Discussion: The Application of Data to Problem-Solving NURS 6051 Example 1
For decades, different institutions have been acquiring information and using it to solve various problems. Small businesses, as well as large enterprises, have also been doing the same. In the healthcare sphere, nurses have been using different methods to obtain data, which is then analyzed and later used to find solutions for various problems in the sector. As McConigle and Mastrian (2017) mentioned, the nursing profession is information-intensive. Without collecting relevant data, the nursing sector would be unable to deliver quality services to patients, thereby crippling the entire healthcare realm.
Informatics Clinical Application
While working as a Clinical Nurse Coordinator, sometimes back, data collection was a vital part of my operation. On the 28-bed telemetry floor, I realized that whenever I approached the management without adequate data to support my ideas about solving various problems at the workplace, the concepts would be brushed aside.
However, the administration was always happy to listen to my thoughts on something if my presentation had adequate data to support the concepts. Therefore, no matter how good your thoughts are, they do not mean a lot unless you have gathered enough facts to support them. That is why the data collection and analysis process is vital to the nursing practice realm.
Data helps to support arguments conclusively (Sweeney, 2017). Currently, there is an idea that I am trying to put on the table that involves proving to the management that the facility needs more nurses on the telemetry floor to free-charge nurses for the numerous patient tasks that they handle during the shifts. Charge nurses ensure everything runs smoothly at a medical facility during a certain shift. They assume leadership during the hours that they are in charge.
Their clinical experience ensures that other nurses in the department deliver quality care to the patients. If a nurse fails to deliver, they are supposed to report them to the management. They are also responsible for coming up with work schedules, overseeing discharges and admissions, and helping to check up on patients.
In the 28-bed telemetry floor, charge nurses are too busy to oversee their real duties, primarily because there are not enough nurses in the department. Instead of playing the oversight role, they carry out the usual nursing tasks like administering medicine and checking up on patients occasionally. On a daily basis, the number of RNs versus patients is recorded and computerized. Presently, I have data collected over the previous month.
My preliminary analysis of the data reveals that the number of patients seems to be overwhelming the nurses. Many patients are being admitted to the floor, forcing the charge nurse to leave their actual oversight duties to attend to patients. Things can easily slip out of hand in such scenarios since no one oversees the various patient care processes. I have also been collecting patient feedback during the period, based on which I have concluded that patient satisfaction is dismal whenever the charge nurse is involved in patient care.
Informatic competence helps to alter clinical decisions positively and eventually improve patient outcomes (McConigle & Mastrian, 2017). Data collected over six months will be adequate to fully convince the management of the need for a change at the facility to improve patient outcomes as well as satisfaction.
As the nursing profession evolves, technology is bound to influence patient outcomes significantly (Nagle et al., 2017). The need for EHR competence is also going to rise. EHR makes data collection and analysis easier. As a young practitioner, I plan on becoming familiar with the various technology-based methods of data collection and analysis to improve myself as a nurse and ultimately advance the nursing profession.
Discussion: The Application of Data to Problem-Solving NURS 6051 Week 1 Discussion References
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2021). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Nagle, L. M., Sermeus, W., Junger, A., & Bloomberg, L. S. (2017). Evolving Role of the Nursing Informatics Specialist. Forecasting Informatics Competencies for Nurses in the Future of Connected Health, 212.
Sweeney, J. (2017). Healthcare informatics. On-Line J
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