Nursing Informatics module 1.2

Skills in information management and IT will be vital for graduate level nurses in the future. I will be graduating as a clinical nurse leader in two years. One major focus of a clinical nurse leader, as defined by the AACN, is to improve patient outcomes in a variety of care settings, and for a variety of patient populations. In order to manage these outcomes, it will be important to gather all of the information available about each patient. Clinical nurse leaders (and APRNs and DNPs) will have to deal with huge amounts of information in order to make appropriate decisions regarding a patient's care. Curran (2003) states that "with an increased understanding of informatics, an individual gains knowledge concerning the possibilities and limitations of sysematically processing data, information, and knowledge, and concerning the consequent impact on quality decision making" (321). We will be better able to gather information, and process it, for our patients' ultimate benefit.