informatics. How is nursing
informatics different from healthcare informatics?
Nursing informatics is a system that nurses use in the healthcare system. It is defined in the
textbook as “a specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and information
science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing
practice” (McGonigle, 2018). In other words, the textbook describes nursing informatics as
combining science, computer science and information science to assist the nurse and
healthcare professionals to direct health care, making nursing decisions and communicate.
In clinical practice, informatics can help the nurse with formal and informal guidelines when
reviewing diagnostic tests and strategies for treatment. For instance, the electronic health
record uses prompts and popups, such as allergies and contraindications, to assist avoid errors
in clinical practice. During the administration process, the health care team uses technology
and informatics for electronic billing, scheduling visits, insurance and drug recall. Informatics
helps organize the aspects of the administration process to facilitate communication within the
healthcare team and ensure proper documentation of bills and other information. Furthermore,
informatics can be used for educating nurses as well. There are groups such as Quality and
Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) that use learning modules to enhance education for
nurses. These learning modules are usually on the computer and are considered informatics.
Informatics is also used in research. Nurse researches use informatics to conduct research by
using technology for feedback and communication. For instance, informatics may help a
researcher read oxygen levels with a pulse oximeter while conducting research. Also,
informatics allows researchers to publish their findings quickly over the internet so other
nurses can utilize this new knowledge. This can be done by publishing articles online. Nursing
informatics is different from healthcare informatics. According to Capella University’s online
resource, it states that nursing informatics is more patient focused and is primarily used for
improvement of in-patient care (The Difference Between Health Care and Nursing Informatics,
2018). Healthcare informatics deals with many different roles in the healthcare system besides
nursing, highlighting compliance with regulations and refining hospital finances. Basically,
nursing informatics focus in the patient’s health condition and Healthcare informatics is
broader, involving all aspects of technology and other healthcare professionals.
Sources:
“The Difference Between Health Care and Nursing Informatics.” (2018) How Long Does It
Take to Become a Psychologist? - Psychology Frequently Asked Questions - Capella
University, www.capella.edu/blogs/cublog/healthcare-informatics-vs-nursing-informatics/.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2018). Nursing informatics and the foundation
of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett.
Brandy Parks
