To prepare:

• Review the information in this week’s Learning Resources on the SDLC and the role of the nurse informaticist. Reflect on Chapter 1 of the Dennis, Wixom, and Roth course text and consider how the information about the systems analyst role translates into nursing and health care.
• Consider a recent change in your organization related to the implementation of a new technology or system. How was this change handled? What was the general SDLC process? Who was involved, and what were the outcomes?
• Identify whether your organization (or one with which you are familiar) has a formal title or position for the nurse informaticist. This position may be called by a different name, such as nurse informatics specialist or informatics analyst, so be sure to review the position description.
• If your organization has a position for the nurse informaticist, what are the responsibilities of that position? If your organization does not have such a position, conduct research in the Walden Library and at credible online sources on the role of the nurse informaticist.
• Reflect on the role of the nurse informaticist in the overall health care field. How is this position connected to the SDLC? Assess the benefits of having this specialized position within health care organizations and involving the nurse informaticist in the SDLC.

THEN

Post a description of how the systems development life cycle is utilized in your organization, or in one with which you are familiar, and assess its effectiveness. Assess the role of the nurse informaticist in your organization. If the nurse informaticist is not a current position within your organization, provide a description of the generally accepted role of the nurse informaticist based on this week’s Learning Resources and your own research. Explain why it is important for the nurse informaticist to be involved in the SDLC process and the overall organizational benefits of having such involvement.

Resources:

1. Dennis, A., Wixom, B. H., & Roth, R. M. (2015). Systems analysis and design (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

2. McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2015). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.

3. Anderson, C., & Sensmeier, J. (2011). Nursing informatics scope of practice expands, salaries increase. Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 29(5), 319–320.

4. Houston, S. M. (2012). Nursing’s role in IT projects. Nursing Management, 43(1), 18–19.

5. McLane, S., & Turley, J. P. (2011). Informaticians: How they may benefit your healthcare organization. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 41(1), 29–35.

6. Prestigiacomo, J. (2012). The rise of the senior nurse informaticist. Healthcare Informatics, 29(2), 38–43.