Informatics Functional Areas 

Informatics is one of the most diverse disciplines in health care. Many nurses have been able to capitalize on their informatics knowledge and interests to carve out new roles within their own health care setting.  As you embark on your own informatics career path, it is important to be aware of the vast possibilities that await you. One of the best sources to begin your investigation is the American Nurses Association (ANA). The ANA recognizes that nursing informatics titles have little standardization across health care settings. As such, they have categorized the roles of informaticist into nine functional categories:

• Administration, Leadership, and Management
• Systems Analysis and Design
• Compliance and Integrity Management
• Consultation
• Coordination, Facilitation, and Integration
• Development of Systems, Products, and Resources
• Education and Professional Development
• Genetics and Genomics
• Information Management and Operational Architecture
• Policy Development and Advocacy
• Quality and Performance Improvement
• Research and Evaluation
• Safety, Security and Environmental Health. (ANA, 2015, pp. 18-34)In this Assignment, you first consider the various functional areas as outlined by the ANA. You then examine your personal attributes and interests as you consider your future as a nurse informaticist. To prepare:

• Review the nine functional areas for nurse informaticists as identified by the ANA.
• Select the functional area in which you are most interested. Then, conduct additional research to identify the general responsibilities and duties associated with nurses working within this area.
• Consider your current professional role. How might your personal attributes and interests help you to be successful in your selected functional area? What skills might you wish to develop to better position yourself for success?To complete: Submit a 4- to 5-page paper on Saturday 06/11/2016 by 12pm noon  in APA format  with 6 references that addresses the following:

• Identify the nursing informatics functional area in which you are most interested.
• Summarize the general responsibilities and duties of nurses who work within this functional area.
• Explain how your personal attributes, interests, knowledge, and nursing background will help you thrive within this area.
• Propose three overarching skills you could develop to become more effective in this functional area. Justify the importance of each skill by providing applicable examples. Cite your resources as appropriate.   

Required Resources

Readings

• Saba, V. K., & McCormick, K. A. (2015). Essentials of nursing informatics (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
  • Chapter 1, “Historical Perspectives of Nursing Informatics”
    
    In this chapter, the authors explain the transition from paper-based records to electronic records. The chapter provides an overview of the historical events that contributed to the rise of electronic health records.
• Liaw, S.-T., & Boyle, D. I. R. (2010). Primary care informatics and integrated care. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 151, 255–268.
  Retrieved from the Walden University databases.
  
  This article discusses how the health care field can be reformed by increasing access to information across organizations and professionals. The authors of the article justify the need for this reform and provide guidance on how it can be achieved.
• Mitchell, J. K. (2011). Nursing informatics 101: Using technology to improve patient care. ONS Connect, 26(4), 8–12.
  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
  
  The emergence of nursing informatics in health care is the main topic of this article. New trends in informatics are discussed, as well as the certification process, nurse education, and the implementation of new systems to support patient care.
• Morath, J. (2011). Nurses create a culture of patient safety: It takes more than projects. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 16(3).
  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
  
  The author of this article emphasizes the need for nurses to develop skills for improving care and embracing new health care innovations. The author also describes the connection between individual nursing practice and the system-wide success of informatics.
• Reiner, B. I. (2011). Improving healthcare delivery through patient informatics and quality centric data. Journal of Digital Imaging, 24(2), 177–178.
  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
  
  In this article, the author analyzes the impact of the movement towards digitized medical data on patient care. The author discusses how this movement places more responsibility and empowerment on the patient.

Media

• Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012b). Dual nature of informatics systems. Baltimore: Author. 
  
  Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 7 minutes.
  
  In this week’s media presentation, Gail Latimer, Dr. Patricia Button, and Dr. Roy Simpson discuss one of the most important aspects of informatics: the collection and aggregation of health information. The electronic health record (EHR) is discussed, as well as the nurse’s roles in working with EHR systems