Carol J. Bickford

Evaluation of a nursing informatics training program shows significant changes in nurses’ perception of their knowledge of information technology

A survey of nurses attending a Weekend Immersion in Nursing Informatics (WINI) program showed a statistically significant change in the nurses’ perception of information technology (IT) and of their ability to apply IT to affect the quality of patient care. Attendees first identified their level of expertise based on the Informatics Competencies for Nurses at Four Levels of Nursing Practice, and then completed surveys pre- and postprogram attendance to measure their personal assessments of their knowledge and abilities in specific areas of nursing informatics, information technology, and healthcare information systems. Such personal assessments are mandated in the professional standards of nursing informatics practice.

Implementing the New ANA Standard 8: Culturally Congruent Practice

The American Nurses Association (ANA) is responsible for the contract between society and the nursing profession, including the nursing scope and standards of practice. In 2015, an ANA workgroup produced Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, 3rd Ed during a time of social change and an increase of culturally and ethnically diverse consumers. Subsequently, a subset of workgroup members and an invited transcultural nursing expert led to the creation of the new Standard 8: Culturally Congruent Practice, describing nursing care that is in agreement with the preferred values, beliefs, worldview, and practices of the healthcare consumer. This article records the history of the revised scope and standards and new Standard 8, the reasoning behind this standard and its impact on nursing practice, education, and research. The article also guides nurses in the application of Standard 8 to nursing practice and offers discussion about implementing culturally congruent practice through the nursing process. We also discuss cultural congruence for the graduate-prepared nurse; offer brief comments related to evaluation of culturally congruent practice using Standard 8 and future research; and conclude with a call to action.

The specialty of nursing informatics: new scope and standards guide practice.

Today’s nursing informatics (NI) specialty practice, described in the newly released 2015AmericanNurses Association (ANA)Nursing Informatics: Scope and Standards of Practice, Second Edition, reflects a very different world and practice environment when compared with the first scope and standards for NI published 20 years ago. Even a comparison with the 2007–2008 practice environment characterized in the previous Nursing Informatics: Scope and Standards of Practice reveals significant change in the informatics nurse and informatics nurse specialist roles and technology solutions. This article describes the decisionmaking process of the ANA workgroup and advisory group in undertaking this revision, highlighting key changes and features. The ANA convened a 13-member workgroup and fivemember advisory group from 2013 to 2014 and charged these groupswith reviewing and revising the 2008NI scope and standards document. The groups began their deliberations with an examination of the existing definition of NI. They wanted to remain true to the rich legacy provided by previous workgroups but also ensure that contemporary NI practice was accurately and succinctly described. Their deliberations resulted in the following revised definition:

National Nurses Week 2016: Culture of Safety: It Starts With YOU.

Nurses Association. The emphasis on a “culture of safety starting with you” resonates even more loudly on Nursing Informatics Day, May 12, 2016, because of Florence Nightingale’s influence on nursing and her contributions to improving public health. As you help with plans to celebrate National Nurses Week 2016 in your organization, facility, school, enterprise, or community, please reflect on how your nursing informatics knowledge, skills, abilities, and judgment contribute to creating and improving a culture of safety for yourself, your colleagues, healthcare consumers, the organization, and environment. Although your informatics practice may focus on issues surrounding data, information, knowledge, and wisdom, concerns about ensuring safety cannot be brushed aside. Think about the problems associated with establishing the correct identification of the healthcare consumer without a unique health identifier. Then consider the safety issues and complications that arise when assessment data and other information are not correctly linked to that individual’s unique identifier.Ourmobile population has come to rely on healthcare services wherever they are, resulting in a potpourri of data points and information in many locations without assurance that each can be correctly accessed and attributed to the appropriate healthcare consumer. The concern about a unique identifier is also a safety issue when addressing the healthcare team members. The