Nursing Documentation System

Nursing Documentation System

Implementing the new documentation system will undoubtedly be accompanied by multiple opportunities, particularly when it comes to streamlining workflows, reducing human errors, enhancing practice efficiencies, and facilitating care coordination. However, like most health information technologies, the new documentation system will also have its share of challenges linked with its adoption. For this reason, the nurse leader in charge of the facility must identify an iterative model of implementation that the staff can adhere to when implementing the new system. One such model is the Systems Development Life Cycle, which is widely reputed to be highly effective in project management, specifically those involving the implementation of health information systems or technologies (Kramer, 2018). Subsequently, the following literature aims to delineate the role of baccalaureate-prepared nurses in guiding their involvement on the implementation team of the new documentation systems. Besides, the literature will explicitly define how graduate-level nurses ought to participate in and impact the five phases of the Systems Development Life Cycle (planning, analysis, design, implementation, and post-implementation support).

Description of the Roles

Planning

The planning phase of the project implementation offers the course of direction of the entire project that would, in the long run, influence the ensuing phases’ outcomes. In this phase, one of the primary roles of a baccalaureate-prepared nurse is to evaluate the readiness of the organization concerning the new documentation system. As such, some of the crucial aspects that must be taken into consideration during this assessment include the needs and financial readiness of the organization (Kramer, 2018). Additionally, the graduate nurse should be able to determine the timeline and schedule of the entire project. Subsequently, some of the requisite knowledge and skills that the nurse should possess include critical thinking skills alongside clinical knowledge of the workflow to formulate objectives and project goals alongside realistic expectations.

Analysis

In this phase, the graduate-level nurse shall be expected to develop and formalize the requirements of the systems. Essentially, this phase will be accomplished by the establishment of what the system is expected to do based on the expectations and requirements of the system’s end-users. Notably, the failure to effectively complete these tasks and meet the end-user needs would likely result in the delay of the project alongside communication process breakdown (Dias & Ferreira, 2018). For this reason, it would be pertinent that the graduate-level nurse analyzes the communication, decision-making tools, and workflow process. Equally, the nurse must also be able to analyze the technical specifications as well as additional demands, such as software that will be required for the system to be operational.

Design

For the design phase, the technical details and information of the design are discussed with the key stakeholders, and various parameters such as risks, technology to be utilized, and capacity of the team are evaluated. Hence, the graduate-level nurse must ensure that the overall configuration of the software and hardware is optimal. Additionally, the nurse should also evaluate to determine that the architecture and system operations have been done to the highest perfection to ensure an easy user interface. Furthermore, the nurse may also offer their input to aid in customizing the system to offer clinical decision support to accommodate other practices in different specialties (Belikov & Shevchenko, 2018).

Implementation

For the implementation phase, the nurse should closely work with the members of the interdisciplinary team in testing, customizing, and installing the documentation system. Notably, the role of the graduate-level nurse becomes crucial in this phase as it encompasses the training of the staff, the maintenance of the system, and the evaluation of the outcomes. Other than that, the nurse is also expected to facilitate communication between the staff and the organization’s leadership by airing the concerns and views that may come in handy when redesigning the system. Kramer (2018) notes that the feedback generated from end-users is crucial for customization as well as optimization of health information systems.

Post-implementation support

The last phase of the SDLC model calls for nurses to be encompassed in offering continual support and adequate training, key among them comprehension of the systems and their ramifications, to ensure that this change would not occur and be rejected. It is worth noting that this would also elevate satisfaction alongside adherence to best practices when it comes to the use of the documentation system, such as private and confidential information being stored and disposed of (Kramer, 2018). Subsequently, this would diminish any potential demerits that arise from the use of the system, such as technical flops.

Conclusion

Conclusively, the Systems Development Life Cycle is widely reputed to be highly effective in project management, specifically those that involve the implementation of health information systems or technologies. The failure to effectively complete these tasks and meet the end-user needs would likely result in the project’s delay alongside communication process breakdown. For this reason, it would be pertinent that the graduate-level nurse analyzes the communication, decision-making tools, and workflow process.

References

Belikov, A., & Shevchenko, O. V. (2018). Synthesis of the life cycle stages of information systems development. In Computer Science On-line Conference (pp. 331-337). Springer, Cham.

Dias, J. P., & Ferreira, H. S. (2018). State of the software development lifecycle for the Internet. arXiv preprint arXiv:1811.04159.

Kramer, M. (2018). Best practices in systems development lifecycle: An analysis based on the waterfall model. Review of Business & Finance Studies, 9(1), 77-84.

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 Assume you are a nurse manager on a unit where a new nursing documentation system is to be implemented. You want to ensure that the system will be usable and acceptable for the nurses impacted. You realize a nurse leader must be on the implementation team.

Nursing Documentation System

To Prepare:

Review the steps of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and reflect on the scenario presented.
Consider the benefits and challenges associated with involving a nurse leader on an implementation team for health information technology.
The Assignment: (2-3 pages, not including the title and reference page)

In preparation for filling this role, develop a 2- to 3-page role description for a graduate-level nurse to guide their participation on the implementation team. The role description should be based on the SDLC stages and tasks and should clearly define how this individual will participate in and impact each of the following steps:

• Planning and requirements definition
• Analysis
• Design of the new system
• Implementation
• Post-implementation support

Use APA format and include a title page and reference page.