Evaluate how established informatics competencies influence the quality of care, safety improvements, and excellence in nursing practice.

Evaluate how established informatics competencies influence the quality of care, safety improvements, and excellence in nursing practice.

As I mentioned earlier, it has a large influence on the quality of care, and safety improvements, and excellence in nursing practice. Informatics helps provide proof of the nursing care that is provided. I have heard all of my nursing practice “if you don’t chart it, you did not do it!”. Informatics helps ensure that we are providing all of the necessary steps for safe patient care to be provided. Informatics is used to conduct research to help develop new evidence-based practices. This is what helps nursing practice continue to improve and evolve.  Informatics is key to our development as nurses.

Assess your informatics strengths and preferences, as well as potential challenges and areas for development. (Be sure to refer to specific TIGER and ANA competencies.)

     TIGER Informatics competencies collaborative team’s competency model is made up of three components (TIGER, n.d.). They are basic computer competencies, information literacy, and information management (TIGER, n.d.).  I feel that my strength is basic computer competencies. I can handle the basic things when it comes to computers when it comes to the more specialized areas are when I begin to struggle.  I feel that the area of challenge for me that needs further development is information literacy.

Describe one strategy for enhancing your informatics skills and competencies.

To help improve my information literacy, TIGER recommends that I can have and verbalize the importance of health information systems to clinic practice (TIGER, 2010). This resonates with me because I truly felt at one point that Health Information Systems get in the way of patient care, even though it is imperative for safe patient care. This is why it was hard for me to navigate it because I did not have an understanding of why it was important. So working on this, helps me realize that Health Information Systems are in place to help me, not hinder me.

Reference

Cesnik, B. & Kidd, M.R. (2010). History of health informatics: A global perspective. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 151, 3-8

Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (TIGER). (n.d.).  The TIGER Initiative: Informatics competencies for every practicing nurse: Recommendations from the TIGER collaborative. Retrieved from: http://www.mhsinformatics.org/CI-Fellowship/Workforce-Development/Competencies/Tiger.Report_C,[etemcoes_final.pdf