The Future of Nursing Informatics
Writing sample from my graduate nursing program
Let’s be honest – technology in healthcare isn’t going anywhere. If anything, it will become more and more integrated into our healthcare system and will be an even more integral part of our careers as advanced practice nurses. We have already witnessed a massive technological change over the last 20 years, including the increased implementation of electronic health records, patient portals, and wearable internet-enabled technology (Booth, 2016). More recently, artificial intelligence (AI) within the healthcare field has become more and more prevalent. AI is where I feel the future of nursing informatics truly lies.
With the use of AI and the focus on Quadruple Aim, technology has been designed to provide patient-centered, precision healthcare which focuses on improving patient experience and outcomes (Carroll, 2019). These are current trends. For the future, combining AI and genomic testing will lead to personalized, precision medicine – throwing generalized medicine in the dirt. Our current evidence-based practice (EBP) involves focusing on population averages, while precision medicine offers focus on individual patients. As future advanced practice nurses, we will play an important role as we already consult, educate, and provide care whose needs often need to be individualized (Spanakis et al., 2020)
References
Booth, R. G. (2016). Informatics and nursing in a post-nursing informatics world: Future directions for nurses in an automated, artificially intelligent, social-networked healthcare environment. Nursing Leadership, 28(4), 61–69.
Carroll, W. M. (2019). Artificial intelligence, critical thinking and the nursing process. HIMSS. https://www.himss.org/resources/artificial-intelligence-critical-thinking-and-nursing-process
Spanakis, M., Patelarou, A. E., & Patelarou, E. (2020). Nursing personnel in the era of personalized healthcare in clinical practice. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 10(3), 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm10030056
