This class has been an eye opener for me especially in areas like why healthcare is driving toward the use of informatics. I have learned that the use of informatics is not only beneficial for health care team patients and their families but also and the community. The use informatics in nursing is so vital in every day work. As a nursing assistant for many years I have seen that without informatics and technology health system would not be as successful as it is today. Informatics technology improves communication among health care providers, research, documentation, diagnosis, treatment, education and error reduction in health care settings.
With the constant stress in health care setting it would have been more stressful for nurses to …show more content…
Information technology skills is vital in the practice of nursing as nurses need to be able to use the computer, tablets, computer software, specialized nursing equipment, and the ability to access electronic information efficiently (Sewell, 2015, p. 16). Nurses used technology skills in the clinical settings for documentation, communication, researching, and education. Information literacy is another important skills that nurses need to enhance patient care. Nurse should be able to acknowledge when information is needed, find the information, and make sure the information is relevant and interpret and use it (Sewell 2016, p. 136). Knowing why information is needed and able to use for the right purpose is very important as a nurse.
Health literacy is not all about the ability of the patient to read, but the capacity to process and understand basic health information and services to make appropriate health decisions (Sewell, 2015, p. 141). For example, patients need to be health literate to be able to understand appointment slips, doctor’s directions, medical education brochures, consent forms, prescription drug bottles, and the ability to negotiate the complex health care system. When a patient is literate in health information, it decreases hospitalization, medications errors, and of disease …show more content…
For example as a nurse I would endeavor to bring the WOW’S with me to the patient room during my initial assessment with the patient. All assessments would be done in the patient room and charted in real-times for accuracy. Assessing and documenting patient assessment decreases errors in documentation. It would also enable other health care teams to see the current situation on a patient in case something goes wrong with patient health. For instance, if a patient goes into a cardiac arrest and no information has been documented in the computer since the beginning of the shift. As the patient nurse a lot of question would be asked by other healthcare teams. If nothing was charted on the patient that doesn’t make one a good nurse. Information literacy skill would also help me as a nurse to know where to find information about an issue. For example, if my patient want more education about a newly diagnose disease. As a nurse I should be able to give the patient a credible websites such as government websites, health information website (mayor clinic, Medline plus, etc) and organization websites. I would also instruct patient to look for current information at least not more than five