Discussion #2 When would you consult with the nurse informaticists?             Nurses are almost in every health care system involved in the process of delivering care at all levels.  Be it in the hospital, outpatient clinics, rural health centers, schools, nurses are present to provide care to individuals to promote health, prevent and treat illnesses, or help people recover to the best level of functioning they can. In our present time, this care is enabled by technology while enhancing patient safety by translating certain simple and complex functions into automation (Cipriano & Hamer, 2013).  Combined with the nurse’s training and education, her experience in the day-to-day processes involved in patient care, nurse informaticists are in the best position to be consulted for policy and process improvements to make patient care delivery safer and more efficient (Cipriano & Hamer, 2013).  Nurse informaticists mediate clinical and technology which makes them an essential part of the team in designing systems to improve quality and safety in delivery of care (Darvish, Bahramnezhad, Keyhanian, & Navidhamidi, 2014).             As an example, a few years ago, our hospital has involved nursing, led by a nurse informaticist, in developing a new systematic way of minimizing laboratory errors.  This was in response to an increasing rate in laboratory test errors that compromised patient safety. The workflow, half of it significantly involved nursing, specifically in the collection and sending of specimen, has been redesigned by automating from the point of receiving the laboratory order from the physician to bedside collection, and sending the specimen to the laboratory.  The automation ensures scanning of the patient’s armband and collection at the bedside.  If not for the in-depth knowledge and experience of the nurse informaticist in every detail of bedside patient care, the process improvement could have not been realized and successful. What role does the nurse informaticists play in primary care?             I will always be proud of how our nursing education is strongly hinged on good documentation and effective, therapeutic communication, giving it the reason why nurses are in such an important position to lead and influence change. And because technology pervades the health care system, focus on what the nurses do to be able to provide care for the patients and address their needs safely and effectively is imperative. Before care can even be initiated, information gathering and documentation need to take place. Having seen and experienced the daily processes of history taking, documentation, treatment, referrals, consultation with other specialty groups, coordinating hospital admissions, etc., the nurse informaticist can manage, interpret, and communicate the information that comes in and out of health care facilities, especially in the primary care settings where majority of patients are seen on a daily basis (Rupp, 2016). Nurse informat.

1. Discussion #2
When would you consult with the nurse informaticists?
Nurses are almost in every health care system involved
in the process of delivering care at all levels. Be it in the
hospital, outpatient clinics, rural health centers, schools, nurses
are present to provide care to individuals to promote health,
prevent and treat illnesses, or help people recover to the best
level of functioning they can. In our present time, this care is
enabled by technology while enhancing patient safety by
translating certain simple and complex functions into
automation (Cipriano & Hamer, 2013). Combined with the
nurse’s training and education, her experience in the day-to-day
processes involved in patient care, nurse informaticists are in
the best position to be consulted for policy and process
improvements to make patient care delivery safer and more
efficient (Cipriano & Hamer, 2013). Nurse informaticists
mediate clinical and technology which makes them an essential
part of the team in designing systems to improve quality and
safety in delivery of care (Darvish, Bahramnezhad, Keyhanian,
& Navidhamidi, 2014).
As an example, a few years ago, our hospital has
involved nursing, led by a nurse informaticist, in developing a
new systematic way of minimizing laboratory errors. This was
in response to an increasing rate in laboratory test errors that
compromised patient safety. The workflow, half of it
significantly involved nursing, specifically in the collection and
sending of specimen, has been redesigned by automating from
the point of receiving the laboratory order from the physician to
bedside collection, and sending the specimen to the laboratory.
The automation ensures scanning of the patient’s armband and
collection at the bedside. If not for the in-depth knowledge and
experience of the nurse informaticist in every detail of bedside
patient care, the process improvement could have not been

2. realized and successful.
What role does the nurse informaticists play in primary care?
I will always be proud of how our nursing education is
strongly hinged on good documentation and effective,
therapeutic communication, giving it the reason why nurses are
in such an important position to lead and influence change. And
because technology pervades the health care system, focus on
what the nurses do to be able to provide care for the patients
and address their needs safely and effectively is imperative.
Before care can even be initiated, information gathering and
documentation need to take place. Having seen and experienced
the daily processes of history taking, documentation, treatment,
referrals, consultation with other specialty groups, coordinating
hospital admissions, etc., the nurse informaticist can manage,
interpret, and communicate the information that comes in and
out of health care facilities, especially in the primary care
settings where majority of patients are seen on a daily basis
(Rupp, 2016). Nurse informaticists can help customize order
sets, documentation templates, and point-of-care reminders
based on the clinic’s target population prevalent needs (Morgan,
2017).
Patient care in the present time is greatly influenced by
individually, customized care through information gathered
from patients which is organized in electronic health records
(Rupp, 2016). Having access to this and the ability of nurse
informaticists to give meaningful interpretation to raw
information and trends, they play an important role in
improving documentation, enhancing care management and
coordination (Rupp, 2016),
What qualifications and credentialing are held by nurse
informaticists?
One of the five core competencies the Institute of
Medicine (IOM) identified that all health care professionals
should possess to realize the redesign and transformation of the
nation’s health care system is the use of informatics (Hamric,
Hanson, Tracy, & O’Grady, 2014). According to the report,

3. health care professionals need to have a solid foundation and
skills in using cutting-edge information technology to deliver
high quality patient care (Bormann, 2016). This is a core
competency of nurse informaticists which encompasses
computer skills, informatics knowledge, and informatics skills
(Darvish, 2014). It involves looking at four levels of nursing
practice including beginning nurse, experienced nurse,
informatics specialist, and informatics innovator (Darvish,
2014).
The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
provides Informatics Nursing board certification examination, a
competency based examination which assesses the entry-level
clinical knowledge and skills in the informatics specialty
(ANCC, n.d.). This is accredited by the National Commission
for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) and the Accreditation Board
for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC). ANCC awards the
credential Registered Nurse-Board Certified (RN-BC) after
completion of eligibility requirements to take the certification
examination and successfully passing the exam (ANCC, n.d.).
Credential validity is five years with option to continue use of
credential by maintaining license to practice and completing
renewal requirements (ANCC, n.d.). The American Nurses
Informatics Association (ANIA) offers a nursing informatics
certification review course with certification through ANCC
(ANIA, n.d.).
Discussion #1
Nurse Informatics DQ#2
Nursing informatics is a specialty in nursing that uses analytical
data collection with a goal to define, manage, and communicate
information in nurse practice. Informatics is used to support
nurses, patients, and the healthcare team (Health Care
Information and Management Systems Society, 2018).
According to Health Care Information and Management Systems

4. Society (2018), “This support is accomplished through the use
of information structures, information processes, and
information technology” (para. 1). Nursing informatics is
committed to identify and drive practice that delivers high
quality and cost-effective health care by using data to improve
the health of the populations they serve (American Nursing
Informatics Association, 2018).
The use of nursing informatics in health care is vital. One
reason to consult the NI specialist would be for clinical decision
support. According to American Medical Informatics
Association (2018), “Clinical decision support is used by
clinicians, patients, and other stakeholders through the use of
knowledge, processes, and inference, to support decisions-
makers in clinical, administrative, and managerial activities to
improve the quality of health care services and outcomes” (para.
1).
From my experience in an inpatient setting, I have seen Nurse
Informatics be useful in implementing EMRs, designing and
training others in the use of EMRs, serving as consultants,
developing policies within their respective institutions, and
analyzing and managing outcomes. The American Medical
Informatics Association (2018), state that from the primary care
standpoint NIs they can help facilitate research and are used in
the same manner and always with patient safety at the forefront
of their practice.
Qualifications and credentialing for nursing informatics are held
by American Nurses Credentialing Center or ANCC. They have
a board certification exam that is competency based. Once, one
successfully passes the exam they are awarded the credential
Registered Nurse- Board Certified. The credential is valid for 5
years and is kept by meeting the renewal requirements. This
ANCC certification is accredited by The National Commission
for Certifying Agencies and the Accreditation Board for
Specialty Nursing (American Nurses Association , 2018).