Integration of Nursing Informatics Skills and Competencies

Discussion posts for Week 1 of the 512-week course

Discuss how the Massachusetts Nurse of the Future Core Competencies can be used to integrate nursing informatics into the practice of improving patient outcomes.

By improving patient care, integrating nursing informatics into practice has a positive effect on outcomes. The Massachusetts Nurse of the Future Nursing Core Competencies outlines seven core areas which include communication & collaboration, health promotion & disease prevention, evidence-based practice & research, safety & quality improvement, leadership & management, ethical decision making and informatics. By being knowledgeable in these areas nurses are better able to develop plans for care tailored specifically for individual patients’ needs as well as provide efficient services that meet high standards set forth in healthcare such as accurate documentation or preventative measures for reducing medical errors.

Information technology skills can also help nurses be more productive by providing them with access to systems of electronic records where they can quickly find important information when required. It allows for more effective interaction between practitioners and members of inter-disciplinary teams, which promotes cost effectiveness while also improving coordination.

Finally, data mining capabilities available through health informatics systems allow organizations to gain insights from large datasets collected over time which could lead to identifying new methods for treatment or potential risk factors associated with certain illnesses/diseases etc… In sum integrating nursing informatics skills/competencies into practice has great potential for not only improving patient outcomes but also providing various benefits for nurses themselves who are now able access vast amounts information previously unavailable just few short years ago .