The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation

The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation

The Nurse Informaticist has the responsibility of translating the clinical practice demands to information technology requirements and making sure that the systems are properly developed and implemented for the improvement of patients’ care. Being a graduate-level nurse, this role description captures how the professional will be involved and the contribution during the delivery of Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and health information technology (HIT) systems.

Planning and Requirements Definition

This phase involves a gathering of clinicians, IT specialists, and managers. Specific roles of the Nurse Informaticist include the identification of the system requirements during the planning and requirements definition phase. Consequently, the Nurse Informaticist has useful clinical perspectives, such as implementing and maintaining the HIT system and understanding the needs of the clinical business (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2022). Some of the tasks they perform include needs assessment, focus groups’ conducting, and workforce process mapping. Alternatively, the Nurse Informaticist’s task is to determine whatever particular needs and issues individuals require and subsequently contribute to a careful outline of system requirements that form the basis of subsequent systemization.

Analysis

In the analysis phase, the Nurse Informaticist assesses the requirements collected to identify the suitability and consequences of the proposed system. They scrutinize the existing procedures, evaluate the existing shortcomings, and determine how the new system will benefit the organization and its patients. Finally, while working with the organization’s IT department, the Nurse Informaticist makes sure that the technical side of the system addresses the clinical requirements of the institution (Booth et al., 2021). This phase also holds risk assessment to come up with measures that can be taken to counter any challenge that may occur. It advances the clinical understanding of the Nurse Informaticist, which guarantees the system’s structural safety for patient data while remaining comprehensible for healthcare providers.

Design of the New System

In the course of the design phase, the Nurse Informaticist collaborates with members of the Information Technology department to convert functional necessities of clinical practice into technical features. They contribute to the development of graphical frontends, or interfaces, that make the system as hospitable as possible to healthcare professionals. He/she too plays a vital role in the of useful clinical decision support systems in the organization that meets all the recommended qualities. Participating in the design process directly results in the development of a system that optimizes client operations and the reliable delivery of quality health services (Louis, 2011). Also, the Nurse Informaticist contributes to the participation of training preparations and formulation of training documents and strategies that should be followed by the end-users with the intention of being in a position to implement the system as proposed.

Implementation

Indeed, a logical continuation of each of the above-stated activities is the implementation phase, which decides the success or failure of the adoption of the new system. The role of the Nurse Informaticist is to provide direct communication between the clinicians and the IS/IT professionals. They schedule teaching meetings and respond to any needs and problems for the implementation of training plans during the transition phase. If a Nurse Informaticist is included in the implementation team, clinical staff will have the impression that they are backed by persons knowledgeable about it (Kaihlanen et al., 2021). They also follow the implementation process gather data from the end-users and find out the aspects that could be implemented. When facing some hurdles, the Nurse Informaticist intervenes to contain and solve them immediately; this way, the change is completed in the most efficient manner possible.

Post-Implementation Support

Another key consideration is the post-implementation support since this is the period when system functionality needs to be sustained and other problems resolved. The Nurse Informaticist is also a key actor in the clinical setting by offering acute and general support to the clinical nursing staff in terms of system support, configuration, and improvement. Collecting responses from the end-users to find out further opportunities to improve and collaborating with the IT division to test the changes. Another responsibility of the Nurse Informaticist includes assessing the system’s effectiveness in enhancing patient care and streamlining the clinical processes that contribute to the same (Risling & Risling, 2020). Through continued patient support and maintenance of the systems, the Nurse Informaticist applies himself toward ensuring the achievement of the HIT systems’ goals for patients as well as professional physicians.

Conclusively, graduate-level Nurse Informaticist’s participation in the system development life cycle is paramount to the use of health information technology systems. This provides the necessary clinical exposition and appreciation of the requirements of operations that guarantee that the system is well aligned with the end-consumers requirements and the overall quality of patient care delivery. Thus, the Nurse Informaticist being involved in all stages of SDLC, eventually develops a workable system that is easily navigated and compliant with standards. As members of the committees on planning, analysis, design, implementation, and post-implementation support, they give meaning to the TWU’s adoption and use of HIT systems.

References

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2022). Health IT Evaluation Toolkit and Evaluation Measures Quick Reference Guides | Digital Healthcare Research. Digital.ahrq.gov. https://digital.ahrq.gov/health-it-evaluation-toolkit

Booth, R. G., Strudwick, G., McBride, S., O’Connor, S., & Solano López, A. L. (2021). How the nursing profession should adapt for a digital future. BMJ, 373(1190). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1190

Kaihlanen, A.-M., Gluschkoff, K., Laukka, E., & Heponiemi, T. (2021). The information system stress, informatics competence and well-being of newly graduated and experienced nurses: a cross-sectional study. BMC Health Services Research, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-07132-6

Louis, I. (2011). Software Development Life Cycle [SDLC] [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtpyjPrpyX8

Risling, T. L., & Risling, D. E. (2020). Advancing nursing participation in user-centered design. Journal of Research in Nursing, 25(3), 226–238. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987120913590

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The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation

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.

To Prepare:

The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation

• 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 of filling this role, develop a 2- to 3-page role description for a graduate-level nurse to guide his/her 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.
• Use the Safe Assign Drafts to check your match percentage before submitting your work.