The Application of Data to Problem-Solving
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.
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.
Resources
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCES
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.
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.
*Note: Throughout this program, your fellow students are referred to as colleagues.
Solution
Hospital acquired infections (HAI’s) can significantly affect many aspects of healthcare, including the clinical impact of the patient and the operational impact of the hospital’s finances and reputation. As an Infection Control Practitioner, I do surveillance on HAIs daily. My focus for this discussion will be on Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI’s). Some of the data that we use for surveilling the amount of HAI’s associated with CAUTI’s are if the patient is noted to have a Foley catheter, documentation of consistent and timely catheter care, how long has the patient had the catheter and was it placed at our facility, urinary tract symptoms with presence of a fever > 100.3 F, and laboratory urine culture results. “As stated by McGonigle and Mastrian (2022), ‘the integrity and quality of the data, rather than the form, are what matter’ (p.22).” Sweeney (2017) tell us “gaps are present between the technology and the process. Informatics can help bridge the gap.”
This data is collected within the electronic medical record (EMR) which is SCM and another electronic surveillance system we use known as Midas. The information regarding the Foley catheter insertion, catheter care, symptoms, and vital signs are placed in the system by the clinical nurses on the unit. One barrier we run into often is incorrect data input. We are currently in the process of switching our computer system to EPIC, which will have safeguards in place and user interfaces that help people enter the data correctly. “The data that are processed into information must be of high quality and integrity to create meaning to inform assessments and decision-making” (McGonigle and Mastrian, 2022, p.22). EPIC will also provide the ability for information such as vital signs to be transferred directly into the EMR. “New knowledge will be automatically integrated and embedded into electronic patient records” (Nagle et al., 2017). Laboratory urine culture results can be accessed through Midas. This data will tell us if the patient has a multidrug resistant organism (MDRO) and needs to be placed on contact isolation.
The information of knowledge can be used to help reduce the transmission of this MDRO to staff and other patients. Knowing the organism and its sensitivity to antibiotics will allow us to make a clinical judgement on good antimicrobial stewardship. As in infection control practitioner and surveilling CAUTI’s, I analyze the information and put it to clinical use by looking at opportunities that we missed and learn how to avoid them in the future.
References
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2022). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Nagle, L., Sermeus, W., & Junger, A. (2017). Evolving Role of the Nursing Informatics SpecialistLinks to an external site.Links to an external site.. In J. Murphy, W. Goosen, & P. Weber (Eds.), Forecasting Competencies for Nurses in the Future of Connected Health (212-221). Clifton, VA: IMIA and IOS Press. Retrieved from https://serval.unil.ch/resource/serval:BIB_4A0FEA56B8CB.P001/REFLinks to an external site.
Sweeney, J. (2017). Healthcare informaticsLinks to an external site.Links to an external site.. Online Journal of Nursing Informatics, 21(1).
