6051 week 1 Discussion Paper

In the modern era, there are few professions that do not to some extent rely on data. Stockbrokers rely on market data to advise clients on financial matters. Meteorologists rely on weather data to forecast weather conditions, while realtors rely on data to advise on the purchase and sale of property. In these and other cases, data not only helps solve problems, but adds to the practitioner’s and the discipline’s body of knowledge.6051 week 1 Discussion Paper

Of course, the nursing profession also relies heavily on data. The field of nursing informatics aims to make sure nurses have access to the appropriate date to solve healthcare problems, make decisions in the interest of patients, and add to knowledge.

In this Discussion, you will consider a scenario that would benefit from access to data and how such access could facilitate both problem-solving and knowledge formation.

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To Prepare:

• Reflect on the concepts of informatics and knowledge work as presented in the Resources.
• Consider a hypothetical scenario based on your own healthcare practice or organization that would require or benefit from the access/collection and application of data. Your scenario may involve a patient, staff, or management problem or gap.6051 week 1 Discussion Paper

By Day 3 of Week 1

Post a description of the focus of your scenario. Describe the data that could be used and how the data might be collected and accessed. What knowledge might be derived from that data? How would a nurse leader use clinical reasoning and judgment in the formation of knowledge from this experience?

By Day 6 of Week 1

Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days, asking questions to help clarify the scenario and application of data, or offering additional/alternative ideas for the application of nursing informatics principles.

Post a description of the focus of your scenario.

The case scenario involves the high incidence of hospital acquired infections in a medical facility. The facility notes that many of its patients are staying in the facility to address hospital acquired infections long after the initial health care concerns had been addressed. The scenario creates a need to understanding the specific departments in which hospital acquired infections occur, related medical activities, and how changes in clinical activities could influence the incidence rates.

Describe the data that could be used and how the data might be collected and accessed.

Developing an understanding of hospital acquired infection rates in a medical facility as well as how to effectively intervene requires the collection of data. In this case, there is a need to access the medical records to determine the specific proportion of patients who are diagnosed with hospital acquired infections, the incidence rates reported in each department, and the clinical activities associated with the different incidence rates. This data can be collected from the electronic health records (EHR) system. In addition, there is a need to collect data on incidences of hospital acquired infection in other medical facilities, interventions they have applied as well as the results of the interventions in terms of changes in hospital acquired infection incidence rates. Besides that, there is a need to evaluate current evidence from publications that report on hospital acquired infections and interventions applied in research activities (Ellis & Bach, 2015). 6051 week 1 Discussion Paper

What knowledge might be derived from that data?

The collected data can help in deriving knowledge on the incidences of hospital acquired infection in the facility to include the associated clinical activities and departments/units. For instance, the surgical unit could be associated with high incidences of infection with the issue linked to open surgeries conducted in the facility. This would help to show that surgeries increase risk of infection. In addition, the data would help in deriving knowledge about what other facilities are doing to address the issue of hospital acquired infections and the results of their interventions. For instance, it would help in comparing the performance of the medical facilities that use hand sanitizers against those that use handwashing with soap and water (Saba & McCormick, 2015). Besides that, it would help in identifying the interventions proposed and explored in research activities and their performance in addressing the issue. For instance, a research report can indicate how to apply a care bundle and how this would affect the infection rates. Also, it would help to explore the feasibility of the different interventions in terms of costs and changes in workflow processes, such as requiring the medical facility to train medical personnel on hand hygiene and purchase hand sanitizers that increase costs and negatively affect profitability. Overall, the acquired data helps in deriving knowledge on how the different interventions affect the infection rates (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018). 6051 week 1 Discussion Paper

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How would a nurse leader use clinical reasoning and judgment in the formation of knowledge from this experience?

In the present case scenario, a nurse leader will rely on clinical reasoning and judgement to form knowledge through deliberate actions. Firstly, there would be a need to collect data at the facility to identify trends and correlations. This is important for tracing the specific clinical activities that are associated with the changes in infection rates. Secondly, there would be a need to collect data from other facilities in order to understand how they are addressing the issue and how this is affecting the infection rates. This is important for identifying what may or may not work in terms of interventions. Thirdly, there would be a need to evaluate current evidence in terms of research conducted on the issue of hospital acquired infections and the performance of the interventions explored in the different researches. With this information it becomes easier to identify the more feasible and effective interventions against the infections, how each intervention should be applied at the facility, the expected costs, and opportunities for improvement (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018).

References (140)

Ellis, P., & Bach, S. (2015). Leadership, management and team working in nursing (2^nd ed.). SAGE Publications.

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2018). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4^th ed.). Jones and Bartlett Learning.

Saba, V., & McCormick, K. (2015). Essentials of nursing informatics (6^th ed.). McGraw-Hill. 6051 week 1 Discussion Paper