NURSING INFORMATICS STUDY GUIDE, WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
Information science
interdisciplinary field primarily concerned with analysis, collection, classification, manipulation,
storage, retrieval, movement, and dissemination of information.
information processing
cognitive processing theory, how mind functions.
acquisition, recording, organization, retrieval, display, and dissemination of information.
information systems
study of complementary networks of hardware and software that people and organizations use
to collect, filter, process, create, and distribute data.
nursing informatics
may be broadly defined as the use of information and computer technology to support all
aspects of nursing practice, including direct delivery of care, administration, education, and
research. The definition of nursing informatics is evolving as advances occur in nursing practice
and technology; there have been many different definitions throughout the years as the
discipline has evolved.
Nursing informatics is a specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and
information science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge and wisdom
into nursing practice.
Nursing informatics facilitates the integration of data, information, knowledge and wisdom to
support patients, nurses, and other providers in their decision making in all roles and settings.
This support is accomplished through the use of information structures, information processes,
and information technology.
data
,collection of numbers, characters, or facts that are gathered according to some perceived need
for analysis and possibly action at a later point in time.
Examples of data include a client's vital signs.
Other examples of data are the length of hospital stay for each client; the client's race, marital
status, or employment status; and next of kin.
Sometimes these types of data may be given a numeric or alphabetic code.
a collection of data can be examined for patterns and structure that can be interpreted.
information
is data that have been interpreted.
example, individual temperature readings are data.
When they are plotted onto a graph, changes in the client's temperature over time and
comparison with normal values become evident, thus turning into information.
data and information are collected when nurses record the following activities:
• Initial client history and allergies
• Initial and ongoing physical assessment
• Vital signs such as blood pressure and temperature
• Response to treatment
• Client response and comprehension of educational activities
knowledge
is the synthesis of information derived from several sources to produce a single concept or
idea.
based on a logical process of analysis and provides order to thoughts and ideas and decreases
uncertainty.
dynamic and derives meaning from its context.
Validation of information provides knowledge that can be used again. Historically, nursing has
acquired knowledge through tradition, authority, borrowed theory, trial and error, personal
experience, role modeling, reasoning, and research.
,Current demands for safer, cost-effective, quality care require evidence of the best practices
supported by research.
example of knowledge
can be seen in the determination of the most effective nursing interventions for the prevention
of skin breakdown.
If a research study produces data related to the prevention of skin breakdown achieved
through specific interventions, these data can be collected and analyzed.
The trends or patterns depicted by the data provide information regarding which treatment is
more effective than others in preventing skin breakdown.
The validation of this information through repeated studies provides knowledge that nurses can
use to prevent skin breakdown in their clients.
information technology (IT)
management and processing of information with the assistance of computers.
computers and IT provide tools that aid data collection and the analysis associated with
research to support the overall work of nurses.
wisdom
occurs when knowledge is used appropriately to manage and solve problems.
It results from understanding and requires human effort.
The trip from data to wisdom is neither automatic nor smooth.
comes from cumulative experiences, as the result of learning skills and ways of thinking that
can be viewed as predecessors to wisdom, and via the creation of conditions that help
participants to use their accumulated knowledge effectively.
It represents the human part of the equation in the move along the continuum from data to
information to knowledge to wisdom.
Large-scale use of data, information, and knowledge requires that they be accessible.
, Traditionally, client data and information have been handwritten in an unstructured format on
paper and placed in multiple versions of the patient record at hospitals, clinics, physician
offices, and long-term and home health agencies.
This process makes the location, abstraction, and comparison of information slow and difficult,
limiting the creation of knowledge.
Increasing demands for improvements in healthcare delivery call for the use of IT as a means to
automate and share information for quality measurement and improvement, research, and
education.
Technology exists to move from paper-based to computer-based records. It is essential that
nurses collaborate with technical personnel to plan what information to include, the source of
the information, and how it will be used.
Nurses must be active participants in the design of automated documentation to ensure that
information is recorded appropriately and in a format that can be accessed and useful to all
healthcare providers.
Nurses also have a responsibility to safeguard the security and privacy of client information via
education, policy, and technical means.
nurses in roles of educator and researcher
educators track info about students class and clinical performance and compare with norm.
nsg ed prepare students handle data: teach basic computer and info literacy, use nsg info
systems, realize significance of automated data collection for quality assurance purposes and
recognize benefits of using computers to manage clinical data for research.
data gatherer
In this role the nurse collects clinical data such as vital signs.
facilitated when input from monitoring devices is fed directly into clinical documentation
systems.
information gatherer
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
Information science
interdisciplinary field primarily concerned with analysis, collection, classification, manipulation,
storage, retrieval, movement, and dissemination of information.
information processing
cognitive processing theory, how mind functions.
acquisition, recording, organization, retrieval, display, and dissemination of information.
information systems
study of complementary networks of hardware and software that people and organizations use
to collect, filter, process, create, and distribute data.
nursing informatics
may be broadly defined as the use of information and computer technology to support all
aspects of nursing practice, including direct delivery of care, administration, education, and
research. The definition of nursing informatics is evolving as advances occur in nursing practice
and technology; there have been many different definitions throughout the years as the
discipline has evolved.
Nursing informatics is a specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and
information science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge and wisdom
into nursing practice.
Nursing informatics facilitates the integration of data, information, knowledge and wisdom to
support patients, nurses, and other providers in their decision making in all roles and settings.
This support is accomplished through the use of information structures, information processes,
and information technology.
data
,collection of numbers, characters, or facts that are gathered according to some perceived need
for analysis and possibly action at a later point in time.
Examples of data include a client's vital signs.
Other examples of data are the length of hospital stay for each client; the client's race, marital
status, or employment status; and next of kin.
Sometimes these types of data may be given a numeric or alphabetic code.
a collection of data can be examined for patterns and structure that can be interpreted.
information
is data that have been interpreted.
example, individual temperature readings are data.
When they are plotted onto a graph, changes in the client's temperature over time and
comparison with normal values become evident, thus turning into information.
data and information are collected when nurses record the following activities:
• Initial client history and allergies
• Initial and ongoing physical assessment
• Vital signs such as blood pressure and temperature
• Response to treatment
• Client response and comprehension of educational activities
knowledge
is the synthesis of information derived from several sources to produce a single concept or
idea.
based on a logical process of analysis and provides order to thoughts and ideas and decreases
uncertainty.
dynamic and derives meaning from its context.
Validation of information provides knowledge that can be used again. Historically, nursing has
acquired knowledge through tradition, authority, borrowed theory, trial and error, personal
experience, role modeling, reasoning, and research.
,Current demands for safer, cost-effective, quality care require evidence of the best practices
supported by research.
example of knowledge
can be seen in the determination of the most effective nursing interventions for the prevention
of skin breakdown.
If a research study produces data related to the prevention of skin breakdown achieved
through specific interventions, these data can be collected and analyzed.
The trends or patterns depicted by the data provide information regarding which treatment is
more effective than others in preventing skin breakdown.
The validation of this information through repeated studies provides knowledge that nurses can
use to prevent skin breakdown in their clients.
information technology (IT)
management and processing of information with the assistance of computers.
computers and IT provide tools that aid data collection and the analysis associated with
research to support the overall work of nurses.
wisdom
occurs when knowledge is used appropriately to manage and solve problems.
It results from understanding and requires human effort.
The trip from data to wisdom is neither automatic nor smooth.
comes from cumulative experiences, as the result of learning skills and ways of thinking that
can be viewed as predecessors to wisdom, and via the creation of conditions that help
participants to use their accumulated knowledge effectively.
It represents the human part of the equation in the move along the continuum from data to
information to knowledge to wisdom.
Large-scale use of data, information, and knowledge requires that they be accessible.
, Traditionally, client data and information have been handwritten in an unstructured format on
paper and placed in multiple versions of the patient record at hospitals, clinics, physician
offices, and long-term and home health agencies.
This process makes the location, abstraction, and comparison of information slow and difficult,
limiting the creation of knowledge.
Increasing demands for improvements in healthcare delivery call for the use of IT as a means to
automate and share information for quality measurement and improvement, research, and
education.
Technology exists to move from paper-based to computer-based records. It is essential that
nurses collaborate with technical personnel to plan what information to include, the source of
the information, and how it will be used.
Nurses must be active participants in the design of automated documentation to ensure that
information is recorded appropriately and in a format that can be accessed and useful to all
healthcare providers.
Nurses also have a responsibility to safeguard the security and privacy of client information via
education, policy, and technical means.
nurses in roles of educator and researcher
educators track info about students class and clinical performance and compare with norm.
nsg ed prepare students handle data: teach basic computer and info literacy, use nsg info
systems, realize significance of automated data collection for quality assurance purposes and
recognize benefits of using computers to manage clinical data for research.
data gatherer
In this role the nurse collects clinical data such as vital signs.
facilitated when input from monitoring devices is fed directly into clinical documentation
systems.
information gatherer
