Midterm Study Guide NR 599 Informatics

General Principles of Nursing Informatics

Nursing informatics is the specialty that integrates nursing science with multiple information management and analytical sciences to identify, define, manage, and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice. One of the most frequently quoted and widely accepted definitions of nursing informatics is that it is a combination of nursing science, information science, and computer science.

Knowledge

• All nurses have the opportunity to be involved in the formal dissemination of knowledge via their participation in professional conferences either as presenters or attendees.
• All nurses, regardless of the practice arena, must use informatics and technology to inform and support that practice.

Wisdom

• Wisdom is the application of knowledge to an appropriate situation.
• In the practice of nursing science, we expect action and/or actions directed by wisdom.
• Wisdom uses knowledge and experience to heighten common sense and insight to exercise sound judgment in practical matters. It is developed through knowledge, experience, insight, and reflection.

Scientific Underpinning

The scientific underpinnings of practice provide the basis of knowledge for advanced nursing practice. These scientific underpinnings include sciences such as biology, physiology, psychology, ethics, and nursing.

The Foundation of Knowledge Model

According to Mastrian and McGonigle (2009), one of the most prominent models associated with nursing informatics is the Foundation of Knowledge model. This theory involves integrating four main kinds of knowledge:

• Knowledge Acquisition: Application of knowledge acquired through education, research, and practice to provide services and interventions to patients to maintain, enhance, or restore their health, and to acquire, process, generate, and disseminate nursing knowledge to advance the nursing profession.
• Knowledge Dissemination: Distributing and sharing of knowledge learned.
• Knowledge Generation: Creating new knowledge by changing and evolving knowledge based on your experience, education, and input from others.
• Knowledge Processing: The activity or process of gathering, collecting or perceiving, analyzing, saving, and transmitting knowledge.

The Foundation of Knowledge model specifically prompts nurses to extend their theoretical and metaphorical knowledge into practical, holistic determinations based on a variety of factors and contexts. Since competencies in informatics include, but are not limited to, information literacy, computer literacy, and the ability to use strategies and system applications to manage data, knowledge, and information, the ability of nursing students to use computer-mediated communication skills is essential to their success in the nursing field and as a means to improve patient safety.