Healthcare CIOs and IT professionals aren’t the only ones who care about technology. The field of nursing informatics is steadily growing, and this year’s HIMSS conference made sure to highlight its relevance.
During a roundtable, three nurses shared their thoughts on the matter.
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Speaking to a room of nurses and other healthcare workers, Michelle Troseth, cofounder of MissingLogic and president of the National Academies of Practice, stressed the significance of partnership in the nursing informatics space.
“Collaboration is the key word,” she said. “Volunteer and get engaged. Also, look and bring others along with you.”
(Marie) Kim Jordan, CNO of Lehigh Valley Health Network, highlighted her organization’s use of an electronic dashboard to better manage patient flow and patient diversion.
NYU Langone Health vice president of clinical systems and integration Nancy Beale touched on takeaways from her experience implementing digital technologies in the healthcare setting.
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While adopting tech, it’s crucial to get input from key stakeholders, such as administrative leaders. But don’t only include the folks at the top in leadership positions. Get the opinions of point-of-care collaborators, as they’re the ones who know the ins and outs of what works and what doesn’t, Beale said.
With any new digital tool, it’s ultimately the nurses and clinicians who are using it each day. Thus, Beale urged the audience to keep things simple.
“If the solution is so complex that people don’t understand how it works, you will fail, and you’ll have challenges in adoption,” she said.
The field of nursing informatics has been on the brain of the industry for years. A HIMSS report released at the 2015 conference found almost 70 percent of informatics nurses are helping with medical device integration. And half of the survey respondents said informatics nurses have a role with “smart devices.” But at the time, only 20 percent indicated they worked for an organization that employed a chief nursing information officer.
In the three years since the report, nursing informatics continues to gain steam. During a Q&A session post-roundtable, an attendee asked panelists about their biggest achievement in the sector and what they had to overcome to get there.
Jordan deflected, saying she’s in the operations realm and is not a nurse informaticist. Troseth pointed out the significance of finding one’s voice, gaining courage and scoping out mentors. Beale doled out her own advice.
“Nurture your interest and don’t be afraid to volunteer and try new things,” she said. “Be a lifelong learner.”
Photo: Pixtum, Getty Images
