The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation NURS 5051

The Role Of The Nurse Informaticist In Systems Development And Implementation NURS 5051

The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is a model for planning and implementing change within an organization. It is important for many individuals to be represented in the process, especially the end users of the system or the employees who must live with the change. 

As informatics become more and more widespread throughout the healthcare field, collaboration between information technology (IT) professionals and health care practitioners is becoming increasingly important. The nurse informaticist is able to combine the perspective of the information technology side with the clinical nursing perspective.

While the titles and specific responsibilities of nurse informaticists vary across organizations and practice settings, the fundamental purpose of the role remains the same. Nurse informaticists synthesize their knowledge of how technology can improve health care with an understanding of clinical practice and workflow. This is why nurse informaticists can be instrumental in facilitating the SDLC for informatics in health care. For this Discussion, you examine the relationship between the nurse informaticist and the use of the SDLC.

To prepare:

• Review the information in this week’s Learning Resources on the SDLC and the role of the nurse informaticist. Reflect on Chapter 1 of the Dennis, Wixom, and Roth course text and consider how the information about the systems analyst role translates into nursing and health care.
• Consider a recent change in your organization related to the implementation of a new technology or system. How was this change handled? What was the general SDLC process? Who was involved, and what were the outcomes? 
• Identify whether your organization (or one with which you are familiar) has a formal title or position for the nurse informaticist. This position may be called by a different name, such as nurse informatics specialist or informatics analyst, so be sure to review the position description.
• If your organization has a position for the nurse informaticist, what are the responsibilities of that position? If your organization does not have such a position, conduct research in the Walden Library and at credible online sources on the role of the nurse informaticist.
• Reflect on the role of the nurse informaticist in the overall health care field. How is this position connected to the SDLC? Assess the benefits of having this specialized position within health care organizations and involving the nurse informaticist in the SDLC.

Post 550 words in APA format with a minimum of 3 references from the list provided under Required Readings. Apply the level 1 headings as numbered below:

1. A description of how the systems development life cycle is utilized in your organization (Hospital), or in one with which you are familiar, and assess its effectiveness.
2. Assess the role of the nurse informaticist in your organization. If the nurse informaticist is not a current position within your organization, provide a description of the generally accepted role of the nurse informaticist based on this week’s Learning Resources and your own research.
3. Explain why it is important for the nurse informaticist to be involved in the SDLC process and the overall organizational benefits of having such involvement.

Required Readings

• Dennis, A., Wixom, B. H., & Roth, R. M. (2015). Systems analysis and design (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
• Chapter 1, “The Systems Analyst and Information Systems Development” (pp.1–34)

In this chapter, the authors clarify the relationship between systems analysts and information systems development. The chapter also covers the basic business applications of information systems.

• McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2015). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.
• Chapter 10, “Systems Development Life Cycle: Nursing Informatics and
• Organizational Decision Making”
• Chapter 11, “Administrative Information Systems”

Quality, organizational decision making is a requisite to successful advancements in technology. This chapter explores how workplaces respond to the necessity for improved information systems.

• Anderson, C., & Sensmeier, J. (2011). Nursing informatics scope of practice expands, salaries increase. Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 29(5), 319–320.
• Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

This article assesses the growing need for informaticists in the healthcare industry. The combination of clinical and information technology experience that informaticists possess makes them invaluable in assisting in the health care industry’s transition into a heavier use of information systems.

• Houston, S. M. (2012). Nursing’s role in IT projects. Nursing Management, 43(1),18–19.

Assignment Title: The Role Of The Nurse Informaticist In Systems Development And Implementation

Transforming Nursing and Healthcare through Technology

Nurses play a critical role in the development and implementation of the healthcare system. In this generation, the use of technology in healthcare has become quite significant and is offering so many advantages. However, there are still several challenges when implementing technology in the health system. The nurse’s role would feature in every stage of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) (Risling (2017).

The SDLC involves several steps such as the definition, analysis, design and implementation. In all these stages, the Nurse leader would play a critical role in helping the team to achieve some positive outcomes. The nurses’ purpose is not only limited to giving ideas, but also they should provide the details of the scope of the problem. The following are some of the critical steps that a nurse leader would be involved in while trying to use IT to achieve change in the Health system.

The graduate-level nurse should participate in the planning level in system development. The primary role that the leader should play at this level is to find out the scope of the problem and determine the solutions (McGonigle & Mastrian 2017). The leaders need to work closely with all the members of the project team and communicate with them on the steps to take towards finding the possible solutions. 

They should also help the team to make consideration of the cost, time benefits and other items that should help to achieve change within the systems. The leader should also play an essential role in system analysis and requirements. The leader should focus on identifying the functional requirements of the project or the solution. At this stage, the leaders should also focus on analyzing the needs of other patients and ensure that the systems can meet these people’s expectations (Louis 2011). 

Therefore, the nurse should focus on communicating with the implementation teams on the steps that they should take towards meeting the needs of the patients even in the process of developing the systems. They should not only focus on implementing IT in healthcare but also ensuring that it meets the patients and the changing society.

Thirdly, the leaders should be involved in the system design. The focus of the leaders at this level is to describe the detail of the necessary features, specification and operation that will satisfy the functional aspects of the system (Louis 2011). 

The leader’s major role at this level is to coordinate all the stakeholders in order to define and address all the key issues that should go into the system. The leaders should understand the changing nursing and environment and thus focus on the critical aspects that can achieve the needs of the patients.

The Graduate-level nurse would also be involved in the implantation stage. At this stage the focus is on the coding of the program and moving the components and data from the old system to the new system. The focus of the leaders at this level is to ensure that the technocrats can ensure the security and the data of the patients during the process of transfer (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality). 

As a nurse leader, one should understand that integrity of the patient’s information is paramount. The leaders should thus make it clear to the development team that this requirement.

The last stage is the post-implementation level. The focus of this level is to fine-tune the system to boost performance. The nurse can thus focus on making changes to the system in order to accommodate the intricate needs of the patients.

While the development of a new system might involve several issues that the nurse leaders might not understand, the most crucial focus is to achieve the needs of the patients. The nurse should thus focus on steering the team towards understanding the various issues that affect patients and how the new system can mitigate these problems. It is through such an approach that the nurse leader can become an essential part of using technology to make changes in the healthcare system.

Discussion: The Inclusion Of Nurses In The Systems Development Life Cycle

In the media introduction to this module, it was suggested that you as a nurse have an important role in the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC). With a focus on patient care and outcomes, nurses may not always see themselves as contributors to the development of new systems. However, as you may have observed in your own experience, exclusion of nurse contributions when implementing systems can have dire consequences.

In this Discussion, you will consider the role you might play in systems development and the ramifications of not being an active participant in systems development.

To Prepare:

• Review the steps of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) as presented in the Resources.
• Reflect on your own healthcare organization and consider any steps your healthcare organization goes through when purchasing and implementing a new health information technology system.
• Consider what a nurse might contribute to decisions made at each stage of the SDLC when planning for new health information technology.
• Post a description of what you believe to be the consequences of a healthcare organization not involving nurses in each stage of the SDLC when purchasing and implementing a new health information technology system. Provide specific examples of potential issues at each stage of the SDLC and explain how the inclusion of nurses may help address these issues.
• Then, explain whether you had any input in the selection and planning of new health information technology systems in your nursing practice or healthcare organization and explain potential impacts of being included or not in the decision-making process. Be specific and provide examples.

Assignment: The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation

Assume you are a nurse manager in a unit where a new nursing documentation system is to be implemented. You want to ensure that the system will be usable and acceptable for the nurses impacted. You realize a nurse leader must be on the implementation team.

To Prepare:

• Review the steps of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and reflect on the scenario presented.
• Consider the benefits and challenges associated with involving a nurse leader on an implementation team for health information technology.

The Assignment: (2-3 pages)

In preparation of filling this role, develop a 2- to 3-page role description for a graduate-level nurse to guide his/her participation on the implementation team. The role description should be based on the SDLC stages and tasks and should clearly define how this individual will participate in and impact each of the following steps:

• Planning and requirements definition
• Analysis
• Design of the new system
• Implementation
• Post-implementation support

Assume you are a nurse manager in a unit where a new nursing documentation system is to be implemented. You want to ensure that the system will be usable and acceptable for the nurses impacted. You realize a nurse leader must be on the implementation team.

To Prepare:

• Review the steps of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and reflect on the scenario presented.
• Consider the benefits and challenges associated with involving a nurse leader on an implementation team for health information technology.