Nursing Informatics: Transforming Healthcare
This resource provides a comprehensive overview of nursing informatics, exploring its core concepts,
evolution, and impact on nursing practice and healthcare delivery.
I. Foundational Concepts:
1. Information Science: An interdisciplinary field focused on the analysis, collection,
classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval, movement, and dissemination of
information. It examines how information is created, organized, used, and managed.
2. Information Processing: From a cognitive processing perspective, this refers to how the mind
functions in the acquisition, recording, organization, retrieval, display, and dissemination of
information. It explores the mental processes involved in handling information.
3. Information Systems: The study of complementary networks of hardware and software that
people and organizations use to collect, filter, process, create, and distribute data. It focuses
on the technological infrastructure for managing information.
4. Nursing Informatics (NI): Broadly defined as the use of information and computer
technology to support all aspects of nursing practice, including direct patient care,
administration, education, and research. This specialty integrates nursing science, computer
science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge,
and wisdom in nursing practice. NI facilitates the integration of these elements to support
patients, nurses, and other providers in their decision-making across all roles and settings
through the use of information structures, information processes, and information
technology.
II. The Data-to-Wisdom Continuum:
5. Data: A collection of raw numbers, characters, or facts gathered based on a perceived need
for analysis and potential future action. Examples include a client's vital signs, length of hospital
stay, race, marital status, employment status, and next of kin. Data can be coded numerically or
alphabetically and examined for patterns and structure.
6. Information: Data that have been interpreted. For instance, individual temperature readings
(data) become information when plotted on a graph, revealing trends and comparisons to normal
values.
7. Data and Information Collection in Nursing Records: Nurses collect data and information
when documenting activities such as:
o Initial client history and allergies
o Initial and ongoing physical assessments
o Vital signs (e.g., blood pressure, temperature)
o Response to treatment
o Client response and comprehension of educational activities
•
, 8. Knowledge: The synthesis of information derived from multiple sources to produce a single
concept or idea. It is based on logical analysis, provides order to thoughts, and reduces
uncertainty. Knowledge is dynamic and context-dependent. Validation of information through
repeated instances leads to knowledge that can be applied. Historically, nursing knowledge was
acquired through tradition, authority, borrowed theory, trial and error, personal experience, role
modeling, reasoning, and research. Current demands emphasize evidence-based practice
supported by research.
9. Example of Knowledge in Nursing: Determining the most effective nursing interventions for
preventing skin breakdown. Research data on the effectiveness of specific interventions can be
collected and analyzed. Trends in the data provide information about which treatments are more
effective. Validation of this information through repeated studies yields knowledge that nurses
can use in practice.
10.Information Technology (IT): The management and processing of information with the
assistance of computers. Computers and IT provide tools for data collection and analysis in
research, supporting the overall work of nurses.
11.Wisdom: Occurs when knowledge is used appropriately to manage and solve problems. It
requires understanding and human effort, arising from cumulative experiences, learned skills, and
effective use of accumulated knowledge. Wisdom represents the human element in the data-to-
information-to-knowledge-to-wisdom continuum.
III. The Role of Informatics in Healthcare Transformation:
12.Accessibility of Data, Information, and Knowledge: Large-scale use requires accessibility.
Traditional paper-based records hindered this. Increasing demands for quality healthcare drive
the use of IT to automate and share information for quality improvement, research, and
education. Nurses must collaborate with technical personnel in the design of automated
documentation to ensure appropriate recording and accessibility of information, while also
safeguarding security and privacy through education, policy, and technology.
13.Nurses in Education and Research Roles: Educators track student performance data. Nursing
education prepares students to handle data by teaching computer and information literacy, the
use of nursing information systems, the significance of automated data collection for quality
assurance, and the benefits of using computers for clinical data management in research.
14.Data Gatherer (Nursing Role): Collects clinical data (e.g., vital signs), often facilitated by
direct input from monitoring devices into clinical documentation systems.
15.Information Gatherer (Nursing Role): Interprets and structures clinical data (e.g., patient's pain
report) into information for clinical decision-making and patient monitoring. Quality assurance
and infection control activities also exemplify this role. Computer systems enhance this by
quickly discerning patterns.
16.Knowledge User (Nursing Role): Compares individual patient data with existing nursing
knowledge, clinical practice guidelines, expert systems, or research findings to support evidence-
based care (e.g., online drug databases).
•
, 17.Knowledge Builder (Nursing Role): Aggregates clinical data to identify patterns across
patients, contributing to new nursing knowledge or interpreting data within existing knowledge.
This involves examining aggregate data for relationships among variables and interventions.
18.QSEN (Quality and Safety Education for Nurses): An initiative focused on preparing future
nurses with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) needed to continuously improve
healthcare quality and safety. Its six competencies include patient-centered care, teamwork and
collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics.
19.AACN (American Association of Colleges of Nursing): The national voice for baccalaureate
and higher-degree nursing education programs in the US. It provides curriculum elements and
frameworks, having established informatics as a core curriculum element for baccalaureate,
master's, and doctoral programs.
o Baccalaureate Nurses: Expected to manage information and apply patient care
technology.
o MSN Nurses: Expected to use patient care and communication technologies to deliver and
enhance care, analyze data to improve patient outcomes, manage information for evidence-
based care and patient education, and utilize EHRs to improve patient care.
o Advanced Practice Graduates (e.g., DNP): Should be able to answer practice-related
questions, use new knowledge to analyze intervention outcomes and initiate change, and
utilize technology (including information systems) for data storage, retrieval, and research
application in practice.
o DNP Graduates: Should actively participate in the design, selection, and use of IT to
support patient care and healthcare systems.
20.NLN (National League for Nursing) Position Paper: "Preparing the Next Generation of Nurses
to Practice in a Technology-Rich Environment: An Informatics Agenda" called for nursing
education and the NLN to ensure all nursing graduates demonstrate computer and information
literacy and up-to-date informatics skills. The intent was to reform nursing education to support
quality care in a technologically advanced healthcare system.
21.ICNP (International Classification for Nursing Practice): A common coded language for
nursing data, crucial for the meaningful exchange of electronic data across settings and
countries while retaining its meaning.
IV. Essential Informatics Competencies:
22.Computer Literacy: Familiarity with the use of personal computers, including software tools
like word processing, spreadsheets, databases, presentation graphics, and e-mail. Most nursing
students now enter programs with some level of computer literacy.
23.Information Literacy: The ability to recognize when information is needed and the skills to
find, evaluate, and use needed information effectively. In healthcare, this also includes
awareness of standardized languages, critical thinking, the ability to use technology to solve
information problems, and understanding ethical and legal issues surrounding information access
and use.
•
, 24.Relating Information Literacy to Nursing Informatics: Information literacy is a crucial step in
promoting evidence-based nursing practice, enabling nurses to weigh the quality and
significance of research findings for application. However, challenges exist, including a lack of
awareness of evidence-based practice, inconsistent role modeling, discomfort with database
searches, and limited exposure to evidence-based clinical practice.
25.Informatics: The science and art of turning data into information. It involves the application
of computer and statistical techniques to information management, providing tools to process,
manage, and analyze data for documenting and improving patient care. Informatics supports
nursing knowledge and work, enhancing the profession's knowledge-based identity and public
image.
26.Medical Informatics: The application of informatics to all healthcare disciplines and the
practice of medicine, primarily focusing on information technologies involving patient care and
medical decision-making. It encompasses the acquisition, processing, organization,
interpretation, storage, use, and communication of medical data in education, practice, research,
patient care, and health management. It is often used as a broad term encompassing nursing
informatics and consumer informatics.
27.Health Informatics: The application of computer and information science in all basic and
applied biomedical sciences to facilitate the acquisition, processing, interpretation, optimal use,
and communication of health-related data, with a focus on the patient and the process of care to
enhance quality and efficiency.
28.Nursing Informatics (Reiterated): The use of information and computer technology to
support all aspects of nursing practice. It is vital to nursing as it represents the nursing
perspective, establishes a practice base, produces unique knowledge, and provides standardized
nursing language. Informatics nurses play a role in developing health policy and assessing the
usability of healthcare devices.
29.Consumer Informatics: The study of patient use of online information and communication
to improve health outcomes and decisions. It is driven by technological advances, an internet-
savvy population, the need for accountability in healthcare choices, acceptance of online
transactions, safety concerns, health savings accounts, and a shift towards greater individual
responsibility for healthcare costs.
30.Role of Nurses as Knowledge Workers: Nurse managers are responsible for optimizing the
work process through workplace design and technology application. Despite its potential to
streamline paperwork, transform data, and eliminate redundancy, healthcare has lagged behind
other industries in health information technology (HIT) resource allocation. Top US hospitals
often demonstrate the effective use of technology, EHRs, and health information exchange.
31.Knowledge Management: The creation of systems that enable organizations to leverage the
knowledge, experiences, and creativity of their staff to improve performance. It is a structured
process for the generation, storage, distribution, and application of both tacit (personal
experience) and explicit (evidence-based) knowledge.
32.Relationship of Core Sciences in Nursing Informatics: Nursing informatics is a combination
of nursing science, computer science, and information science (core sciences). It also
integrates other sciences like organizational and change management when needed. Overall, it
•
This resource provides a comprehensive overview of nursing informatics, exploring its core concepts,
evolution, and impact on nursing practice and healthcare delivery.
I. Foundational Concepts:
1. Information Science: An interdisciplinary field focused on the analysis, collection,
classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval, movement, and dissemination of
information. It examines how information is created, organized, used, and managed.
2. Information Processing: From a cognitive processing perspective, this refers to how the mind
functions in the acquisition, recording, organization, retrieval, display, and dissemination of
information. It explores the mental processes involved in handling information.
3. Information Systems: The study of complementary networks of hardware and software that
people and organizations use to collect, filter, process, create, and distribute data. It focuses
on the technological infrastructure for managing information.
4. Nursing Informatics (NI): Broadly defined as the use of information and computer
technology to support all aspects of nursing practice, including direct patient care,
administration, education, and research. This specialty integrates nursing science, computer
science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge,
and wisdom in nursing practice. NI facilitates the integration of these elements to support
patients, nurses, and other providers in their decision-making across all roles and settings
through the use of information structures, information processes, and information
technology.
II. The Data-to-Wisdom Continuum:
5. Data: A collection of raw numbers, characters, or facts gathered based on a perceived need
for analysis and potential future action. Examples include a client's vital signs, length of hospital
stay, race, marital status, employment status, and next of kin. Data can be coded numerically or
alphabetically and examined for patterns and structure.
6. Information: Data that have been interpreted. For instance, individual temperature readings
(data) become information when plotted on a graph, revealing trends and comparisons to normal
values.
7. Data and Information Collection in Nursing Records: Nurses collect data and information
when documenting activities such as:
o Initial client history and allergies
o Initial and ongoing physical assessments
o Vital signs (e.g., blood pressure, temperature)
o Response to treatment
o Client response and comprehension of educational activities
•
, 8. Knowledge: The synthesis of information derived from multiple sources to produce a single
concept or idea. It is based on logical analysis, provides order to thoughts, and reduces
uncertainty. Knowledge is dynamic and context-dependent. Validation of information through
repeated instances leads to knowledge that can be applied. Historically, nursing knowledge was
acquired through tradition, authority, borrowed theory, trial and error, personal experience, role
modeling, reasoning, and research. Current demands emphasize evidence-based practice
supported by research.
9. Example of Knowledge in Nursing: Determining the most effective nursing interventions for
preventing skin breakdown. Research data on the effectiveness of specific interventions can be
collected and analyzed. Trends in the data provide information about which treatments are more
effective. Validation of this information through repeated studies yields knowledge that nurses
can use in practice.
10.Information Technology (IT): The management and processing of information with the
assistance of computers. Computers and IT provide tools for data collection and analysis in
research, supporting the overall work of nurses.
11.Wisdom: Occurs when knowledge is used appropriately to manage and solve problems. It
requires understanding and human effort, arising from cumulative experiences, learned skills, and
effective use of accumulated knowledge. Wisdom represents the human element in the data-to-
information-to-knowledge-to-wisdom continuum.
III. The Role of Informatics in Healthcare Transformation:
12.Accessibility of Data, Information, and Knowledge: Large-scale use requires accessibility.
Traditional paper-based records hindered this. Increasing demands for quality healthcare drive
the use of IT to automate and share information for quality improvement, research, and
education. Nurses must collaborate with technical personnel in the design of automated
documentation to ensure appropriate recording and accessibility of information, while also
safeguarding security and privacy through education, policy, and technology.
13.Nurses in Education and Research Roles: Educators track student performance data. Nursing
education prepares students to handle data by teaching computer and information literacy, the
use of nursing information systems, the significance of automated data collection for quality
assurance, and the benefits of using computers for clinical data management in research.
14.Data Gatherer (Nursing Role): Collects clinical data (e.g., vital signs), often facilitated by
direct input from monitoring devices into clinical documentation systems.
15.Information Gatherer (Nursing Role): Interprets and structures clinical data (e.g., patient's pain
report) into information for clinical decision-making and patient monitoring. Quality assurance
and infection control activities also exemplify this role. Computer systems enhance this by
quickly discerning patterns.
16.Knowledge User (Nursing Role): Compares individual patient data with existing nursing
knowledge, clinical practice guidelines, expert systems, or research findings to support evidence-
based care (e.g., online drug databases).
•
, 17.Knowledge Builder (Nursing Role): Aggregates clinical data to identify patterns across
patients, contributing to new nursing knowledge or interpreting data within existing knowledge.
This involves examining aggregate data for relationships among variables and interventions.
18.QSEN (Quality and Safety Education for Nurses): An initiative focused on preparing future
nurses with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) needed to continuously improve
healthcare quality and safety. Its six competencies include patient-centered care, teamwork and
collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics.
19.AACN (American Association of Colleges of Nursing): The national voice for baccalaureate
and higher-degree nursing education programs in the US. It provides curriculum elements and
frameworks, having established informatics as a core curriculum element for baccalaureate,
master's, and doctoral programs.
o Baccalaureate Nurses: Expected to manage information and apply patient care
technology.
o MSN Nurses: Expected to use patient care and communication technologies to deliver and
enhance care, analyze data to improve patient outcomes, manage information for evidence-
based care and patient education, and utilize EHRs to improve patient care.
o Advanced Practice Graduates (e.g., DNP): Should be able to answer practice-related
questions, use new knowledge to analyze intervention outcomes and initiate change, and
utilize technology (including information systems) for data storage, retrieval, and research
application in practice.
o DNP Graduates: Should actively participate in the design, selection, and use of IT to
support patient care and healthcare systems.
20.NLN (National League for Nursing) Position Paper: "Preparing the Next Generation of Nurses
to Practice in a Technology-Rich Environment: An Informatics Agenda" called for nursing
education and the NLN to ensure all nursing graduates demonstrate computer and information
literacy and up-to-date informatics skills. The intent was to reform nursing education to support
quality care in a technologically advanced healthcare system.
21.ICNP (International Classification for Nursing Practice): A common coded language for
nursing data, crucial for the meaningful exchange of electronic data across settings and
countries while retaining its meaning.
IV. Essential Informatics Competencies:
22.Computer Literacy: Familiarity with the use of personal computers, including software tools
like word processing, spreadsheets, databases, presentation graphics, and e-mail. Most nursing
students now enter programs with some level of computer literacy.
23.Information Literacy: The ability to recognize when information is needed and the skills to
find, evaluate, and use needed information effectively. In healthcare, this also includes
awareness of standardized languages, critical thinking, the ability to use technology to solve
information problems, and understanding ethical and legal issues surrounding information access
and use.
•
, 24.Relating Information Literacy to Nursing Informatics: Information literacy is a crucial step in
promoting evidence-based nursing practice, enabling nurses to weigh the quality and
significance of research findings for application. However, challenges exist, including a lack of
awareness of evidence-based practice, inconsistent role modeling, discomfort with database
searches, and limited exposure to evidence-based clinical practice.
25.Informatics: The science and art of turning data into information. It involves the application
of computer and statistical techniques to information management, providing tools to process,
manage, and analyze data for documenting and improving patient care. Informatics supports
nursing knowledge and work, enhancing the profession's knowledge-based identity and public
image.
26.Medical Informatics: The application of informatics to all healthcare disciplines and the
practice of medicine, primarily focusing on information technologies involving patient care and
medical decision-making. It encompasses the acquisition, processing, organization,
interpretation, storage, use, and communication of medical data in education, practice, research,
patient care, and health management. It is often used as a broad term encompassing nursing
informatics and consumer informatics.
27.Health Informatics: The application of computer and information science in all basic and
applied biomedical sciences to facilitate the acquisition, processing, interpretation, optimal use,
and communication of health-related data, with a focus on the patient and the process of care to
enhance quality and efficiency.
28.Nursing Informatics (Reiterated): The use of information and computer technology to
support all aspects of nursing practice. It is vital to nursing as it represents the nursing
perspective, establishes a practice base, produces unique knowledge, and provides standardized
nursing language. Informatics nurses play a role in developing health policy and assessing the
usability of healthcare devices.
29.Consumer Informatics: The study of patient use of online information and communication
to improve health outcomes and decisions. It is driven by technological advances, an internet-
savvy population, the need for accountability in healthcare choices, acceptance of online
transactions, safety concerns, health savings accounts, and a shift towards greater individual
responsibility for healthcare costs.
30.Role of Nurses as Knowledge Workers: Nurse managers are responsible for optimizing the
work process through workplace design and technology application. Despite its potential to
streamline paperwork, transform data, and eliminate redundancy, healthcare has lagged behind
other industries in health information technology (HIT) resource allocation. Top US hospitals
often demonstrate the effective use of technology, EHRs, and health information exchange.
31.Knowledge Management: The creation of systems that enable organizations to leverage the
knowledge, experiences, and creativity of their staff to improve performance. It is a structured
process for the generation, storage, distribution, and application of both tacit (personal
experience) and explicit (evidence-based) knowledge.
32.Relationship of Core Sciences in Nursing Informatics: Nursing informatics is a combination
of nursing science, computer science, and information science (core sciences). It also
integrates other sciences like organizational and change management when needed. Overall, it
•
