Nursing informatics

Research Article Critique of the of the No. Darvish, A., Bahramnezhad, F., Keyhanian, S., & Navidhamidi, M. (2014). The Role of Nursing
Informatics on Promoting Quality of Health Care and the Need for Appropriate Education. Global Journal of Health Science, 6(6), 11-18.
The above journal article contains a study whose purpose was to assess the importance of using nursing informatics in enhancing quality of health care services and to highlight the need for providing health care providers with education that would enable them to effectively use information technology. The results derived from the study indicated that the quality of health care has been improving in cases where nursing informatics has been installed and health care providers trained on how to use it. In summary, the authors assessed the importance of installing nursing informatics, such as computers, internet and network systems and decision support systems, in health care centers and the need to provide health care workers with opportunities to gain informatics skills, informatics knowledge and computer skills (Darvish et al., 2014).
The authors, however, did not conduct primary research; rather, they reviewed previous studies that they derived from online libraries and databases. Despite this, the results derived from the study suggested that in addition to installing information technology in health care centers to catch up with the rapid technological evolution, there is a need to provide opportunities for health care workers and students, including undergraduates, graduates and doctorates to continuously train how to use nursing informatics in their jobs (Darvish et al., 2014).
With regard to informatics, the article makes a brief overview of the some of the information technology devices that are used in health care settings. Among the information technology devices mentioned by the authors are computers, internet and network systems, patient monitoring systems, decision support systems, and data capture tools. However, the authors did not give elaborate details regarding the informatics, such as specific examples of information technology devices and how they are used. Regarding nursing practice, the article concentrates on how installing information technology in health care centers and educating health care providers how to use them can help in improving the outcomes of health care.
A brief history of the application of informatics in nursing is also given. For instance, the article explains that integrating information technology with nursing practice was first regarded as a specialization in 1984 (Darvish et al., 2014). Significantly, the main theme in the article is how the delivery of competent, evidence-based care for a nursing profession can be attained and healthcare facilities improved. For instance, the article explains how advanced systems such as computers, patient monitoring systems, and patient monitoring tools can help in reducing errors in making and maintaining patients’ records. Despite this, the authors did not make elaborate explanations of the impact of informatics in enhancing competent, evidence-based nursing practice.
In my view, nursing informatics is essential for improving the quality of health care and thus, emerging technological devices that are applicable in nursing practice should be installed without delays. As suggested in the article, continuous training opportunities should be provided to practicing health care providers as well as nursing students. As such, the content of the article did not change my views regarding nursing informatics; rather, it supported my position.
However, the challenges of each technological device should be considered before installation, an issue that is not addressed in the article (Button, Harrington & Belan, 2013; Schlak & Troseth, 2013). Also, there is a need for further empirical studies on the impact of nursing informatics on the quality of health care, as McNelis, Horton-Deutsch and Friesth (2012) noted. I will incorporate the aforementioned view in the future in supporting installation of the most efficient and effective technological devices in heath care centers where I will be working, and support continuous training to all health care providers in those health care centers. I will also be offering information to nursing students to encourage them learn how to use nursing informatics in practical settings.
References
Button, D., Harrington, A., & Belan, I. (2013). E-learning & information communication
technology (ICT) in nursing education: A review of the literature. Nurse Educ Today, 13, 162-165.
Darvish, A., Bahramnezhad, F., Keyhanian, S., & Navidhamidi, M. (2014). The Role of Nursing
Informatics on Promoting Quality of Health Care and the Need for Appropriate Education. Global Journal of Health Science, 6(6), 11-18.
McNelis, A. M., Horton-Deutsch, S., & Friesth, B. M. (2012). Improving quality and safety in
graduate education using an electronic student tracking system. Archives of psychiatric nursing, 26(5), 358-363.
Schlak, S. E., & Troseth, M. (2013). TIGER initiative: advancing health IT. Nursing
management, 44(1), 19-20.