Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker

Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment

Name:

Institution:

CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE WORKER

‘Knowledge worker’ introduced by Peter Drucker in 1959.

Are highly skilled and knowledgeable professions.

Right complement of knowledge, experience and skills.

‘Knowledge worker’ is a term that was first coined by Peter Drucker in 1959 to refer to highly skilled persons who require specialized knowledge to fulfil their professional responsibilities. This was in response to the increasing specialization and awareness that certain professional roles required specific skills. This implies that knowledge workers must have the right complement of knowledge, experience and skills that differentiates them from other professions and makes them the best persons to complete the tasks unique to them (Drucker, 1959). Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment. For instance, nurses are knowledge workers since they are high level professionals who acquire theoretical and analytical knowledge from formal training, and apply that knowledge to offer nursing services and develop medical products, with other professions incapable of competing with nurses in…

Assignment: The Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker

The term “knowledge worker” was first coined by management consultant and author Peter Drucker in his book, The Landmarks of Tomorrow (1959). Drucker defined knowledge workers as high-level workers who apply theoretical and analytical knowledge, acquired through formal training, to develop products and services. Does this sound familiar?

Nurses are very much knowledge workers. What has changed since Drucker’s time are the ways that knowledge can be acquired. The volume of data that can now be generated and the tools used to access this data have evolved significantly in recent years and helped healthcare professionals (among many others) to assume the role of knowledge worker in new and powerful ways. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment.

In this Assignment, you will consider the evolving role of the nurse leader and how this evolution has led nurse leaders to assume the role of knowledge worker. You will prepare a PowerPoint presentation with an infographic (graphic that visually represents information, data, or knowledge. Infographics are intended to present information quickly and clearly.) to educate others on the role of nurse as knowledge worker.

Reference: Drucker, P. (1959). The landmarks of tomorrow. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

To Prepare:

Review the concepts of informatics as presented in the Resources.
Reflect on the role of a nurse leader as a knowledge worker.
Consider how knowledge may be informed by data that is collected/accessed.

The Assignment:

Explain the concept of a knowledge worker.
Define and explain nursing informatics and highlight the role of a nurse leader as a knowledge worker.
Develop a simple infographic to help explain these concepts. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignmentNOTE: For guidance on infographics, including how to create one in PowerPoint, see “How to Make an Infographic in PowerPoint” presented in the Resources.
Your PowerPoint should Include the hypothetical scenario you originally shared in the Discussion Forum. Include your examination of the data that you could use, how the data might be accessed/collected, and what knowledge might be derived from that data. Be sure to incorporate feedback received from your colleagues’ responses. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment

How to make infographics PowerPoint website

https://24slides.com/presentbetter/how-make-infographic-powerpoint/

Our inpatient psychiatric unit has identified the existence of a high rate of medication administration errors. The errors include the giving of wrong dosages to several patients leading to complications. The error has led to an increase in patient mortality rate and a reduction in the quality of patient experiences. Nursing informatics can be applied to determine the main source of this problem. Recently, my institution has measures put in place to ensure the safety of our patient. We recently transition from paper documentation to Electronic medical records (EMR) documentation. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment.

Our IT department has recently installed desktop computers in each medication room, each computer has a scanner used to scan patient wristbands before administering medication. We currently use the MEDITECH EMR in our psychiatric hospital. During admission each patient is given a wristband with a barcode on it. In addition to using the barcode scanner, our staff are trained to use the five rights of medication administration. These measures put in place has significantly reduced medication errors in our facility. Barcode medication administration (BCMA) is recommended for the prevention of MAEs because it allows nurses to verify the five rights of medication administration (i.e., patient, drug, time, route, and dose). Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment. Observational studies on BCMA technology reported a decrease in the incidence of MAEs, the implementation of a BCMA system for patients with serious psychiatric issues was associated with an 90% relative reduction of MAEs. Aside administering medication, our facility uses MEDTECH software to collect other data such as patient lab work, vital signs and, documentation of patient assessment during and at the end of each shift.

Below is a scenario in my week 1 discussion post showing the application of nursing informatics to improve clinical reasoning and judgment in nursing

Paper documentation has posed serious health consequences on the life of patient in most psychiatric facilities. A patient was once given the wrong medication meant for another patient during the paper documentation process, but luckily for that patient just about the time of discharge, the nurse decided to take a look at the medication when providing medication teaching to the patient. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment. If the nurse had not taken a look at the medication it could have pose a serious health problem for the patient. Additionally, the error could have led to legal proceedings for the facility. Since the implementation of the MEDITECH software, these errors have greatly reduced.

The implementation of EMR have promoted patient safety in the healthcare industry. The ANA and other healthcare organizations are encouraging hospitals and other healthcare facilities to implement EHR. Reimbursement agencies like Center for Medicaid and Medicare are giving incentives to healthcare facilities that use EHR for documentation and clinical procedures. The use of nursing informatics has enabled healthcare institutions to collect patient data and input it in software making it possible for the healthcare team to view these data electronically, these helps the team to collectively make informed decision regarding the patients, thus promoting patient involvement in their care. With EMR patient are able to view their electronic health records and make informed decisions about their care. These promote compliance and autonomy. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment. Additionally, the use of EHR records in healthcare institutions have proven to reduce medication error, thus promoting patient safety, provide quality care and safety outcomes. (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017).

References

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLUygA8Hpfo

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Health Informatics and Population Health: Trends in Population Health [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment.

Lin J, Lin K, Jiang W, & Lee T. (2007). An exploration of nursing informatics competency and satisfaction related to network education. Journal of Nursing Research (Taiwan Nurses Association), 15(1), 54–66. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=106105042&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Sweeney, J. (2017). Healthcare informatics. Online Journal of Nursing Informatics, 21(1).

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge. (4^th ed.) Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Kelly, S. (2016). The patient misidentification crisis. Health Management Technology, 12-13.

Hoffmeister, L., & Schebella, G. (2014). Use of identification wristbands among patients receiving inpatients treatment in a teaching hospital. Rev Lat Emfermagen, 23 (1), 36-43. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Health Informatics and Population Health: Trends in Population Health (Video file). Baltimore, MD: Author.

Name:

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

Institution:

CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE WORKER

‘Knowledge worker’ introduced by Peter Drucker in 1959.

Are highly skilled and knowledgeable professions.

Right complement of knowledge, experience and skills.

‘Knowledge worker’ is a term that was first coined by Peter Drucker in 1959 to refer to highly skilled persons who require specialized knowledge to fulfil their professional responsibilities. This was in response to the increasing specialization and awareness that certain professional roles required specific skills. This implies that knowledge workers must have the right complement of knowledge, experience and skills that differentiates them from other professions and makes them the best persons to complete the tasks unique to them (Drucker, 1959). For instance, nurses are knowledge workers since they are high level professionals who acquire theoretical and analytical knowledge from formal training, and apply that knowledge to offer nursing services and develop medical products, with other professions incapable of competing with nurses in completing the full complement of nursing tasks.

CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE WORKER cont’d

Knowledge workers are all professions requiring formal training.

Are policed through routine checks by professional bodies.

Knowledge and skills authenticated through certification.

Practice errors can have catastrophic consequences.

Rely on thoughts and intellectual abilities.

Perform complex tasks.

Receive higher compensations.

The term knowledge worker is applicable to all professions that require formal training to transmit a specialized complement of knowledge and skills that are authenticated through certification. In fact, it is not uncommon for knowledge workers to be policed by professional bodies that routinely authenticate their competence to practice and issue finitely timed practice licenses since any errors in work performance could have catastrophic implications. The policing is particularly targeted at incompetent professionals who are weeded out (Yoder-Wise, 2013). For instance, state nursing boards routinely verify the certification and capacity to practice of all nurses before allowing them to practice since any errors in the performance of professional nursing tasks could be fatal for patients and even the nurses or other stakeholders. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment. Through the routine checks, the nursing boards can identify incompetent nurses who would then be denied practice licenses and stopped from endangering their lives and the lives of others. Another unique feature of knowledge workers is the reliance on thoughts and intellectual abilities that allow them to address complex tasks within their practice areas. Also, knowledge workers typically receive higher compensations that reflect the complex nature of their work and their relative independence within the work process (Drucker, 1959). Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment.

NURSE LEADER AS KNOWLEDGE WORKER

Nurses are knowledge workers.

It is a specialized profession

Applies high level skills and knowledge acquired through formal training

Perform complex professional tasks

Adhere to professional practice standards

Enjoy a high level of independence and autonomy with minimal supervision

Policed by nursing boards

Receive high salaries

The term knowledge worker appropriately identifies nurse personnel. That is because this is a specialized profession that applies high level skills and knowledge acquired through formal training. The professional tasks that nurses complete involve the application of the knowledge and skills they acquired to address the health care needs of their patients. Also, they are required to adhere to professional practice standards, enjoy a high level of independence and autonomy with minimal supervision, are policed by nursing boards, and receive high salaries that reflect the complexity of their professional tasks (Drucker, 1959; Yoder-Wise, 2013). Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment

NURSE LEADER AS KNOWLEDGE WORKER CONT’D.

Nursing is reinforced by emerging technologies

Acquire technical skills

uTechnology improved information management capacity and clinical knowledge

uIntegrated knowledge management

uInnovative thought processes

uExtend traditional boundaries of professional nursing practice

uEmbrace transformative possibilities and redesign nursing processes

Nurses identity as knowledge workers is reinforced by the emergence of technologies requiring them to acquire technical skills to improve health care outcomes. These emerging technologies have improved the information management capacity and clinical knowledge of nurses, allowing them to generate new understandings about the nursing profession (Nagle, Sermeus & Junger, 2017). This is especially seen in information technologies that are leveraged with other tools and technologies to present electronic health records that has transformed nursing practice, especially medical information management to conform with HIPAA requirements. It is also seen in integrated knowledge management where innovative thought processes are encouraged to expand nursing and solve existing and anticipated practice problem. As knowledge workers, nurses are boldly extending the traditional boundaries of their professional practice even as they embrace transformative possibilities and redesign nursing processes (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment

uNURSE LEADER AS KNOWLEDGE WORKER CONT’D.

uNurses rely on thoughts and intellectual abilities to address complex tasks

uUse informatics to manage information and large data

uApply technical computer skills

Nurses reliance on thoughts and intellectual abilities to address complex tasks within their practice areas is seen in their increasing focus on improving health care through reducing costs, increasing quality and improving access (Lin et al., 2007). This highlights the position that informatics plays as an increasingly important branch of nursing. In this case, informatics requires that nurses acquire and apply technical skills that focus on the use of computers to help in making sense of large data. Also, it allows nurses to match technologies to nursing care units and service lines to allow for efficient and effective health care. For that matter, informatics allows nurses to act as knowledge workers through conceptualizing and managing data to guide the delivery of nursing care that improves the odds for a positive outcome. The implication is that nurses are supported by information technologies that collect and make sense of large data, requiring them to apply specialized skills to identify reliable methods for analyzing the data and presenting logical conclusions that inform practice. Informatics is a reasonable progression that highlights the identity of nurses as knowledge workers (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017).

uNURSE LEADER AS KNOWLEDGE WORKER CONT’D.

Four informatics skills highlight the identity of nurses as knowledge workers. The four skills are data gathering, information use, knowledge use, and knowledge building. The first skill is data gathering that involves collecting and summarizing information that is relevant to nursing care, such as outcomes reported for different nursing interventions. The second skill is information use that interprets the collected data to gain insight into their implications for nursing practice and relevance to other health care stakeholders. The third skill is knowledge use that correlates the information to other information (literature) to aggregate information and identify trends that inform professional nursing practice. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment. The final skill is knowledge building that turns the collected information into meaningful practice that could include changes in practice standards and policies (Bowerman & van Wart, 2015).

uNURSE LEADER AS KNOWLEDGE WORKER CONT’D.

The position of nurses as knowledge workers requires that they display combination of four characteristics. Firstly, they should display the theoretical and practical knowledge and skills that acquired from formal nursing education. The formal training is conducted in an environment that allows them to acquire information even as their skill and knowledge levels are tested to ensure that only competent learners graduate and are able to practice. Secondly, they should display information management capacity that includes accessing and applying information from large databases with a focus in pointing out key information. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment. This characteristic requires nurses to apply relevant judgement and analytical reasoning to condense important information. Thirdly, they should display communication skills that allows them to transmit and receive information from other health care stakeholders. This includes speaking, writing, reading and discussing. Fourthly, they should be motivated to remain relevant through continuously improving their professional skills and knowledge, accepting challenges, being innovative, and preserving the spirit of enquiry (Finkelman, 2016).

uSCENARIO: MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION ERROR

uMedication administration errors occurs among 56% of nurses.

uPresented as:

uDocumentation errors

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

uTechnique errors

uTime errors

uCaused by

uNurse proficiency

uInterruptions at time of administration

uPatients’ age

uAddressed through

uImproving medication administration proficiency

uLeveraging technology in informatics

The scenario discusses medication administration errors are a concern among nurse personnel. In fact, approximately 56% of nurses reported such errors in patient encounters. The errors are presented as documentation, technique and time errors. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment. The variables associated with the errors are nurse proficiency (working experience, skill levels and education level), interruptions at time of administration, and the patients’ age (Feleke, Mulatu & Yesmaw, 2015). The position of nurses as knowledge workers offers them an opportunity to address the errors, through improving proficiency in medication administration and leveraging technology through informatics. Improving proficiency ensures that nurses are competent enough to administer medication without making errors (Lin et al., 2007). Informatics allows nurses to identify the sources of errors and implement deliberate strategies to address this errors without the practice standards and protocols (Nagle, Sermeus & Junger, 2017). Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment.

uReferences

uBowerman, K. & van Wart, M. (2015). The business of leadership: an introduction. New York, NY: Routledge.

uDrucker, P. (1959). The landmarks of tomorrow. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

uFinkelman, A. (2016). Leadership and management for nurses: core competencies for quality care (3rd ed.). London: Pearson Education.

uLin, J., Lin, K., Jiang, W. & Lee, T. (2007). An exploration of nursing informatics competency and satisfaction related to network education. Journal of Nursing Research, 15(1), 54-65.

uMcGonugle, D. & Mastrian, K. (2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment

uNagle, L., Sermeus, W. & Junger, A. (2017). Evolving role of the nursing informatics specialist. Forecasting Informatics Competencies for Nurses in the Future of Connected Health, 212-221. doi:10.3233/978-1-61499-738-2-212

uYoder-Wise, P. (2013). Leading and managing in nursing (5th ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier Health Sciences. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment