NR 512 Week 8 Discussion: Reflection on Nursing Informatics Skills and Impact on Specialty

NR 512 Week 8 TD Reflection on Second Life Experiences, Nursing Informatics Skills and Impact on Specialty: Discuss how Course Outcomes were supported and met by the activities you have completed in this course. Nursing Informatics (NI) has become a crucial part of healthcare. From electronic health records (EHR) to health information technology (HIT) to protected health information (PHI), nursing informatics is everywhere. Before this class I knew of NI because of going to the EHR systems however, I did not realize how far it extends as a profession. When the charting systems just came out I remember wondering what the informatics people would do once everyone was trained on the system. How naïve and closed minded that thought was. I was under the impression NI had just come about and would only be around for a certain amount of time. Little did I know NI has been around since the late 1980’s (Ronquillo, Currie, & Rodney, 2016). The use of informatics in practice is beneficial to nurses and patients. When used as it was intended, informatics has a positive effect on patient care by reducing the incidents of adverse events and by increasing the safety, quality, and efficiency in practice (Bembridge, Levett-Jones, & Jeong, 2010). As a nurse practitioner, this course taught me about key legislation and their implications to practice, such as ARRA, ACA, HITECH, HIT, and E-sign. It also helped link the EHR with meaningful use, which will be important to know upon graduation. We also explored virtual learning environments using Second Life. Second Life allows students to learn about and experience real life situations in a virtual environment. Minus the difficulties I seem to encounter when making my Avatar move, it is actually a fun way to learn. Nursing informatics continues to be a vital part of nursing education and in nursing practice, regardless of the specialty one may choose, because of technological advances and the adoption of HIT. I have really enjoyed getting to know everyone over the last eight weeks, especially Dr. Moyers. I appreciate the insight everyone adds to our discussion posts. I will you all the best moving forward! Bembridge, E., Levett-Jones, T., & Jeong, S. (2010). The preparation of technologically literate graduates for professional practice. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal For The Australian Nursing Profession, 35(1), 18-25. doi:10.5172/conu.2010.35.1.018 Ronquillo, C., Currie, L., & Rodney, P. (2016). The evolution of data-informationknowledge-wisdom in nursing informatics. Advances in Nursng Sciences, 39(1), E1-E18.