Definition of knowledge worker

Peter Drucker (1959) defined it as a very valuable 21st century asset. It is, therefore, a worker who capitalizes on knowledge as an asset. The worker focuses on the themes of integrity, impact, intelligence and individuality(Pegg,2019).

They are different in terms of problem solving of complex problems and creating services and products.

 

Knowledge worker

The competencies that knowledge workers are associated with include communication, technology skills, team work, ethics, project management, innovation, thinking skills, and ongoing learning.

There is an increasing demand for knowledge workers as employers search for highly skilled workers who will promote the company’s growth. In addition, such workers can easily adapt to the ever-changing digital global market.

For instance, engineers are knowledge workers who must perform complex and technical tasks and who have to adopt to technological advances in their field such as machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Nursing informatics

It involves the combination of nursing science with information technology systems.

The purpose is to manage and generate medical information and systems to promote the nursing performance and patient care management.

Overall, it enables nurses and physicians to share information for effective treatment and care of patients. Health informaticists help to develop and develop strong products which are beneficial to all healthcare team members( Sweeney, 2017).

The type data include lab tests and other patient information which can also be accessed by patients through a username and password.

Nursing informatics

There is an increasing demand for nursing informatics in the nursing career field. In addition, the education of nursing informatics specialists is in line requisite competencies of the role (Nagle et al., 2017).Furthermore, informaticians help to translate language and codes in standard technical language(Public Health Informatics Institute,2017). Hospitals are increasingly integrating electronic medical records and integration of information technology in their operational structures.

It requires nurses to exhibit skills in nursing, information science and communications. This is a complete shift from the previous nursing roles in which nurses were only limited to the diagnosis and treatment of patients.

Today, most nursing professions demand that nurses are able to develop and manage data systems. In this regard, registered nurses(RNs) are in demand as they fall under informatics nursing practice.

Role of a nurse leader as a knowledge worker

Nurses are also examples of knowledge workers because their roles demand high quality care which involves being highly skilled on patient care. A nurse leader, in this regard, is at the forefront of encouraging nurses to promote quality care, medical research and innovation, evidenced-based practice as well as information technology management.

A nurse leader, in this regard, needs to take the initiative to learn and improve their knowledge in how he or she can effectively lead other nurses and their assigned departments in the hospital. In particular, the nurse leader learns how to lead in implementation of quality management, patient education, evidence-based practice and acquisition and implementation of customized technology systems.

Patient care scenario

The application of nursing informatics is integral in the case of a patient who undergoes diagnosis and screening process in a different hospital.

The presiding doctor is able to access the patient’s specific antigen test(PSA) results through the other hospital’s electronic health records. The type of data the doctor is able to access includes, blood tests, weight, blood pressure, age and blood sugar levels. This type of data helps the doctor to administer the right testing and subsequent treatment of the patient.

The process of accessing the data is guided by each hospital’s guidelines and policies on data security management. The other hospital’s administrator can easily generate the patient’s previous records and fax them to the other doctor after proper authorization. The patient can also access their data in case he has an account and send an email message to the doctor.

The doctor is able to have an overview of the other hospital’s policies and procedures in how it generates, manages and share patient data with other hospitals.

Knowledge worker concept infographic

 

Knowledge worker

 

 

Thinking skills

 

 

Team work & project management

 

 

Factual and theoretical knowledge

 

 

Technology skills & innovation

 

 

Ethics & professionalism

 

 

Communication skills

 

 

Nursing informatics concepts

 

Nursing informatics

 

 

Information Science

 

 

Computer Science

 

 

Cognitive Science

 

 

Nursing knowledge

 

 

References

Milner,J.J.(2016). A Concept Analysis of Nursing Informatics. Retrieved from https://sigma.nursingrepository.org/

Nagle, L.M., Sermeus, W.,& Junger,A.(2017). Evolving role of the Nursing Informatics Specialist. Stud Health Technology In formation, 232, 212-221.

Pegg, M.(2019). Knowledge Workers. Retrieved from https://www.thepositiveencourager.global/k-is-for-knowing-how-to-manage-knowledge-workers/

Public Health Informatics Institute.(2017). Public Health Informatics: “translating” knowledge for public. Retrieved from https://.www.youtube.com/watch?v =fLUygA8Hpfo

Sweeney,J.(2017). Healthcare informatics. Online Journal of Nursing Informatics, 21(1).