Remedios Hebert RE: Discussion - Week 3 COLLAPSE Main Post             Nurse informaticists, nurse informatics specialists (NIS), and data specialists work with different departments across the continuum.  One of my experiences in working with a NIS occurred during my orientation as a new hire at a Magnet recognized hospital.  A NIS was the person in charge of ensuring that newly hired employees were trained to use their software system called Epic.  Some strategies that I recommend are providing new hires a break in between the lengthy modules and making the training interesting and fun, while assuring there are enough computer technicians to answer questions that newly hired employees may have.  The modules were easy to follow for some of the new hires, but others had difficulty.  The problem was that everyone was on a different level of learning.  Some of the new hires already had the experience of using Epic software, and some did not.  Creating employee training is difficult, especially if one is training a new hire without any experience in using a computer.              The following scenario was what I remembered:  Every new hire was provided with a thick binder that contained different scenarios in different nursing departments.  It felt almost like a race to complete through all the scenarios in the binder, leaving some of the people behind who were not tech-savvy, and were unfamiliar with the use of an EHR system.  One data specialist and a NIS were available throughout the orientation to answer questions; however, many of the new hires who lacked understanding from the modules waited a long time to raise their questions and to get help.  What was helpful for those who fell behind and needed continuing practice in Epic was going to the learning laboratory.  This notion was started on the self-regulated learning principle that effective learning can be achieved by encouraging learners to participate in their own learning process (Sandars, 2013).  Everyone was welcome and encouraged to use the computer learning library even after completing their orientation.  Sometimes, it just takes getting used to technology by practicing over and over before getting better at it.  Going to the computer library is an incentive that many organizations do not have and using it helps the employee to become more knowledgeable.              In 2017, Heidarizadeh et al. reported that many nurses identify some of their challenges are related to systems and technology.  This is especially true for me, and I am sure that many other nurses feel they spend a lot of time on documentation requirements, which takes us away from nursing care.  Interdisciplinary is a word that I often use when needing to count on other co-workers.  Nurses cannot do everything on their own; they must learn to rely on their teammates, other disciplines, and the support of technology.  McGonigle and Mastrian (2018) concluded that interprofessional collaboration is emerging as a.

1. Remedios Hebert
RE: Discussion - Week 3
COLLAPSE
Main Post
Nurse informaticists, nurse informatics specialists
(NIS), and data specialists work with different departments
across the continuum. One of my experiences in working with a
NIS occurred during my orientation as a new hire at a Magnet
recognized hospital. A NIS was the person in charge of
ensuring that newly hired employees were trained to use their
software system called Epic. Some strategies that I recommend
are providing new hires a break in between the lengthy modules
and making the training interesting and fun, while assuring
there are enough computer technicians to answer questions that
newly hired employees may have. The modules were easy to
follow for some of the new hires, but others had difficulty. The
problem was that everyone was on a different level of learning.
Some of the new hires already had the experience of using Epic
software, and some did not. Creating employee training is
difficult, especially if one is training a new hire without any
experience in using a computer.
The following scenario was what I remembered: Every
new hire was provided with a thick binder that contained
different scenarios in different nursing departments. It felt
almost like a race to complete through all the scenarios in the
binder, leaving some of the people behind who were not tech-
savvy, and were unfamiliar with the use of an EHR system. One
data specialist and a NIS were available throughout the
orientation to answer questions; however, many of the new hires
who lacked understanding from the modules waited a long time
to raise their questions and to get help. What was helpful for

2. those who fell behind and needed continuing practice in Epic
was going to the learning laboratory. This notion was started
on the self-regulated learning principle that effective learning
can be achieved by encouraging learners to participate in their
own learning process (Sandars, 2013). Everyone was welcome
and encouraged to use the computer learning library even after
completing their orientation. Sometimes, it just takes getting
used to technology by practicing over and over before getting
better at it. Going to the computer library is an incentive that
many organizations do not have and using it helps the employee
to become more knowledgeable.
In 2017, Heidarizadeh et al. reported that many nurses
identify some of their challenges are related to systems and
technology. This is especially true for me, and I am sure that
many other nurses feel they spend a lot of time on
documentation requirements, which takes us away from nursing
care. Interdisciplinary is a word that I often use when needing
to count on other co-workers. Nurses cannot do everything on
their own; they must learn to rely on their teammates, other
disciplines, and the support of technology. McGonigle and
Mastrian (2018) concluded that interprofessional collaboration
is emerging as a key to better quality outcomes for patients.
This collaboration is supported by the EHR and other
technologies that facilitate communication among health
professionals. To summarize, I believe that informatics and the
repeated upgrades in technology will only continue to help
improve the quality and safety of care for our patients.
Informatics will always play an important role in our everyday
lives.
References
Heidarizadeh, K., Rassouli, M., Manoochehri, H., Zagheri, M.
T., & Kashef, R. G. (2017). Nurses’ perception of challenges in
the use of an electronic nursing documentation system

3. . CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, (35)
11, 599-605.
https://doi:10.1097/CIN.0000000000000358
McGonigle, D. & Mastrian, K. G. (2018).
Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge
(4th ed., pp. 537-552). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Sandars, J. (2013). When I say…self-regulated learning.
Medical Education, 47
, 1162-1163.
https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.12244
Johnny Herrera
RE: Discussion - Week 3
COLLAPSE
Efficiency, accuracy, and communication are transformed daily
to ensure that medical providers promote patient safety. Nurses
play a role in this transition by providing their experience and
aiding in developing precise and useful tools. The informatics
competency helps nurses use information and technology to
communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error, and support
decision-making at the point of care (Glassman, 2017).
Technology, while taking leaps to improve performance, can
also undermine nurse-patient relationships and responsibility.
Among the 2.8 million registered nurses currently working in
the United States (U.S.), 61% work in hospitals (Macieira et al.,
2018). With hospitals engaging in the use of electronic health
records, most graduate nurses have not had any experience with
paper medical records. Going to a correctional facility and
being introduced to paper medical records was a big shock for

4. me. Immediately I could gage the differences between both
systems and the loss of time, resources, and accuracy paper
records contribute to. A few months into my experience at the
facility, the conversion to electronic health records initiated,
and I had the first opportunity to work with a nurse informatics
specialist.
As challenging as it is, working with an EHR system
from day one has its benefits, as the medical team can make
changes and create a well-balanced mold. The nurse informatics
specialist was present at every staff training and at the physical
site when the system launched. Using his nursing experience,
the specialist made changes to the format that was beneficial to
the entire team and worked one on one with staff members
having difficulty. The most important suggestion I would
support is the ability to make changes to systems in less time.
Waiting months for changes to be implemented can be
challenging and discouraging to staff.
Care and promotion of health are at the core of the nursing
profession. These principles are overlooked, and “the
overwhelming presence of technology at the clinical bedside has
the power to become the strongest reference point that nurses
use to inform, direct, interpret, evaluate, and understand nursing
care” (McGonilge as cite in O’Keefe-McCarthy, 2018, p.526). I
have experienced this in the NICU when assessing a monitor
that is reading 100% oxygen saturation, and looking closer only
to find a disconnected probe. Nurses are cognizant that not one
single reference point should determine the clinical state of the
patient, and dependence should not be on technology.
Technology and the nursing profession are married in an
unbreakable relationship with a common goal. Promotion of
health and care is delivered with precision and evidenced-based
practice thanks to the work of professionals developing
technological advances. Nurses are responsible for contributing

5. to further advancements through their experience, research, and
communication with the healthcare team.
References:
Glassman, K.S. (2017). Using data in nursing practice.
American Nurse Today, 12(11), 45-47. Retrieved from
https://www.americannursetoday.com/wp-
content/uploads/2017/11/and11-Data-1030.pdf
Macieira, T., Smith, M. B., Davis, N., Yao, Y., Wilkie, D. J.,
Lopez, K. D., & Keenan, G. (2018). Evidence of Progress in
Making Nursing Practice Visible Using Standardized Nursing
Data: a Systematic Review.
AMIA ... Annual Symposium proceedings. AMIA Symposium
,
2017
, 1205–1214.
McGonigle, D. (2018).
Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge
. [MBS Direct]. Retrieved
from https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781284142990
/