NURS-6051C Module 1: Week 1: Discussion

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

The scenario I will focus on is monitoring seclusion events for behavioral health patients in an adult inpatient behavioral health unit.  Trending this data and formulating future de-escalation techniques could be used to educate the team and decrease the need for seclusion. Every effort should lead to improving responses and using the least restrictive methods possible. According to the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (n.d.), managing behavioral emergencies is based on an accurate assessment of the patient’s mood and affect, utilizing an accepted violence risk assessment tool, educating staff of de-escalation techniques, understanding the patient’s values or beliefs, decreasing triggers, and proper medication management. Nursing informatics combines information with the use of technology. This application combines nursing, science, and computers to create information processes to improve health care and manage systems (Staggers & Thompson, 2022). Such systems would be beneficial in improving employee education programs, de-escalation procedures, patient presentations, and unit responses to seclusion occurrences.

Data to be used

Electronic health records: Gather information on the patient, what led to the seclusion occurrences, and staff charting leading up to the seclusion, during, and after.

Electronic medication administration: Get a clear picture of the medications given, declined, and those offered per the orders.

Incident Reports: Analyze all incident reports that include a seclusion event.

Risk Assessment Tools: Compile data on how the patient scored on the facility’s chosen violence risk assessment leading up to the seclusion event, during, and after.

Safety Committee: Use feedback from the unit safety committee in response to each seclusion briefing. What went right? What could be improved?

Surveys: Compile data from employee safety surveys and patient satisfaction surveys to detail the concerns and opinions of the populations affected.

How is data collected and assessed

Data from the above sources will be analyzed to understand what leads to a seclusion event. This will focus on the outcomes when the protocols are followed versus when they are not, including whether the de-escalation and violence risk assessment was an effective tool for the seclusion events. The data will take a closer look at staff responses and medication management in these events. Informatics improves patients’ quality of care and supports evidence-based decisions and advancements in nursing practice (Al Najjar & Shafie, 2022).

Use of information

The information will be communicated to nurse leaders to improve de-escalation, medication management, and patient outcomes. The behavioral health committee will use the data to create a nursing huddle to discuss every seclusion event. This way, even staff uninvolved in the seclusion event could learn from it. The unit will ultimately add education based on clinical findings and evidence-based practice to improve the quality of care in the unit. The goal is to decrease seclusion events, increase staff safety, and improve patient satisfaction.

References

American Psychiatric Nurses Association. (n.d.). Standards of practice: Seclusion and restraint. Retrieved February 24, 2025, from https://www.apna.org/standards-of-practice-seclusion-and-restraint/?form=MG0AV3#StandardsofCareLinks to an external site.

Rami Ibrahim Al Najjar, & Zainab Mohd Shafie. (2022). Impact of Nursing Informatics on the Quality of Patient Care. International Journal of Medical Science and Clinical Research Studies, 2(5), 418–421. https://doi.org/10.47191/ijmscrs/v2-i5-19Links to an external site.

Staggers, N., & Thompson, C. B. (2002). The evolution of definitions for nursing informatics: a critical analysis and revised definition. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association: JAMIA, 9(3), 255–261. https://doi.org/10.1197/jamia.m0946

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