Current Trends In Nursing Informatics:
The advances in information technology over the last twenty-five years have provided significant opportunities for nurses in the field of nursing informatics (Canadian Nurses Association, 2001).
In 2009, a report was completed for Canada’s Health Informatics Association (COACH) indicating that in Canada there was a shortage of qualified health informatics programs. It was estimated that over the next five years 8490 health informatics professionals would be required with an additional 32,170 individuals who were presently working in the health informatics fields requiring their skills broadened to include the health informatics competencies necessary to work in their designated areas (O'Grady, 2009).
At the International Congress on Nursing Informatics in June 2012, the president of the Canadian Nursing Informatics Association shared that a current demand for more nurses in the health informatics field continues to emerge, especially since the majority of informatics roles are not filled by nurses. Many individuals employed in health informatics today have a Bachelor’s and/or a Master’s in Information Technology and Health Information Management. Many health organizations are incorporating informatics roles in their IT departments however they are doing this without the clinical knowledge. Across Canada there is significant restructuring with some provinces growing informatics and others decreasing it (M. Kennedy, personal communication, June 29, 2012) .
The positions that nurses hold in informatics are varied within jurisdictions across Canada. Some of the current nursing informatics roles focus on:
(Canadian Nurses Association, 2001)
Please view the following video to learn more about current nursing informatics roles and responsibilities.
In 2009, a report was completed for Canada’s Health Informatics Association (COACH) indicating that in Canada there was a shortage of qualified health informatics programs. It was estimated that over the next five years 8490 health informatics professionals would be required with an additional 32,170 individuals who were presently working in the health informatics fields requiring their skills broadened to include the health informatics competencies necessary to work in their designated areas (O'Grady, 2009).
At the International Congress on Nursing Informatics in June 2012, the president of the Canadian Nursing Informatics Association shared that a current demand for more nurses in the health informatics field continues to emerge, especially since the majority of informatics roles are not filled by nurses. Many individuals employed in health informatics today have a Bachelor’s and/or a Master’s in Information Technology and Health Information Management. Many health organizations are incorporating informatics roles in their IT departments however they are doing this without the clinical knowledge. Across Canada there is significant restructuring with some provinces growing informatics and others decreasing it (M. Kennedy, personal communication, June 29, 2012) .
The positions that nurses hold in informatics are varied within jurisdictions across Canada. Some of the current nursing informatics roles focus on:
- Clinical expertise
- Embedding clinical information into systems
- Change management
- Workflow
- Education
- Research
- Administration (analysis, decision support, recording)
(Canadian Nurses Association, 2001)
Please view the following video to learn more about current nursing informatics roles and responsibilities.
(Berkowitz, 2009)
Nurses participate in and are represented in a number of health informatics committees, working groups, and initiatives, some examples of the work that is being done include:
- International work to help develop universal language to describe and define nursing practice (Canadian Nurses Association, 2001).
- Working with Canadian Institute for Health Information(CIHI) to determine the value of implementing a unique identifier for individual nurse’s (Canadian Nurses Association, 2001).
- The nursing profession is represented in Canada Health Infoway in both the nursing reference group and clinical standards working group (L. Nagle, personal communication, June 29, 2012).
- Involvement in the development of a national nursing quality report (NNQR-C) for which the initiative is to reach consensus on key nursing quality indicators across all provincial and territorial jurisdiction (L. Nagle, personal communication, June 29,2012).
- Launching a National Faculty award for advancement and creative integration of informatics in core nursing curriculum (L. Nagle, personal communication, June 29, 2012).
- Online Journal of Nursing Informatics is published quarterly.
- Currently there are six active jurisdictional Canadian Nursing Informatics Association (CNIA) groups: Manitoba (MNIA), Saskatchewan (SNIA), New Brunswick (NIBNIG), Nova Scotia (NSNIG), Ontario (ONIG), and Quebec(AQIIST). Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island are in the planning stage. The Yukon/Nunavut and North West Territories are currently inactive (M. Kennedy, personal communication, June, 29, 2012).
Nursing Informatics is an emerging specialty but faces many challenges as it continues to grow...
- Across the country the level of understanding of nursing informatics and how it applies to nursing practice is limited despite numerous informatics projects.
- Change management resources required for informatics work is not well understood.
- In some provinces there are very few nursing informatics roles.
- Staff require dedicated time to complete competencies in informatics.
- There is a lack of clinical resources with the informatics experience.
- Canada, as a whole is missing a coordinated, centralized system to collect, store, and retrieve data about nursing practice.
- Nurses are not involved enough in helping to identify clinical care and health system questions about nursing services and data.
- Lack of undergraduate nursing programs focusing on Nursing Informatics.
- Lack of faculty who actually have the nursing informatics knowledge to pass on.
- There is a need for curriculum that incorporates standard Nursing Informatics competencies.
- There is a misconception that knowing how to use a computer implies that you are competent in nursing informatics.
- There is a need for data to be collected and coded using standardized terminology.
- Lack of professionals who understand the complexities of health information systems (HISs) and the health care setting where they are deployed.
- Lack new models of engagement amongst disciplines and lack of collaboration between disciplines and nursing.
- Need to increase understanding of the relationship between privacy, confidentiality and security. Specifically the applicable federal, provincial and territorial legislation.