When it comes to nursing informatics conceptually, one can say that it started being employed by Florence Nightingale. According to Booth et al. (2021), this is due to the fact that, in the 1850s, Nightingale collected and processed data for the improvement of sanitation with the help of medical and nursing protocols. However, the specific involvement of nursing with information technology is reported to have begun in the 1960s. In 2015, the original document on the standards of practice of nursing informatics was updated to evince changes in its technology and practice. Nursing informatics, as per the American Nurses Association (ANA), is a specialty combining the science of nursing with several other sciences for the identification, management and transmission of information and knowledge in nursing practice (Booth et al., 2021). Practices and processes of nursing are what nursing informatics is founded on, and the use of technology in relation to nursing practice is its main focus.
In terms of the levels of practice that are present within nursing informatics, the ANA states that there are two: apart from the informatics nurse, there is also the informatics nurse specialist. The main difference between specialists from nurses is that specialists have a degree in the field of informatics or one related to it. Both informatics nurses and specialists perform various functions within the healthcare sector and outside it, including roles of executives, consultants, analysts, educators, and managers. In accordance with the ANA’s position, only licensed registered nurses are to practice the professions of informatics nurses or specialists.
As for the areas of expertise required for specialists in nursing informatics, first of all, it includes basic knowledge of informatics, that is, its concepts, ontology, and vocabulary. Moreover, it is necessary to understand the clinical and technical circumstances under which nurses operate. In addition to that, the working-level knowledge of concepts of design, development, testing, and assessment of existing systems of health information is crucial. Another key area is the processes of clinical decision-making and improvement of care. According to Booth et al. (2021), it means the lead of and participation in the development and application of clinical decision support to match the working processes of clinicians. This is important in view of the ever-increasing demand for documenting patients’ care activities. Being a part of one’s skillset, all these competencies ensure that nursing informatics specialists are qualified enough to take part in creating, maintaining, and implementing healthcare policies.
Reference
Booth, R., Strudwick, G., McMurray, J., Chan, R., Cotton, K., & Cooke, S. (2021). The future of nursing informatics in a digitally-enabled world. In Introduction to nursing informatics (pp. 395-417). Springer, Cham.