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Teaching Applied Informatics for Graduate Nursing Students- Integrating New Trends in Informatics and Business Process Improvement, Quality and Safety Concepts

Primary Author: Azizeh Sowan, PhD, RN
Co-Principal Investigators/Collaborators: N/A
Organization: University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

 

 

 

Abstract

Purpose

To describe the design, delivery, and evaluation process of an informatics course that integrates new trends in informatics, quality and safety, business processes improvement concepts, applications, and tools.

Background

Informatics is a fairly new and rapidly evolving discipline. Little research focused on pedagogical methods for informatics courses designed for graduate nursing programs. 

Materials & Methods

In the Fall of 2013, 20 graduate nursing students were enrolled in the course at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, with a wide range of professional roles and informatics competencies. The course was designed to equip students with life-long informatics competencies to analyze and improve patient care IT systems and was delivered online using the framework for effective teaching. New trends in informatics covered HITECH-Act and meaningful use, system interoperability, IT and safety, patient engagement and consumerization. Learning tools included functional workflow modeling using swim-lane software, project management e-applications, SWOT analysis, system analysis framework, patient safety applicator tool, and business process improvement framework. Assignments were tailored to students’ needs. Students provided answers to 12 essay questions to evaluate the effectiveness of the course.

Results

Students’ projects for system improvement involved integration of clinical guidelines, systems alerts and reminders, screening processes, and exit care into the electronic medical records, systems interoperability, and creation of databases. The majority of students (1) stated that all learning activities were eye-opener and extremely helpful for professional and skills development; (2) gained a deeper appreciation to their organizations and highlighted the excellent relationships they established with other departments; and (3) expressed the ability to communicate with other departments using the “informatics language”. Discussions were valuable to understand how health systems in San Antonio function and to compare initiatives. Suggestions for improvement included face-to-face meeting to help students with the technical aspects of the learning applications. 

Conclusion

An applied informatics course fostered the development of informatics competencies and professional gains through collegial relationships with other departments. 

 

Bibliography

  • Chickering, A. & Gamson, Z. (1987). Seven principles of good practice in undergraduate education. AAHE Bulletin, 39, 3-7.
  • Sowan, A. & Jenkins, J. (2013). Use of the seven principles of effective teaching to design and deliver an interactive hybrid nursing research course. Nursing Education Perspectives, 34(5), 315-322.

© Improvement Science Research Network, 2012

The ISRN published this as received and with permission from the author(s).