course material

1. The Inclusion of Nurses in the Systems Development Life Cycle
In the media introduction to this module, it was suggested that you as a nurse have an
important role in the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC). With a focus on patient care
and outcomes, nurses may not always see themselves as contributors to the development of
new systems. However, as you may have observed in your own experience, exclusion of
nurse contributions when implementing systems can have dire consequences.In this
Discussion, you will consider the role you might play in systems development and the
ramifications of not being an active participant in systems development.To Prepare:Review
the steps of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) as presented in the
Resources.Reflect on your own healthcare organization and consider any steps your
healthcare organization goes through when purchasing and implementing a new health
information technology system.Consider what a nurse might contribute to decisions made
at each stage of the SDLC when planning for new health information technology.By Day 3 of
Week 9Post a description of what you believe to be the consequences of a healthcare
organization not involving nurses in each stage of the SDLC when purchasing and
implementing a new health information technology system. Provide specific examples of
potential issues at each stage of the SDLC and explain how the inclusion of nurses may help
address these issues. Then, explain whether you had any input in the selection and planning
of new health information technology systems in your nursing practice or healthcare
organization and explain the potential impacts of being included or not in the decision-
making process. Be specific and provide examples.By Day 6 of Week 9Respond to at
least two of your colleagues* on two different days, by offering additional thoughts
regarding the examples shared, SDLC-related issues, and ideas on how the inclusion of
nurses might have impacted the example described by your colleagues.Discussion one that
needs a response in APA 7 format and at least 2-3 references.( Micheal )The health care
industry has met with numerous changes over the years; some of the changes lay emphasis
on either the patient, the organization or its employees. Of the numerous changes any given
health care institution experiences, the goal of patient safety and patient satisfaction
preempts the motive for necessary changes to better serve our patient population while
also bearing in mind the effectiveness of the interventions that the organization is
implementing. For an institution saddled with the responsibility of rendering health care
services to members of its community, it is often faced with the need for constant system
development of their life cycle to enhance the efficiency of the services provided while also
taking patient safety into consideration. “The first step in developing a system is to

2. understand the problems or business needs. It is followed by understanding the solution or
how to address those needs; developing a plan; implementing the plan; evaluating the
implementation and finally maintenance” (McGonigle, 2017, p175) System development
life cycle presents as the precursor to the innovations that trigger the much needed
difference in terms of efficiency or safety, such changes sometimes suffer the brunt when
nurses are excluded in the preliminary phases of planning leading up to its implementation.
The consequence of not having nurses weigh in on the intended innovation includes but is
not limited to having a poorly designed project since the design and planning was done
without the end users input, the project may become obsolete months after its
implementation for failing to meet the needs of the nurses with regards to efficiency in
patient care and safety considerations. According to a Laureate video presentation by Stuart
Speedie, “the goal of health care informatics and technology should be its interoperability.”
(Laureate Education Producer, 2018) In a different light, if the nurses were included as
prospective end users of this innovation, ideas generated from the conversation about the
intended innovation will be viewed from many perspectives which will in turn make for a
better design knowing what the end user desires for the innovation to be mutually
beneficial to the institution and the patient population alike. At the institution that I work,
the latest innovation was the inclusion of an automated Alaris infusion pump that
synchronizes information across the electronic health record platform and the medication
pyxis, the nurses did not have any input on the planning or design of this new
innovation. The impact of not being included or consulted prior to designing and
implementing this design were as follows; some medications were not compatible with the
pump interface and will not accept manual entry this problem in its self constituted a
missed medication for the patient hence delaying patient care, the network interface on the
electronic health record platform was a bit confusing and needed more than just a day of
orientation to say the least, over all the system launch was chaotic and stressful leading to
loss of considerable man hours trying to figure things out on the go with little to no
assistance especially for nurses working on the night shift. According to a Laureate video
presentation by Kevin Johnson, “He highlights the need to acknowledge that the cycle is
ongoing and never done even after its implementation.” (Laureate Education Producer,
2018) ReferencesLaureate
Education (Producer). (2018). Interoperability, Standards, and Security [Video file].
Baltimore, MD: Author.Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Managing Health
Information Technology [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G.
(2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA:
Jones & Bartlett LearnDiscussion one that needs a response in APA 7 format and at least 2-3
references.( Monica)Discussion Week 9 Initial PostNursing is the largest healthcare
profession in the world. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing
(2020), there is an estimated 3.8 million registered nurses (RN) nationally and 84.5% of
those nurses are employed in the healthcare setting. Nurses are so vital to healthcare
organizations because they are hands on with rendering care to patients and oversee the
overall care that the patient receives. Nurses serve as patient advocates and are involved
on every aspect of the patient’s care. They are the integral party with the responsibility to

3. make sure that other healthcare professionals are doing their part to ensure that patients
are receiving the safest and best quality of care. High in numbers and with such an intricate
role in healthcare, nurses are the heartbeat of the hospitals, therefore it would behoove
healthcare organizations to involve nurses in every aspect of care including the Systems
Development Life Cycle (SDLC).SDLC is a process of addressing an identified need and
putting a plan/system into operation. Phases of the SDLC include planning, analysis, design,
implementation, and maintenance (Laureate, 2018). Nurses can contribute greatly to the
process of selecting and implementing new health systems because they are hands on and
see first-hand the needs of the patients and healthcare systems. If healthcare
administrations fail to include nurses during the SDLC process of purchasing and
implementing new information technology system, consequences could be failure to
identify pertinent issues (Cleveland, 2019). The planning, analysis, design, implementation,
and maintenance phases would not persist because nurses are the primary bodies that are
hands-on and they are on the frontlines to witness how the whole process plays out. Nurses
play a role that is essential to the success of the system. During the planning process,
nurses contribute by identifying needs. They collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to
formulate a plan to prosecute. During the analysis and design phases, nursing informaticists
play a huge role by assuring that the plan is suitable and of evidence based practices. After
the best practices are identified, nurses then, implement by using the system. Over time,
evaluation and maintenance is done by the nursing staff. This cycle of evaluation is ongoing
with the goal of the system to become more efficient with each evaluation.About 6 years
ago, I was involved in the maintenance and evaluation phase of an information technology
tool (Patient Touch) that was launched 2 years prior on the medical surgical floor. The
Patient Touch, similar to an iPhone, allows healthcare workers to chart all care and nurses
to scan and record medication administration, It is a hand-held scanner that has many
protective measures built in, and it allows workers of all entities to pull up useful
information in a matter of seconds. It heavily supports evidence-based practice and has
produced positive outcomes with patient care. To keep the momentum going, nursing
informaticians made rounds monthly to see how using the Patient Touch was going and
they asked for feedback on how to improve the tool. I mentioned to them an issue I had with
it, while charting the nursing assessment using Patient Touch, there were a lot of
assessment pieces that did not apply to medical surgical patients which prolonged time.
There were a lot of assessments that ICU utilized, and I asked if there was anyway to
eliminate the issue. A couple of months later, the informaticians implemented a division of
the units and whatever unit selected, the nursing daily assessment was customized for each
unit. This change eliminated a lot of unnecessary assessments that did not apply to medical
surgical floor. It made a huge difference with charting and really improve our nurses time
management. “Nurses play an active and vital role in electronic healthcare information
system acquisition and upgrading project along- side their health informatics and IT
colleagues (McLean, Frisch, &Roudsari, 2020). Nurses being involved with the SDLC process
is necessary because they are the ones using the systems the most. Without the nurses’
input and expertise, healthcare administrations will miss the mark and the success rate of
the tool would be minimized.ReferencesAACN. (2020). AACN fact sheet – Nursing. The

4. American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). https://www.aacnnursing.org/News-
Information/fact-sheets/Nursing-Fact-SheetCleveland, K. A., Motter, T., & Smith, Y. (2019,
May 31). Affordable care: Harnessing the power of nurses. OJIN: The Online Journal of
Issues in
Nursing. https://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriod
icals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-24-2019/No2-May-2019/Affordable-
Care.html?css=printLaureate Education (Producer). (2018). Systems implementation
[Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.Mclean, A., Frisch, N., & Roudsari, A. (2020, September
21). Nursing’s voice in healthcare IT acquisition decisions. Canadian Journal of Nursing
Informatics.
https://cjni.net/journal/?p=4248#:~:text=%20Nursing%E2%80%99s%20Voice%20in%2
0Healthcare%20IT%20Acquisition%20Decisions,senior%20nurse%20executives%20and
%20leaders%20develop…%20More%20