Introduction
Professionals who are occupied in nursing need to work in different environments due to the development in this and other spheres. To provide their clients with high-quality services, professionals should be aware of various roles that are awaiting them as they become graduate nurses. Knowing a diverse range of their responsibilities, they will also be able to facilitate cooperative relationships.
Nursing Informatics
Nursing developed from different perspectives so that it became connected even with informatics. Nursing informatics is a specialty that is seen as “the science and practice (that) integrates nursing, its information, and knowledge, with the management of information and communication technologies to promote the health of people, families, and communities worldwide” (AMIA, 2017). Implementing practices from informatics, nurses receive an opportunity to maintain patient-centered care more efficiently.
Nurse informatics can be occupied in educational, research, consulting, and other activities. They support evidence-based practice and develop standards for data representation and communication, which facilitates the enhancement of data infrastructure. They also define how new knowledge can be used in practice. However, in the majority of cases, they tend to deal with information and communication technologies. Nurses ensure that they are appropriately used in healthcare facilities and address the workflow needs.
Nursing informatics can be very beneficial when in decision-making as they provide an opportunity to reach various databases in no time. It also allows them to maintain online meetings and group discussions as well as to write reports and share them among practitioners.
Differences as Compared with APN Specialties
However, nursing also developed in a range of advanced practice nursing (APN) specialties that were not previously considered separately as well. For example, professionals operate with the focus on adult-gerontology care, family nursing, women’s health, and mental health, etc. (MGH Institute of Health Professions, 2017). Thus, it can be claimed the fact that the evolution of nursing divided into two parts. The first one focused on the very development of nursing, which means that some improvements were made within the sphere (particular populations were separated so that they can obtain specific care, maintained by well-trained professionals). The second emerged due to the development in other spheres and their connections with nursing that were revealed over time (as benefits of using computers for healthcare-related services were proved, for instance). In this way, the evolution of specialties that come from a different direction from that of APN is mainly connected with the identification of how other disciplines can contribute to general nursing. APN specialties, in their turn, develop through the identification of specific elements of those specialties that currently exist.
Future Vision and Goals
Considering the emerging healthcare trends and needs, it can be expected that nursing will be tightly connected with the technological development in the future because it provides an opportunity to focus not only on the information exchange but also on the possibility to improve nursing services and streamline working processes. In addition to that, client diversity is likely to be emphasized, as it is a global trend in various spheres. Some initiatives will be implemented to serve a greater number of patients and make healthcare more affordable. APN specialties will focus on different clients and their needs because not all of them are met yet.
Conclusion
Thus, emerging healthcare trends and needs triggered the development of nursing specialties that did not exist previously. They are connected with APN practices and those maintained in other spheres, such as informatics or administration. However, the evolution of nursing is not likely to stop at this point because some improvements should be maintained in the future.
References
AMIA. (2017). Nursing informatics.
MGH Institute of Health Professions. (2017). Advanced practice nursing specialties descriptions. Web.