Canadian Journal of Nursing Informatics

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This article was written on 21 Sep 2015, and is filled under Volume 10 2015, Volume 10 No 1 & 2.

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#NursesUnite – Nursing Informatics supports Nursing in many ways

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by June Kaminski, RN MSN PhD(c)
Editor in Chief

June KaminskiThe CJNI was initiated by June Kaminski in 2006. June was President of CNIA in 2008-9, and Director of Communication from 2003 to 2012. She is currently President of the Canadian Nurses for Health and the Environment; Past President and Director at Large for Sigma Theta Tau International, Xi Eta Chapter; and Editor in Chief of the Online Journal of Nursing Informatics In 2012, June was honored to receive the CASN and Canada Health Infoway’s inaugural Nursing Faculty E-Health Award 2012 in Ottawa Canada. She offers the Nursing Informatics Learning Centre for nurses.

EDITORIAL

The recent media buzz sparked by controversial and glib remarks on The View TV show in response to Kelley Johnson’s (Miss Colorado) talent segment monologue on Nursing at the 2016 Miss America pageant has inspired a wave of response from nurses and nurse supporters. And rightly so! Derogatory and off-hand comments that questioned the professionalism of nurses, suggested that nurses do not use stethoscopes, they want to be doctors, and are rudimentary in the whole health care process ignited a wave of response that has pushed nursing into the media limelight and provided a platform for the celebration of the day by day heroism and dedication offered by nurses across the globe.

NursesUnite_NILC2

Miss Johnson’s intent for choosing this monologue was to advance the voice and awareness of nurses, and she succeeded brilliantly! Her courage has inspired nurses and others to express their appreciation and understanding of the nursing profession and all of its multifaceted aspects. In response to both her monologue and the media backlash, social media has provided an effective means for sharing the amazing capabilities and strength of nursing – a perfect example of how information technology can be used in improving communication and mobiliing action.

Nurses are true professionals that wear many hats and dedicate themselves to provide holistic, client-centered care. To do so, nurses must seamlessly flow between many areas of responsibility and apply an astounding number of competencies and role functions. Nurses are the most constant professional throughout the entire healthcare experience who serve clients in a multitude of capacities.

These roles and capacities are increasingly tied to the continued evolution of nursing informatics, from bedside to community. Nursing informatics and the use of technology in nursing serve as underlying layers of nursing that few in the media understand. Informatics facilitates the day to day aspects of nursing through electronic documentation, communication, client teaching and discharge planning, and is key to the seamless operation of the entire interdisciplinary team.

Every nurse is touched by informatics in some way, and this influence is skyrocketing with each passing year. Nurses work hard to keep up with trends in the profession, including the role of nursing informatics in practice. Beyond documentation, electronic health records, and other uses of technology in health care, the scope of nursing informatics is widening. New trends including mobile health or mHealth, eHealth, and telehealth are pioneering forward to become everyday ways for citizens to engage in health monitoring, prevention and health promotion related tracking and information sharing.

The Nursing Informatics Learning Center approved CEU courses offer ways for nurses to continue their evolution in nursing informatics theory and know-how from the comfort of their own home and earn their state or provincial licensure requirements at the same time. They also help to prepare nurses who wish to become certified in nursing informatics. Nursing informatics knowledge and care is just one aspect of the complex repertoire of skills that nurses bring to their profession each and every day. Yet this knowledge intertwines and supports all other competencies that nurses must demonstrate. Developing this knowledge is key to the current and future success of nursing evolution.

#NursesUnite

#NurseNation

#nursinginformatics

#CEU

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