1st Thought Cloud: Why Study Nursing Informatics?

    As I sit down and reflect on the latest tech updates around me, it made me realize how far technological innovations have been. In fact, if someone were to ask, I'd say that I personally think this time in human history is one of the most lovely and fascinating - because we can communicate with one another across distances and even fly over skies like it's nothing. It is clear that science has advanced in more ways than we can ever imagine, particularly when it comes to curing serious illnesses and medical conditions. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, many people became aware of how technology influences the whole medical field including its research, healthcare, and patient care. In this entry, I will be sharing my opinions regarding the provided video materials and dwelling more on the relevance of Nursing Informatics in the field of nursing.

💭 My Impressions On Videos Provided

    Prior to writing this, I have seen various videos regarding nursing informatics from Augustine (2016), Brian Fung (2018), Marge Benham-Hutchins (2020), and Nursing informatics (2020). 

    In the video on Nursing informatics (2020), titled  Nursing Informatics Overview, I was able to understand more about what nursing informatics is all about, the roles of nurses who specialize in this field, and the essential NI competencies that nurses should have. Specifically, the speaker defined how the nurses, technologies used by nurses, and health care processes form a triad to interrelate and transfer care and clinical data into relevant, useful, and meaningful information in nursing practice. Moreover, the speaker stresses the American Nurses Association (ANA) take on how nursing informatics supports decision-making through the use of information structures, information processes, and information technology - enabling all the parties and stakeholders involved. He also stated that nurses who specialize in this field can help in clinical information and systems implementation, systems maintenance, education/training, data analysis/reporting, systems optimization, and collaboration with other members of the healthcare team.

    Meanwhile, in the video of  Brian Fung (2018), titled Nursing Informatics: An Inside Look, I was able to have an idea regarding the Informatic Nurse Specialist as a different career from being a Bedside Nurse. The accounts of Mr. Lex Hokanson made me realize how he encounters a different type of work and stress from the usual bedside care that I was able to learn and saw as a student. Indeed, being able to speak I.T. and Healthcare language seems to be a fun career. In his other video, titled as Nursing Informatics:  A Day in the life, I further saw the difference in their workload and specialty. This overall made me wonder how nice it would be if there are a lot of trained and successful Informatic Nurse Specialists in the Philippines. They would essentially bring the technological change that we once saw in successful countries like the USA and take it on to the next unimaginable level.

    On the other hand, in the video of Marge Benham-Hutchins (2020), titled  Nursing Informatics, I was able to know more about the overview of nursing and health informatics from undergraduate nursing and health sciences students. Specifically, the part that struck me was how nursing informatics was present during the time of Florence Nightingale. In fact, I was surprised by how the speaker stressed that Nightingale was the first nursing informatics specialist. This is mainly due to her creation of the hospital's statistical records which provide the needed order.

    Lastly, in the video uploaded by Augustine (2016), titled  The Human Face of Big Data, I was able to become more aware of the importance of data and data analysis. As one of the speakers in the video stressed, most data is meaningless until someone adds some interpretation to it. This only shows that big data, when not utilized properly, may become a large issue since it indicates that there’s little optimization with the present technologies.

💭 What Would The World Be Like Without Data?

    For many, the impact of data in our day-to-day lives seems invisible and taken for granted. However, if I were to think that one-day data will be gone forever, a scenario of chaos comes into the picture.  It will seem to be as if we are reliving the lives of the past wherein public transportation is not a thing, fake news will flourish, the business will flop and the government will be disrupted on people to provide services. Moreover, in the healthcare setting, the services will not be sufficient. There might be a chance for certain conditions/illnesses to cause an outbreak due to limited access to the data of people admitted to displaying the same symptoms. There might also be short-staffing which can be fatal for patients and nurses. And the worst-case scenario, dosages of the drugs given to the patient can potentially harm them since there is no basis as to how the body of the patient will react. Overall, a world without data seems to be lifeless.

💭 What Would The World Be Like Without Health Informatics?

   Health informatics - be it in the field of nursing, pharmacy, or physician - is absolutely needed in this day in age when technology is so pervasive in our healthcare environments. Without this, we will be receding to a "paper system" which as a result with cause more work and taxing labor to all the healthcare professionals. Moreover, the chance of medical errors occurring will progressively rise since more healthcare practitioners will become exhausted in keeping up with the records of their patients. Overall, without health informatics, the medical sector of our society will tumble down.

💭 What Would The World Be Like Without Data Policies and Standards?

    One of the most crucial tasks in any institution is maintaining data security. Data policies are statements provided by the institution involve that give the user instructions on what to do with the data and what not to do. Whereas, standards are more specific instructions on how to perform something. Without data policies and standards in place, the threat to data integrity, its user, and the company will take place. There will surely be a lot of issues regarding patient consent as they are not fully aware of the reasons for data collection. Moreover, fraudulent activities such as hacking and phishing will be unending. Thus, by thinking of the possible scenarios, I was able to realize the importance of practicing the application of data policies and consent in all of the works that may involve another person. 

💭 What Would The World Be Like Without Computers?

    A future without computers would be challenging to envision - solely because we became accustomed to it. Without computers, life will change significantly. Everyone will be drinking lattes at sidewalk cafés and catching up on the latest paperback novel they just purchased. People will heavily rely on state media in the form of newspapers to be updated. Also, there won't be any need for people to carry around their laptops while working on assignments or trying to crunch numbers on their Excel spreadsheets while reading the newspaper at Starbucks. In short, the world we know will be incomplete without computers and their application.

💭 The Parallels in DIKW Model and Nursing Process

    DIKW Model and Nursing Process are both used in the nursing practice however they somewhat differ in the specialties that they are applied to. In Nursing Informatics, DIKW Model is used by many. The model is an acronym for Data (distinct, uninterpreted, objectively described items), Information (data that have been interpreted, organized, or structured), Knowledge (combined to establish and identify relationships), and Wisdom (proper application of knowledge to the management and resolution of human problem). Whereas, in Nursing Care, Nursing Process is applied especially during bedside practices. This also has an acronym of ADPIE which stands for: Assessment (contains subjective and objective data), Diagnosis (nurse's clinical judgment based on data), Planning (measurable and achievable goals based on data), Implementation (care plan to conduct), and Evaluation (ensure the effectiveness of the nursing care). Although it differs in name and uses in practice, the similarities of each component are recognizable and evident.

    An application of these two was seen during my clinical exposure last semester. The breakdown corresponding to each stage in the process can be clearly seen below.

DIKW's Data & NP's Assessment: As we are assigned to our corresponding patients, we will be conducting our rounds together with our clinical instructor. Here, I will be gathering pertinent data such as the vital signs of my assigned patient, and record it in my small notebook.

DIKW's Information & NP's Diagnosis: After obtaining the vital signs, I will immediately compare the data obtained with the previous ones (if there are any) or to the normal values. I will also be making my judgments as to whether the patient's vital signs must be reported immediately or not. 

DIKW's Knowledge & NP's Planning & Implementation: Through the obtained data that I have, if what I have obtained is normal I will be proceeding on providing health teaching to my assigned patient in regards to his/her condition. However, if the data that I have obtained appears to be abnormal, I will immediately report it to my clinical instructor or to any nurses on duty that I have seen. Moreover, I will also make sure to conduct a thorough examination while addressing the issue in the way that I can. For example, if I have observed that my patient has low blood pressure, I will proceed on instructing him to take a deep breath as he/she waits for a nurse on duty to check on him.

DIKW's Wisdom & NP's Evaluation: After quite some time, I will be proceeding to conduct follow-up rounds to check on the patients assigned to me. During this, I will be checking in if they are comfortable and in a good state. I will also be obtaining their vital signs if needed and depending on the patient's condition & my clinical instructor's direction.

References:

American Nurses Association (n.d.) The Nursing Process. Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/what-is-nursing/the-nursing-process/

Augustine. (2016, March 2). The Human Face of Big Data [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VeITe6EJDU

Brian Fung. (2018, October 27). Nursing Informatics | An Inside Look [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRbZkUlETp4

Brian Fung. (2018, November 3). Nursing Informatics | A Day in the Life [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBAyqTQn28w

Database Security Policies: Examples and Creation. (2022, May 2). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/database-security-policies-examples-and-creation.html.

DIKW - Nursing Informatics. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/nursinginformaticsadn/artifact-2 

Marge Benham-Hutchins. (2020, March 19). Nursing Informatics [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODRsVR4YHSo

Nursing Informatics. (2020, November 12). Nursing Informatics Overview [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub1ScYHH3GE