The role of the nurse leaders in a unit is connected to monitoring the process of implementing a new nursing documentation system. The principles of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) will be applied here. Hence, the candidate will be involved in assessing the initial feasibility of the system and maintenance, once the project is completed. Additionally, necessary skills include advanced interpersonal communication, problem-solving, and managerial capabilities (“Nursing informatics specialist,” n.d.).
The candidate should be a graduate-level nurse with experience of working on the implementation of new systems in a clinical setting. This nursing professional will have to apply their expert knowledge of medicine, the healthcare system, and information to enable the successful completion of this project. For this system development and implementation project, a nurse informaticist will be responsible for the following processes:
Planning and Requirements Definition
The main task is the assessment of the currently used nurse documentation system, its benefits, shortfalls, and feedback from nursing professionals working in a facility. Additionally, the nurse leader will review documentation systems that are available on the market and request proposals from software development companies to assess the feasibility of developing a documentation system from scratch. As a result, this nurse leader will develop a financial plan and draft an outline of options available for the team.
Analysis
The analysis stage of SDLC is necessary to outline key features of the documentation software that will enable more efficient work of the department and fulfill the requirements of the workflow. The nurse can schedule several short interviews with team members to better understand the deficiencies of the existing system (Rouse, 2019). The information assessed by the nurse-leader in the previous stage will be analyzed to develop a plan for the new system design.
Design of the New System
At this stage, the nurse will utilize the analysis of the requirements and the financial plan to choose whether the system will be developed or an existing solution can be purchased from a vendor. Requirements for the number of users and technical capabilities will be outlined as well. The hardware, necessary for the new system will be purchased, in case the existing devices are outdated.
Implementation
The nurse leader will oversee the process of transition from the old documentation system to the new one. This includes ensuring that the department has appropriate hardware that will enable the work of the new system. Additionally, the nurse will be responsible for transferring the existing documentation, such as patient data and other records to the new system. This will require an understanding of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other relevant legislation that outline the process of collecting and using patient data (“Health information privacy law and policy,” 2018). Finally, the nurse leader will be responsible for helping other nurses adjust to the new system, facilitating training sessions in cooperation with software vendors or developers.
Post-Implementation Support
The nurse-leader will be responsible for the documentation system maintenance, meaning that the candidate will monitor the workflow and ensure that the implemented system suits the requirements of the daily work. Additionally, this nurse will help resolve issues connected to the system, such as possible issues with the system’s work. Finally, the nurse leader will oversee system updates and their successful installation. In general, the nurse leader will be working on the SDCL process when implementing the new documentation software.
References
Health information privacy law and policy. (2018).
Nursing informatics specialist job description & career outlook. (n.d.). Web.
Rouse, M. (2019). System development life cycle (SDLC).