Computers are an unavoidable part of daily life. Nowadays, computers are being used in every career field to increase efficiency, save time, and resources. Nursing has not been left behind in terms of incorporating informatics into its operations. As a result of the implementation of informatics systems and the application of new knowledge, several nursing practice modifications have happened (American Nurses Association, 2008). As a result, several nursing practices are now carried out in different ways than in the past.
Adoption of a computer-controlled charting and order entry system is a major informatics and application of new information in the nursing sector. Initially, the nursing field employed paper work for charting, but the computer data fields have taken up this role thus a significant change. Also, the nurses had to interpret the doctor’s handwritten orders and the progress notes, but with this new advent, the orders and all communication between the nurses and the doctors are done using the system. The approach has helped increase efficiency, reduce the time involved, minimize errors and therefore, deliver the best for the patients (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015).
The support of theory of development, Research and IT in nursing
The theories of development and research have been the main aspects in managing knowledge in the field of nursing. It has enhanced a continuous improvement on the existing knowledge base. It has also played a critical role in providing a platform for new researchers to come up and build on what already exists in the field. This has provided room to expand knowledge that is kept for improvement at all times in the field. Besides, the theory of development will accumulate knowledge which will be used to serve generations and give them a deeper understanding of concepts. Therefore, this is important for managing improvements in the field.
Information technology has considerably driven elimination of paper work in the field of nursing. The IT alignment with nursing has provided a solution for a perfect replacement of traditional nursing practices. The computer systems can keep information safely for a long time, retrieve them with ease at any time they will be required thus increasing efficiency. Computer systems are also fast and have minimal errors thus playing an important role in making the achieving better performance in the nursing field.
Differences between Research and Evidence Based Practice
In nursing, research and evidence based practices are closely related and work for hand in hand. Research is done with the aim of generating new knowledge in the field of nursing or some cases it is conducted to validate a given theoretical knowledge that already exists. When doing research, the research comes up with specific target questions that should be answered by the research (Polit & Cheryl, 2014). Research can be qualitative, which seeks to establish an explanation for a given phenomenon or it can be quantitative seeking to establish figures associated with a given phenomenon of interest. Both types of research involve systematic flow starting with the analysis of the existing knowledge (literature review), the establishment of the gaps that exist and then trying to understand them.
On the other hand, evidence based research focuses on translating the best existing evidence and then applying it to the patient care decisions. Usually, this best proof emanates from the research practice in the field. EBP focuses on translating the best practices and applying them to increase innovation and is differentiated from research whose main target is to come up with new knowledge. Therefore, both research and evidence based practices are critical in delivering best health care services.
How Nurse Leaders can utilize informatics systems
Success in change implementation requires the involvement of stakeholders throughout the entire process. Stakeholders are usually the people involved or affected by the process thus their involvement helps increase their acceptability, efficiency, and effectiveness of the change implementation. Nurse leaders should take care of all the necessary aspects that can be used to engage the stakeholders. For example, the nurse leader should conduct thorough planning and testing to reduce interruptions, inefficiency and save time. Besides, the leader should have a good communication strategy system to all the stakeholders. The changes in the nursing workflows or any relevant information should be communicated to all parties involved. Also, the stakeholder’s feedback must also be taken into consideration for the success of change implementation in the healthcare system (HIMSS Position Statement, 2011).
How Nurse Leaders Use Evidence Based Practices for better patient care
Evidence based practices are important in the achieving the goals of improving the health care systems in the field of nursing. However, implementing them is difficult due to their complex nature of the care system and thus requires putting in place appropriate strategies for its success. The nurse leader should adopt an appropriate model and then adhere to steps involved in the implementation of the EBP (Davies, 2012). There are three basic steps that can be followed in implementation. This starts with knowledge creation and distillation, then diffusion and dissemination of knowledge and finally the adoption of the end user, application, and institutionalization. If EBP is implemented successfully, there is a high likelihood that there will be an improvement in the patient care outcomes (Pooler, 2014).
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many changes that have taken place in the nursing sector for the past few years. The nursing practices have changed considerably, and currently, the paper work has reduced. These variations in the nursing practices are driven by informatics and new knowledge management. Both research and evidence based practices have played a critical role in increasing efficiency thus increasing the general improvement of the health care services to the patients.
References
American Nurses Association (2008). Nursing Informatics: Scope and Standards of Practice. Silver Spring.
Davies, J. (2012). Nursing & Health Survival Guide: Evidence-based Practice. London: Routledge.
HIMSS Position Statement (2011). Transforming Nursing Practice through Technology & Informatics.
McGonigle, D. &Mastrian, K. (2015). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge. (3rd ed). Jones and Bartlett: Burlington, MA.
Polit, D. & Cheryl, B. (2014). Essentials of Nursing Research - Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer.
Pooler, A. (2014). An Introduction to Evidence-based Practice in Nursing & Healthcare. New York: Routledge.
