The Rise of Nursing Informatics – Adapting to the Digital Transformation in Healthcare

The Rise of Nursing Informatics – Adapting to the Digital Transformation in Healthcare

The digitization of healthcare information systems has necessitated the development of the nursing informatics specialty. According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), nursing informatics (NI) is a specialty in nursing that integrates nursing science with various information and analytical technologies in the identification, translation, management, and sharing of data and information in nursing practice (Reid et al., 2021). As nursing informatics utilizes technology to support other nurses, patients, and healthcare professionals in their decision-making and ensuring the best patient outcomes (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2021), nursing informaticists are expected to have various competencies in nursing leadership, various information technologies, and information structures. This article discusses the most important and beneficial competencies for successful nursing leadership, leadership strategies necessary for establishing an organizational culture that supports new information technology initiatives, and an evaluation of personal skills with regard to nursing leadership and informatics.

Nursing Informatics Competencies for Successful Leadership in Nursing Practice

The competencies for nursing informatics are viewed from the broad aspects of leadership, communications and relationship management, professionalism, business knowledge and skills, and knowledge of the healthcare environment. A nursing informaticist must possess various leadership competencies in order to be a successful leader both in the professional practice setting and the profession. From a personal perspective, the most important and beneficial competencies for succeeding as a leader in nursing practice are related to communication capacity, mentorship, influence in behaviors and decisions, ethics, being a team player and a collaborator, and commitment to continuous improvement.

The most important and beneficial competency is the possession of advanced communication and conflict resolution skills. As a nurse leader, one is expected to communicate clearly about goals and the nursing informatics plan. As a leadership competence, having advanced communication skills enables a leader to effectively communicate and promote the vision and goals of the organization with regard to nursing informatics. Communication skills are also a major competence as they support the nurse leader in communicating the organization’s strategic plan. Additionally, as changes or other factors related to the use of information technologies may create some conflicts in nursing settings, the leader must utilize their advanced communication skills to amicably resolve any conflicts that may arise.

The second most important and beneficial competency is mentorship and leading through an example. As a leadership competency, a nurse informaticist is expected to mentor other nurses to help advance nursing informatics practice and the nursing profession and ensure the quality of healthcare. The nurse informaticist is also expected to provide leadership and direction during interprofessional collaboration to improve the effectiveness of the interprofessional team (Heinen et al., 2019).

A third most important and beneficial nursing informatics competency for successful leadership in the nursing practice is possessing the skills to influence behaviors and decisions. According to the American Nurses Association (ANA) (2015), as an essential competency for nursing informaticists, they should be able to influence related decision-making bodies and individuals with the aim of improving the professional practice environment and healthcare consumer outcomes.

Another essential competence for a nursing informaticist is being a team player and a collaborator in advancing the practice and the profession. A nurse informaticist must continuously participate in professional and informatics organizations (American Nurses Association (ANA), 2015 and engage in other interprofessional teams. Through their behavior-influencing competencies, nurse informaticists must be able to foster and promote a practice-level interprofessional collaborative culture that is based on a common vision and goals.

Other essential leadership competencies for nurse informaticists include being ethical, which is demonstrated by how the nurse leader relates with colleagues, treats them, respects them, and trusts them by delegating roles to them. Additionally, commitment to continuous improvement is viewed as an important competency in nursing informatics. For instance, a nurse informaticist is expected to demonstrate a focus and commitment to continuous and lifelong learning for personal improvement and knowledge of nursing practices, including the use of information systems in nursing.

Leadership Strategies to Establish a Culture of Support for New Information Technology Initiatives

The successful implementation of new information technology initiatives within nursing settings requires the utilization of the best leadership strategies to grow a culture of support for such technological initiatives. The leadership strategies one can employ include a transformational leadership style, mentoring, nurse empowerment, training and development, and continuous evaluation and improvement.

To begin with, the transformational leadership style is a leadership strategy with four major components that would drive a culture of support for new information technology among other nurses. These include idealized influence, individual consideration, inspirational motivation, and intellectual motivation (Den Hartog, 2019). Transformational leadership supports the communication of the new IT initiative’s vision and goals in a manner that inspires commitment to an initiative and enthusiasm among colleagues. It also enables a nurse leader to employ and effectively employ other strategies such as mentorships, being a role model, and promoting innovation and creativity.

Moreover, mentoring and nurse empowerment are two leadership strategies one can employ to establish a culture of support for new technology initiatives in nursing practice settings. Mentoring is a great strategy for skills development and overcoming resistance to new changes (Kaše et al., 2019). On the other hand, empowerment focuses on encouraging nurses to be a part of decision-making in the new technology initiatives. This would also include encouraging their input and providing timely and clear feedback.

In addition, training and development is also a good leadership strategy, as it helps nurses grow their competencies in nursing informatics, which may further gauge their participation in IT initiatives. Training also creates an opportunity to interact with other staff and get a glimpse of their perspectives with regard to IT in healthcare settings, as well as address their other concerns.

Current Skills and Recommendations

I currently possess the majority of the skills needed for successful leadership in nursing practice. For instance, I am a good communicator. I can easily articulate complex concepts in a simple manner that helps everyone understand such concepts. Due to my clear communication skills, I can easily influence others, including those with opposing views or resisting the use of information technologies. I am also a team player who easily manages and improves team bonds. Furthermore, I have also realized that I am a good mentor based on my experiences with assisting other nurses grasp complicated concepts. I also treat others with respect and dignity.

Recommendations

Becoming a highly skilled nurse informaticist and a leader in nursing practice is a continuous process that requires various strategies to develop leadership skills. The recommended approaches include enrolling in short professional development courses, such as a short course on leadership or maintaining the security of health information systems. Such training can help to significantly improve current leadership skills and competencies. Another recommendation is to engage actively within interdisciplinary teams. This not only exposes nurses to opportunities to practice and improve their leadership skills within multidisciplinary teams but also helps them improve their communication skills and conflict-resolution skills.

References

American Nurses Association (ANA). (2015). Nursing informatics: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Spring.

Den Hartog, D. N. (2019). Transformational leadership. Encyclopedia of Business and Professional Ethics, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23514-1_57-1

Heinen, M., van Oostveen, C., Peters, J., Vermeulen, H., & Huis, A. (2019). An integrative review of leadership competencies and attributes in advanced nursing practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 75(11), 2378–2392. https://doi.org/10.1111/JAN.14092

Kaše, R., Saksida, T., & Mihelič, K. K. (2019). Skill development in reverse mentoring: Motivational processes of mentors and learners. Human Resource Management, 58(1), 57–69. https://doi.org/10.1002/HRM.21932

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2021). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Reid, L., Maeder, A., Button, D., Breaden, K., & Brommeyer, M. (2021). Defining nursing informatics: A narrative review. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 284, 108–112. https://doi.org/10.3233/

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The Rise of Nursing Informatics – Adapting to the Digital Transformation in Healthcare