Discussion: NURS 6051 Nursing Informatics Competencies
Today’s fast-paced health care environment demands nurses to
be skilled not only in their clinical practice or specialty area but in the use
of technology tools that improve practice and lead to better patient care.
Basic and advanced technology competencies are required and expected as
technology increasingly touches and changes the job of every nurse. Numerous
organizations, including the American Nurses Association (ANA), the American
Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), and Healthcare Information and
Management Systems Society (HIMSS), have developed nurse-specific technology
competencies. The challenge for nurses is to identify both needs and training
opportunities.
In this Discussion, you identify the role informatics plays
in your professional responsibilities. You pinpoint personal gaps in skills and
knowledge and then develop a plan for self-improvement.
To prepare:
Review Nursing Informatics: Scope and Standards of Practice
in this week’s Learning Resources, focusing on the different functional areas
it describes. Consider which areas relate to your current nursing
responsibilities or to a position you held in the past. For this Discussion,
identify one or two of the most relevant functional areas.
Discussion: NURS 6051 Nursing Informatics Competencies
Review the list of competencies recommended by the TIGER
Initiative. Identify at least one skill in each of the main areas (basic
computer competencies, information literacy competencies, and information
management competencies) that is pertinent to your functional area(s) and in
which you need to strengthen your abilities. Consider how you could improve
your skills in these areas and the resources within your organization that
might provide training and support.
By Day 3
Post the key functional area(s) of nursing informatics
relevant to your current position or to a position you recently held, and
briefly describe why this area(s) is relevant. Identify the TIGER competencies
you selected as essential to your functional area(s) in which you need
improvement. Describe why these competencies are necessary and outline a plan
for developing these competencies. Include any resources that are available to
you within your organization and the ways you might access those resources.
Assess how developing nursing informatics competencies would increase your
effectiveness as a nurse.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.
By Day 6
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different
days using the following approach: Assume the role of a consultant. Respond to
your colleagues as someone who can offer advice on improving their skills on
the competencies they identified as needing improvement.
