Week 1 Replies Class 2
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Week1RepliesClass2.docxInstructions: Post 2 replies of at least 250 words. Each reply must incorporate at least 1 scholarly citation in APA format. Each reply should include integration of Biblical Worldview with supporting scripture. Any sources cited must have been published within the last five years. Acceptable sources include the textbook, the Bible, peer- reviewed journal articles.
Classmate 1: Informational literacy is a term used to describe the determination of need for information, location, interpretation, and use of that information (Nelson & Staggers, 2018). I believe informational literacy is crucial to nursing informatics due to the rapidly changing standards and practices that are presented in the healthcare field. Nurses must have a desire and drive for learning and recognize the need to advance their current knowledge. The definition referenced by Nelson and Staggers was pulled from the American Library Association. This definition first identifies the need for a person to recognize the need for information. Nurses and healthcare staff must be able to assess their current knowledge base and determine the need for further information regarding current practices, diagnostics, and standards of care. This is further evidenced by the important role of evidenced based practice in the healthcare field. These standards are continuously updated and improved. It is crucial for the practicing nurse to keep themselves up to date with current EBP.
Another component of information literacy is the ability to find information when needed (Nelson & Staggers, 2018). As students, we also need to have this ability to locate and discern information that is up to date, researched, proven, and supported. This is an important part of information literacy. False and un-factual information or research will not allow the nurse to practice best standards of care. Nurses should improve their current knowledge and practices using information that is recent and thoroughly investigated. This involves identification of reliable and proven sources. This determination of factual and well researched information is akin to Christians being mindful and watchful of false teachings. Matthew 24:24 (NIV) discusses the concern for false teachers winning over followers due to their miraculous sign (Bible Study Tools, 2022). An important underlying component recognized here is the need for discernment of truth for Christians as well as practicing nurses.
The next portion of the ALA’s definition discusses the evaluation or interpretation of the found information. This step involves taking the information and determining how it applies to our current practice. Nurses must take care to accurately apply this information. For example, if using a found journal article, the nurse may want to use the Discussion or Application section to identify interventions they may consider implementing in their current practice. This application should be researched and proven, as well as within the nurse’s scope of practice. This step of information literacy is what allows the most up to date care and standards to be implemented.
Nurses should familiarize themselves with and recognize the importance of information literacy in order to implement improvement to their current practice. Hospitals and healthcare systems should implement workshops and educational programs to assist nurses in developing their information literacy skills and to assist in development of evidenced-based care and best practices for patients within the healthcare system (Farokhzadian et al., 2021). This implementation has numerous unforeseen benefits for patient care. The link between information literacy and evidenced-based practice for nurses is strong. One article that I have found that strongly supports implementing information literacy practices in the healthcare field summed up the role of it for nurses: “…defined an information literate nurse as one who recognizes the extent of an information need, efficiently searches for information, critically appraises the literature, and understands the economic, legal, and social aspects regarding information and its use.” (Cantwell et al., 2021) This definition of an information literate nurse is a well-rounded description. Nurses should use the information they find to apply the implications to the whole healthcare system, not only their practice and how it affects specifically nursing. Many of these interventions researched have implications for the whole system. The role of information literacy in nursing is crucial to the implementation of evidenced based practice and the delivery of best standards of care.
Classmate 2: The very basis for understanding any skill is basic literacy, therefore it comes as no surprise becoming skilled in technology must first start with the ability to simply read and write. This sets the premise for developing skill-sets in technology that lead to the successful use of computers and information systems in healthcare. In order to successfully learn to utilize technologies appropriately, healthcare professionals must also gain understanding in other foundational literacies pertaining to health informatics including computer literacy, information literacy, health literacy and digital literacy (Nelson & Staggers, 2018).
Nursing informatics was formally recognized as a nursing specialty in 1992 and has been evolving ever since. Originally nursing informatics consisted of nurses aiding information technology professionals with the medical knowledge necessary to build health information systems. Today nurses in informatics must navigate the constant challenges associated with aligning the electronic health record (EHR) with new laws, public health, infection control standards and other ongoing obstacles that exist in the ever-changing health care environment. These nurses are not only instrumental in the field, they are now project architects, system educators and analysts, essential to keeping the digital elements of healthcare functional where without their tremendous literacy and skill healthcare systems in general would drastically fail (Garcia-Dia, 2021). It all starts, with basic literacy; “A continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential and to participate fully in their community and wider society” (Nelson & Staggers, 2018, p. 11).
In a recent editorial, nursing informatics is described as instrumental in bringing together healthcare providers and patients to address patient concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic when so many were confined to their homes and unable to otherwise seek the care they required without the assistance of digital platforms made possible through nursing informatics. Of particular importance was the realization that so much of patient-centered digital health is dependent upon good communication, something entirely impossible without basic literacy skills. This illustrates the importance of the understanding the most fundamental basics in the field of nursing informatics. Although technology can be a powerful tool capable of augmenting healthcare services like never before, failing to communicate at the most basic level effectively can dramatically hamper valuable services (Skiba & Honey, 2021). To confound the communication demands in nursing informatics, the recent COVID-19 pandemic also served to highlight the health inequities within neighboring communities. Needs are now better understood in the field of informatics relating to interpreter services, computer access, computer literacy in under-served populations and language barriers (Garcia-Dia, 2021).
Remaining accurate and precise in how nurses in informatics must communicate, there are biblical examples of the importance of carefully articulating intentions and processes to avoid miscommunications. This is essential if informatics is to be successful toward enhanced health outcomes. Proverbs 25:11, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (New International Version, 1973/2011).
