Portfolio Assignment: The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation
Assume you are a nurse manager on a unit where a new nursing documentation system is to be implemented. You want to ensure that the system will be usable and acceptable for the nurses impacted. You realize a nurse leader must be on the implementation team.
To Prepare:
- Review the steps of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and reflect on the scenario presented.
- Consider the benefits and challenges associated with involving a nurse leader on an implementation team for health information technology.
The Assignment: (2-3 pages not including the title and reference page)
In preparation of filling this role, develop a 2- to 3-page role description for a graduate-level nurse to guide his/her participation on the implementation team. The role description should be based on the SDLC stages and tasks and should clearly define how this individual will participate in and impact each of the following steps:
- Planning and requirements definition
- Analysis
- Design of the new system
- Implementation
- Post-implementation support
- Use APA format and include a title page and reference page.
- Use the Safe Assign Drafts to check your match percentage before submitting your work.
Expert Answer and Explanation
Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development
System development and implementation have various steps that need to involve different stakeholders for successful completion. Technology is constantly changing in all industries, with the need to adapt to the new changes to meet the competitive advantage. One of the units that are associated with the development and implementation of systems in healthcare includes the nurse informaticists (Strudwick et al., 2019). These groups of nurses play a critical role in the provision of evidence-based care to improve the quality and outcome of patient health. This paper addresses the role that a nurse informaticist has in relation to the different stages of system development and implementation.
Planning and Requirements Definition
Nurses, the majority of healthcare professionals, spend the most time with the patients. In this regard, they have the local level knowledge in relation to the internal processes, policies and how the current system is affecting the patients (Sipes, 2019). Their involvement during the planning stage and definitions of requirements can lead to a better understanding of what is required. The planning stage requires the collection of issues affecting the facility and creating a solution that will be incorporated into the system. Nurses can also be used to help in offering insights into the different tools and resources needed within the facility. Nurse informaticists are part of the nursing unit and can inform the project manager on the different modules that are lacking in the facility, the challenging processes, and the areas that would benefit from automation or any other form of technological change (Bird, 2017). The nurses can also offer feedback from current systems to help with the design of the different components.
Analysis
Analysis of systems is the second stage of the development process and requires the input of different personnel. System analysis requires that the project manager or system developer identify the current system and define a strategy to be used in the implementation of a better and improved system (Sipes, 2019). In this regard, the developer needs to interact with the current system and the users and understand how it is effective. Nurse informaticists are some of the system users, and their feedback can be used as input to help determine the nature of the current and future system (Sipes, 2019). Nurses can provide insights on how they experience the system and how they would like the new system to be in order to improve their operational efficiency.
Design of the New System
The designing of a new system is a rigorous process that focuses on the incorporation of the new features, operational capabilities and user specifications. The developer needs to make use of the user requirements to ensure that the system meets the operational needs of the facility (Risling & Risling, 2020). Nurse informaticists are relevant in this stage of development by offering insights on how they can best use the different features of the system, such as the user interface, different modules, automation and other key features that would make work easier. Depending on the size of the facility and the number of users, the nurse can inform on the need for the system to facilitate a high number of simultaneous accesses to the system (Risling & Risling, 2020). The constant communication and collaboration between the two parties can help with meeting the different system needs or customize the system to the specific requirements of the facility.
Implementation
The implementation stage occurs after the system is complete and all the components have been put together. The nurse informaticists have the role of ensuring that the different processes are put in place to improve the nature in which the different processes are conducted. For instance, the nurses can help with the transition process through data transfer, training of other nurses and working with the project managers to ensure that a new organizational culture is adopted. The implementation process can take a long time, and the nurses can be used as a part of the stakeholders to help in ensuring the optimal performance of the system is met. The nurse informaticist can also adhere to the project scope and use all the system’s capabilities to improve the overall quality of patient care.
Post-Implementation Support
Following the successful implementation of the system, the project manager needs to ensure that the system is running as expected and that al the different issues that might arise are resolved. The process is important since it helps the managers comprehend the effectiveness of the system and how it can be used to improve the implemented system. Since the nurses are the primary users of the implemented system, they can play the role of offering feedback on the effectiveness of the system and the areas that need to be patched or integrated to make it seamless (Deliverables, 2019). The input can then be used to improve the system performance and outcome.
Conclusion
This paper addressed the role that a nurse informaticist has in relation to the different stages of system development and implementation. Nurse informaticists play various roles, such as interacting with the healthcare system to source credible research and making use of the system to retrieve trends and patterns that can be used in the delivery of quality and informed care. These roles can be used to improve the development and implementation of the system.
References
Bird, P. (2017). A Day in the Life of a Nurse Informaticist: Implementation Support. Journal of Informatics Nursing, 2(2), 27.
Deliverables, K. (2019). Project Integration Management and Systems Development Life Cycle: System Analysis. Project Management in Nursing Informatics, 151.
Risling, T. L., & Risling, D. E. (2020). Advancing nursing participation in user-centred design. Journal of Research in Nursing, 25(3), 226-238.
Sipes, C. (2019). Nursing Informatics: Project Management. Application of Nursing Informatics: Competencies, Skills, and Decision-Making, 79.
Strudwick, G., Nagle, L., Kassam, I., Pahwa, M., & Sequeira, L. (2019). Informatics competencies for nurse leaders: a scoping review. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 49(6), 323-330.
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