The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation
Sample Answer for The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation Included After Question
A Sample Answer For the Assignment: The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation
Title: The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation
Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development Life Cycle
Systems development life cycle (SDLC) is a theoretical framework applied in project management. It defines the stages entailed in an information system development project, from the initial feasibility study to the maintenance of the finished application (Kramer, 2018). SDLC phases include planning, system analysis, design, implementation, integration and testing, and operations and maintenance. Engaging nurses who are the end-users in all phases of introducing a new healthcare technology fosters a smooth transition to using the new technology system and increases nurses’ buy-in of the system (Verma & Gupta, 2017). This paper will describe the role of a graduate-level nurse as part of the implementation team developing a new nursing documentation system.
Planning and Requirements Definition
The planning and requirements definition stage is when developers and the implementation team plan for the upcoming project. The stage involves defining the problem and scope of any existing system and determining the objectives for the proposed new system (Kramer, 2018). The role of the graduate-level nurse in this phase will be to identify goals for the new nursing documentation system based on the priority nursing needs. Besides, the nurse will explain to the implementation team the expected requirements of the system in a coherent fashion so that the procured system does not become redundant (Verma & Gupta, 2017). The nurse will identify improvement areas in the previous documentation system, which the new system should address to promote quality patient care and enhance nursing documentation. Involving the nurse in the planning phase of technology system development is crucial in ensuring a better-developed system, which is different and more clinically relevant.
Analysis
The analysis stage involves the team gathering all the details required for the new system and identifying the first ideas for prototypes. The team also identifies all the specifications for hardware, software, and network requirements for the system they plan to develop (Ehrler et al., 2019). In this phase, the nurse’s role will be to conduct a feasibility analysis and evaluate the system’s compatibility with the organization’s environment.
Design of New System
The graduate-level nurse’s role will be to assist the implementation team in anticipating and incorporating patients’ and nurses’ needs when designing the documentation system. The nurse has a responsibility to ensure that the system is designed to promote positive outcomes for the patients and improve the delivery of nursing care (Ehrler et al., 2019). In addition, the nurse will be involved in defining a standardized nursing language that will be used in documentation to ensure accurate communication of patient care among nurses using the system. The nurse must work closely with the implementation team to define standardized nursing terminology and outline and define the nursing scope in the documentation that should reflect on the new documentation system (Verma & Gupta, 2017). Involving the nurse in the design phase will ensure that the documentation system is developed in a way that the nurses will easily use when providing patient care and that will meet the predetermined needs. It will also ensure the effective integration of the new documentation system into nursing practice.
Implementation
The implementation phase entails integrating the new system into its environment and eventually installing it. The new software is
adopted and used by many users (Kramer, 2018). It may or may not produce the expected results. The nurse will be tasked with beta testing the new documentation system, meaning that they will test it as users. In addition, the nurse will take part in testing the new system before it is availed for implementation in the organization (Verma & Gupta, 2017). It is essential that a nurse is involved in the implementation phase before the new system is adopted since nurses are an important link to various clinical processes in healthcare (Verma & Gupta, 2017). Besides, nurses are in a great position to offer crucial feedback about the changes required in the system to make it more effective during the implementation periods and after the implementation of the new system.
Post-Implementation Support
Various problems can occur when the documentation system is in the post-implementation phase in the clinical setting. The graduate-level nurse has the role of identifying such issues when interacting with other nurses, who are the end-users (Kramer, 2018). Besides, the nurse is in a better position to propose an alternative that is more practical and clinically relevant to the implementation team in order to make the system more efficient (Ehrler et al., 2019). It is essential that the nurse is involved in this phase since they are in the best position to enlighten the implementation team of the benefits and challenges they encounter when using the new documentation system.
Conclusion
Nurses must be included in the initial stages of the system development cycle. This ensures an efficient system that translates the language of nursing practice into the system being used. As the majority of end-users of health technology systems, nurses will adopt new technologies if they are allowed to give input into the planning and implementation processes. This is by giving views on how the system should be designed to meet priority needs in care delivery. They should also be involved in the evaluation process to establish whether changes designed to improve the delivery of patient care have been effective.
The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation References
Ehrler, F., Lovis, C., & Blondon, K. (2019). A Mobile Phone App for Bedside Nursing Care: Design and Development Using an Adapted Software Development Life Cycle Model. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 7(4), e12551. https://doi.org/10.2196/12551
Kramer, M. (2018). Best practices in systems development lifecycle: An analysis based on the waterfall model. Review of Business & Finance Studies, 9(1), 77-84.
Verma, M. P., & Gupta, S. (2017). Software Development for Nursing: Role of Nursing Informatics. International Journal of Nursing Education and Research, 5(2), 203-207. https://doi.org/10.5958/2454-2660.2017.00044.8