Nursing, along with other hospital-related jobs, has become a very popular career choice. The reasons for such popularity are obvious – the medical sector offers some of the highest paychecks along with a great diversity of roles and specializations. It ensures that almost every applicant finds something he or she would be most proficient at. Due to a massive shift from paper-based files towards electronic databases, all hospitals and medical organizations now require an informatics specialist to manage those files, as well as work with various computer systems implemented in modern medical practices (Nursing Informatics Specialist, 2016). This paper compares and analyzes three different job positions related to Nurse Informatics on the extent to which it incorporates its scope and standards of practice, as well as functional areas. At the end of the paper, recommendations would be given to one of the job positions, regarding on how it could be improved in consideration to NI scopes, standards, and functional areas.
Job Descriptions Table
Analysis
Position 1 involves the second scope of practice of Nursing informatics the most, which is communication and information management. The responsibilities adhere to the first Overarching Standard of Practice for the NI specialist, which includes the incorporation of theories and concepts from appropriate sciences into informatics practice. The research implementation strategies, improve the organization and database structures (Parker, 2015). Functional areas and competencies are aligned with that of an Informatics Nurse Specialist (Curran, 2001).
Position 2 focuses on the first and second scopes of practice of NI. These include Wisdom, Knowledge, Communication, and Information management. The responsibilities placed on the candidate are outlined by the first and second Overarching Standards of NI Practice. These are incorporation of theories and concepts from related science practices into informatics, implementation methods, organization culture, and data storage (Parker, 2015). Functional areas and competencies are also at the level of an Informatics Nurse Specialist (Curran, 2001).
Position 3 involves the first and second scopes of practice of NI. Unlike the previous positions, it also incorporates practical medical service for purposes of staying in touch with the realities of nursing. The responsibilities include all three Overarching Standards of Practice, involving not only the areas mentioned in previous positions but also ethical concerns of information use (Parker, 2015). Functional areas and competencies are that of a graduate NI Specialist, which seems to be a staple between all three of the studied positions (Curran, 2001).
Recommendations
These Recommendations are dedicated to the second job description. It needs a better structure and a better definition of responsibilities to encompass all three Overarching Standards of Practice. The structure of the advertisement is rather poor, it has required skills and require experience mixed up. There is no information regarding the actual work experience. While the tasks the candidate is expected to perform are befitting of an NI Specialist, the required education with a doctorate, and several sub-specialties are more befitting of a Nurse Informatics Innovator, which creates confusion. The advertisement would require restructuring, the additional information being added, and lowering the candidate bar for the position.
Conclusion
Nurse Informatics is a prospective field in which many graduates would be able to make a career. The abundance of data and information that needs to be handled and processed would ensure that an NI Specialist would be able to find suitable employment in this particular area. However, the job requirements are very steep and require a high level of professional competence in addition to several years of working experience, meaning that it would be difficult to find a job without or with little hands-on experience. To fill that gap, an internship may be required.
References
Clinical Informaticist. (2016). Web.
Clinical Informaticist Job Description. (2016). Web.
Curran, C. What is Informatics? (2001). Web.
Nursing Informatics Specialist. Job Description and Salary Information.(2016). Web.
Parker, C. Nursing Informatics: Scope and Standards of Practice, Second Edition.(2015). Web.
Periop Informatics Specialist. (2016). Web.