Advanced Practice Nurses: A Case Study

Through education and clinical experience, I have gained the knowledge, skills, and proficiency that have prepared me an expert acute care nurse. This has developed the root of my personal philosophy of informatics. This philosophy holds the exceptionality of every individual and the certainty that everyone has the ability to improve his or her knowledge if directed in the right direction. Based on this, my ambition as an informatics nurse is to use

Nursing informatics (NI) has become a vital part of healthcare delivery and has become a defining factor in the selection, execution, and assessment of technology that supports safe, exceptional quality and patient-centered care. Nursing has become so uniform. The data in patient records has become a valuable resource and has improved assessments and overall patient care. Before the launch of nursing informatics throughout the second half of the 20th century there were not any real standards for language. The use of data restricted the function and

In order to practice as a nurse informatics or NI specialist, one must know and understand the standard to which he or she is held. The purpose and function of scopes and standards of practice for nursing informatics is to provide an overview of the specialty, assist future specialists understand their scope of practice, and practice at a competent level to guide and support nursing care. The scopes and standards of practice further provides an insight into the foundation of clinical decision making processes and cognitive concepts as the nurse moves data to wisdom in the clinical setting. As a NI specialist, the informatics nurse follows the concepts, scopes and standards of practice to guide and define their profession. This paper will further discuss the principles that guides nurse informatics specialist, the scope and standards of practice, professional performance, functional areas for nurse informatics, competencies, evolution, progress, and the future the specialty.

Nursing informatics and technology are quickly becoming the hot buzz words for nursing in the twenty-first century. While performing research for this specific paper, the observations of how far technology has come from its inception is mind boggling. When looking back to the mid 1990’s every patient had paper charting. Nurses manually charted vital signs, nursing notes, treatments and all orders were manually written in the chart. The patient’s name, insurance information, and billing items were stored electronically. Fast forward twenty plus years and everything nurses do with, for or to a patient is filed electronically. This file today is known as the electronic health record (EHR) (Lavin, Harper, & Barr, 2015). This paper will be delving into the history of nursing informatics and technology, the pros and cons for nurses and what will be the big picture for informatics and technology in nursing today and in the future. Nursing informatics and the technology that has evolved over time are changing and quickly affecting how nurses treat, communicate, plan and document everything that they do for their patients.

wisdom in nursing practice.” (Mitchell, 2011). The idea is to speed up patient care techniques by having information needed at the caretaker’s fingertips, all while giving them excellent care. Informatics allows for information on drug allergies, contraindications and compatibility, access to evidence based practice, symptom checker and diagrams and examples of issues to name a few. Having this information readily available allows for faster access however, the provider needs to be somewhat computer savvy. Having computers

Some practical obstacles that hinder the delivery of proficient and economical services include differences in language, cultural and knowledge of health issues. However, the prudent advanced practice nurse (APN) considers these obstacles to communication when providing patient-centered care. Nevertheless, when language barriers are not addressed, the provision of quality care to patient and families are undermined, which then transcends to both economic and ethical dilemmas. According to the centers for disease control and prevention (CDC, 2016), the gateway to healthcare is often hindered to a great extent by the lack of the ability to communicate medical necessities due to language barrier. In any clinical setting, efficient patient communication is essential in the delivery and accessibility of quality care and safety.

Texas has a rapidly growing population with complex healthcare needs, but has limited resources in terms of healthcare provider workforce. There is an expanding need for healthcare in Texas even without taking federal reform into account. Currently, more than forty percent of states have adopted full practice authority licensure and practice laws for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN). Texas is not one of them. Currently, APRN’s are regulated by both the Texas Board of Nursing and the Texas Medical Board. Passage of Senate Bill 681 would grant full practice authority to APRN’s, and therefore be regulated exclusively by the state nursing board.

As the young and rapidly-aging population continues to increase, the demands of primary, acute and chronic disease management will also increase. As a result, more health care professionals who provide primary care will be needed to meet these demands. Thus, the emergence of Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) evolve. APRN is a nurse who has completed a graduate degree and has acquired advanced knowledge and skills. APRNs are grounded with theory, concepts and principles that enable them to assess, diagnose, treat and manage their patients. APRNs can work in conjunction with other health care professionals or independently. APRNs improve access to health care by providing care in the rural and underserved areas. APRNs also reduce the cost to health care (Joel, 2013).

Tennessee board of nursing offers advanced nursing registration to nurses with qualifications at graduate levels who have achieved certifications in various areas of specializations. The state board applies the title Advanced Practice Nurse (APN).The state board also recognizes the advanced practice obligations as provided in the National Council Of State Boards Of Nursing (NCSBN). The four advanced practice roles are Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Anesthetist and Nurse Midwife. APNs in the state of Tennessee must also be licensed as registered nurses. In the event that the nurse resides in another state, RN licensing is done in the state of residence. The

Nursing informatics is a branch of nursing or area of specialty that concentrates on finding ways to improve data management and communication in nursing with the sole objective of improving efficiency, reduction of health costs, and enhancement of the quality of patient care (Murphy, 2010). It is also described as a growing area of nursing specialty that combines computer science, information technology, and nursing science in the management and processing of nursing information, data, and knowledge with the sole objective of supporting nursing practice and research. Various nursing theorists have formulated various theoretical frameworks or models related to nursing informatics (Wager, Lee, & Glaser, 2013), and they are defined as a

(2015). NR-361. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2008). The Essentials IV: Information Management and Application of Patient Care Technology, part of Week 1 Lesson 1. Retrieved from

I scored 30 in the AACN Self-Assessment Essentials. As one of my duties consist of completing MDS, I have the opportunity to navigate through the electronic records and sit in front of the computer for long hours. Even though, I feel comfortable using a computer, I have much to learn in using Nursing Informatics literacy. Knowing how to get the information from trustful resources and use your judgment to decide if it improves the patient’s safety and quality, requires knowledge, practice and experience. As stated in CCN 2016, “it enables the nurse to use technology to not only input information into a clinical system, but also retrieve and manage the information to improve patient safety and quality outcomes based on evidence of best practices”

I took the “Pretest Toward Computers in Healthcare (PATCH) Assessment Scale, version 3,” (Kaminski, J.). I scored 92.0, a reasonably good score, but I would have projected a higher score because of my background in Tele-Medicine. I have spent the last 10 years in Tele-Medicine, so it would be a safe assumption that I am computer and/or technology savvy and fluent with multiple platforms. That holds true to a point, but the fact that technology is constantly evolving keeps us all somewhat behind the bubble since computer science is not our primary focus. Nursing informatics will remain a fluid environment, as each nurse becomes more comfortable with technology, each will be able to incorporate innovative

“The nursing informatics specialty involves understanding and working to improve the interaction between the nurse and patient using technology. The goal of

As technology has and continues to advance so will the expansion of nursing informatics. Data from (19th annual 2008 himss leadership survey, 2008) hold this statement true showing a steady increase in the implementation of technologies. As computers became smaller, it became easier and efficient for hospitals and physicians office to implement their use. (sutton, 2007)The first computers were large, expensive, and inefficient. Now, computers are compact, inexpensive, and efficient. The smaller technology allows for portability of information. PDA’s are small enough to fit in your pocket. With these small devices, you can look up a patients medication, drug interactions, side effects, and just about anything, you could think of to