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Informatics Nurse: What's in Your Tool Kit?

Nurse comforting patient sitting on couch

Nursing informatics is a specialty that began to emerge in the 1980s and has been growing ever since. As technology continues to evolve, informatics nurses are becoming more indispensable than ever. What does it take to be an effective informatics nurse? These are the tools that should go into a successful informatics nurse's tool kit. Understanding of clinical workflow Informatics nurses are some of the best people to utilize in the high-tech age of healthcare because they know how much technological change impacts patient care delivery, whether positive or negative. If technology impedes work flow, informatics nurses can provide solutions and give proper feedback to biotech companies and EHR providers, and help nurses adapt without losing efficiency. Patience Whether troubleshooting EHR issues or working with nurses who are having trouble adapting to changes, informatics nurses must learn how to work under frustrating circumstances. Interdisciplinary communication skills Informatics nurses must work with all disciplines and have the ability to translate information so that each discipline can have their needs met. Willingness to listen Change is difficult for people and informatics nurses deal with that dynamic all the time. Learning new technologies, even when the change is good, can be frustrating. Informatics nurses have to deal with venting from time to time, validating the person's feelings, while gently guiding them to feel successful. An encouraging teaching style Informatics nurses who encourage the team and reassure them the changes will be for the better and that the learning curve will improve will have better outcomes and see more successful implementation of the technology. Flexibility Technology and information sharing is constantly evolving. The informatics nurse must not only have an understanding of what's happening currently, but the flexibility to learn new information as things change. In addition, the implementation of new systems may require increased hours and repetitive workflow interruption, as the informatics nurse deals with real-time issues. Problem-solving skills When a system goes down or an aspect of information sharing isn't translating well into the clinical sphere, a great informatics nurse plays a meaningful role in figuring out how to get to the bottom of the problem and implementing helpful solutions.

Your turn

What essential skills should informatics nurses have in their tool kit?