Discussion: Interaction Between Nurse Informaticists and Other Specialists

Nature offers many examples of specialization and collaboration. Ant colonies and bee hives are but two examples of nature’s sophisticated organizations. Each thrives because their members specialize by tasks, divide labor, and collaborate to ensure food, safety, and general well-being of the colony or hive.

Of course, humans don’t fare too badly in this regard either. And healthcare is a great example. As specialists in the collection, access, and application of data, nurse informaticists collaborate with specialists on a regular basis to ensure that appropriate data is available to make decisions and take actions to ensure the general well-being of patients. 

In this Discussion, you will reflect on your own observations of and/or experiences with informaticist collaboration. You will also propose strategies for how these collaborative experiences might be improved. 

To Prepare:

• Review the Resources and reflect on the evolution of nursing informatics from a science to a nursing specialty. 
• Consider your experiences with nurse Informaticists or technology specialists within your healthcare organization.

By Day 3 of Week 3

Post a description of experiences or observations about how nurse informaticists and/or data or technology specialists interact with other professionals within your healthcare organization. Suggest at least one strategy on how these interactions might be improved. Be specific and provide examples. Then, explain the impact you believe the continued evolution of nursing informatics as a specialty and/or the continued emergence of new technologies might have on professional interactions.

Health promotion has and remains to be significant to patient care outcomes through its roles that include; management of diseases and provision of tools and resources that enable patients to take personal action and achieve accountability for their own wellness. On this same road to health promotion, health education has been essential in ensuring wellness. By definition, health education is “any combination of learning experiences designed to help individuals and communities improve their health, by increasing their knowledge or influencing their attitudes” (WHO, 2018a, para 1). Therefore, health education plays a paramount role when nurses use it to provide patients with necessary tools and information that empowers them to make informed choices and decisions that enhance health promotion. One way of achieving health education is through the nursing process. This component, which has been the backbone of nursing uses various aspects to include; assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation to help patients achieve desirable health outcomes. Through assessment, the nurse is able to identify a need from which he/she can formulate a diagnosis. Thereafter, by involving the patient, they come up with a plan that is practical and the patient then move to implementing it with the support of the nurse. Finally, through evaluation, the nurse is able to compare the expected outcomes to the actual outcomes done by the patients from which they can work on making necessary improvements to improve health promotion.

One issue that poses as a threat to the wellbeing of a family is the incidents of falls. Despite its prevalence among pediatrics and geriatrics, falls may also occur in any age group. According to (CDC, 2017e), falls are a leading cause of death and disability among geriatrics and are nearly always a preventable cause. CDC also gives statistics of more than 27000 deaths of older adults resulting from falls which is almost 74 elderlies per day. Additionally, of all the reported cases of falls, approximately more than 7 million require medical treatment or restricted activity for at least a day. Through the nursing process, a nurse is able to perform a thorough assessment and employ effective strategies to help prevent this epidemic among susceptible populations (Falkner, 2018)

Some of the ways that can help address prevention of the risk to falls for children are: ensuring Play safety; through safe playground equipment and environment, Home safety; through safe home devices like guardrails, door locks et cetera, Sport safety; through appropriate gear like helmets and sunscreens and lastly Supervision; through guidance from a responsible adult. On the other hand, ensuring safety among the older adults can be through the following; installation of grab bars in the bathroom, decluttering the home environment, strength and balance exercises to improve their balance, removal of small throw rugs, adequate lighting and the use of assistive medical equipment such as walkers. This is helpful to achieving a fall-free environment for both groups. Additionally, collaboration with the case management worker to coordinate with the patient’s insurance company is essential for the acquisition of medical equipment especially for the older adults (Falkner, 2018)

References.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017e). STEADI – Older adult fall prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/steadi

Falkner, A. (2018). In GCU’s Health Promotion: Health and Wellness Across the Continuum. Retrieved from

https://www.gcumedia.com/digital-resources/grand-canyon-university/2018/health-promotion_health-and-wellness-across-the-continuum_1e.php

 World Health Organization, (2018a). Health education. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/topics/health_education/en

Gaining health education as providers give educators a chance to help individuals and communities on how to enhance their health. Through teaching, hands-on and practicing, patients will feel better about themselves which will make room for healing faster. Proper education will minimize frequent hospital visits from providing a list of proper food, the proper way to store potential hazardous objects around the house to make an available list of organizations that can further assist with continued education. individuals and communities will also benefit from safe transportation and housing.

To develop a health education plan, the individual or the communities must be assessed. Assessment will give the educators ideas of what the patient needs. It will also assist in knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the individual. From the assessment, a diagnosis will be made, whether it is a knowledge deficit or ineffective. From there, a plan is made with the patient being the center of that plan. If the patient is not involved in creating that plan, the plan will not be effective. After a plan is made, education be implemented in the plan. By having the individual demonstrate what was learned is a great way to evaluate whether the plan was effective or not. Cultural competency plays a major role when developing a health education plan.

The active mass shooting has become a major global issue. According to a report from FBI’s Office of Partner Engagement along with FBI’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response training center at Texas State University, in 2018 alone, “ 27 incidents resulted in 213 casualties (85 people killed and 128 people wounded, excluding the shooters). The highest number of casualties (17 killed and 17 wounded) occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.” (FBI’s Office of Partner Engagement, FBI’s Criminal Investigation Division and ALERRT, 2018). Because of these frequent casualties, nurses require more education on the preparedness for those incidents. Parents and families will also require education on gun safety.

Planning comprises creating a kit with essentials in case a tragedy arises. This includes items such as water, flashlights, batteries, first-aid kit, and canned or dried edible food items that should be included. Educators should teach individuals or communities on communicating in meeting areas in case of a disaster. Per Angel Falkner, “Families should also take the time to discuss types of disasters with members of the family, including small children.” (Falkner, 2018). It is normal for families to panic at the time of a disaster but with good education and planning, it will alleviate some of the stress that may arise.

Reference

Falkner, A. (2018). Health Promotion in Nursing Care. Grand Canyon University. Retrieved from https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs429vn/health-promotion-health-and-wellness-across-the-continuum/v1.1/#/chapter/4

FBI’s Office of Partner Engagement, FBI’s Criminal Investigation Division, and ALERRT. (2018). Active shooting incident in the United States in 2018. Washington D.C. Retrieved from https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-incidents-in-the-us-2018-041019.pdf/view

                                                     Initial Post

The Code of Ethics for Nurses Act provides guidance to these professionals on how to conduct themselves and handle various topics in a professional manner when dealing with public matters (Notes, n.d.).  Some of these ethics may be conflicting as well as competing with those of their patients, place of work to their personal ethics. Milstead and Short (2017)  therefore deduce on the importance of nurses being knowledgeable on the area of clinical practice, institutional rules and procedures, the Nurses Code of Ethics and the field of ethics, as well as understanding their personal values. 

In our case, Lena is therefore a nurse who is bound by these regulations as a professional. However, there are various ways of reasoning through this ethical problem to find an ethical solution. The American Nursing Association, 2015 (ANA) endorses patient privacy and confidentiality protection for the purpose of upholding a trusting relationship between healthcare providers and patients (American Nursing Association, 2015). Confidentiality therefore means that the patient’s information and identity is kept private at all times, meaning that the patient retains the right to decide whom to share the information with. Lena’s sister’s boyfriend is therefore protected under this code. 

However, ANA 2015 annuls this protection and confidentiality code in the case that a person’s life is at risk or could endanger the public, meaning that Lena’s sister is protected here.  If I were Lena, I would inform my sister’s boyfriend of his rights as a patient and the importance of sharing the information with his girlfriend to avoid infecting her. . I would stay within my scope of practice and make sure that the patient reports the information to the required entities.

References

American Nursing Association. (June 2015). American Nursing Association Position Statement on Privacy and Confidentiality. Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/~4ad4a8/globalassets/docs/ana/position-statement-privacy-and-confidentiality.pdf

Milstead, J. & Short, N. (2019). Health policy and politics : a nurse’s guide. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Notes on Guide to the Code of Ethics for Nurses: Interpretation and Application

Based in this Post posted above,  answer the following question 

My state is : Florida

In researching for this discussion post, I ran across a law from the state of Maryland that reads, “It is the responsibility of the physician to ensure that partner notification occurs, either by the patient or by the physician.  Assistance can be requested from the health department.” (“Maryland Partner Notification,” n.d.).  The law does not state how and within what time period the partner should be notified.  Are there any laws such as this where you are from?  What regulating agencies certify that physicians are upheld to this standard for reporting?

References

HIV/AIDS reporting and partner notification. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://healthymaryland.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/10-HIVAIDS-Reporting-and-Partner-Notification.pdf

ssFor this assignment, you will write an opinion piece for a local newspaper advocating for the needs of offenders whom you believe has been unethically treated based on their mental health issues, social, or cultural background, or due to the general nature of treatment and assessment in forensic settings. Based on your readings, pick a topic which has resulted in unethical treatment in forensic settings in one form or another.Find three articles on the topic and include information from these articles in your piece.Your piece should include:A clear understanding of the ethical issue in questionDemographics surrounding the ethical issueWays in which those working in the mental health field may protect against future ethical issues in this area which should include recommendations for best