Role of Nursing Informaticist in System Development and Implementation

Role of Nursing Informaticist in System Development and Implementation

Nurses have a unique role to play in the delivery of care to patients. The nurses are the ones who spend the most time with patients during the different stages of their treatment or hospitalization (Bramley & Milika, 2014). With the increased adoption of health information technology (HIT), the work of nurses is impacted, as they are the ones mostly using the various technologies used in providing care.

Therefore, it is important that the nurses have to be included in the decision to adopt health information technology and implement it. According to Serobatse (2013), the system development life cycle (SDLC) is an approach that is often used in the implementation of HIT.

Use of SDLC is crucial as the approach captures the ever-changing system requirements by getting feedback from system users and incorporating the cognitive-social technical aspects in the five stages so as to meet the needs of users. This essay presents a role description for a graduate-level nurse involved in the implementation team and based on the SDLC approach.

Role of a Nurse in the Process of Planning and Requirements Definition Phase

This phase of the SDLC process involves defining the scope and problems, examining the possible alternatives, choosing the best alternative by performing feasibility tests, creating the project schedule, assimilating resources needed for the project, and launching it (Rehani, 2019). A graduate nurse in the implementation team plays a crucial role in this phase.

• Work with the interdisciplinary team to establish shared deliverables of the project
• Work with the interdisciplinary team to determine the requirements (technical, clinical, and medication) of the project
• Work with the interdisciplinary team to conduct a feasibility test for the project

Role of a Nurse in Analysis Phase

The analysis phase involves prioritizing the requirements of the project, developing and assessing possible solutions or alternatives, reviewing policies of the organization, and making recommendations for the organization (Rehani, 2019).

• Work with the interdisciplinary team to develop a list of priority requirements of the project
• Work with the interdisciplinary team to develop and evaluate alternatives
• Work with the interdisciplinary team to establish recommendations on the way forward

Role of a Nurse in Design of the New System Phase

The design phase concerns the operation and architecture of the health information technology adopted by the organization in terms of processes, software, hardware, data retrieval, networking, user interface, and archiving among other things (Rehani, 2019). The role of the nurse in this phase is limited with other members of the disciplinary team (IT specialists, vendors, and informatics nurses) taking control of the stage.

• Study and understand the purpose and system interactions

Role of a Nurse in Implementation Phase

Tasks in the implementation phase include customizing the system, testing it, and installing it (Rehani, 2019). The roles of the graduate nurse during this phase include:

• Work with the interdisciplinary team to evaluate the performance of the system
• Work with the interdisciplinary team to redesign the system in case the evaluation deems it necessary
• Provide feedback about the working of the system
• Provide staff training to other staff in the organization

Role of a Nurse in Post-Implementation Support Phase

According to Rehani (2019), maintenance and support is a continuous process and these are the main tasks in the post-implementation support phase. The role of the graduate nurse is important in this phase and it includes:

• Provide continuous training and support to help boost acceptance of the new system
• Work with the interdisciplinary team to provide ongoing evaluation of the system to identify the need for changes

References

Bramley, L., &Matiti, M. (2014). How does it really feel to be in my shoes? Patients’ experiences of compassion within nursing care and their perceptions of developing compassi