Relying on Data
The discussion assignment provides a forum for discussing relevant topics for this week on the basis of the
course competencies covered.
For this assignment, make sure you post your initial response to the Discussion Area by the due date
assigned.
To support your work, use your course and text readings and also use the South University Online Library. As
in all assignments, cite your sources in your work and provide references for the citations in APA format.Start reviewing and responding to the postings of your classmates as early in the week as possible. Respond to at least two of your classmates†initial postings. Participate in the discussion by asking a question,
providing a statement of clarification, providing a point of view with a rationale, challenging an aspect of the discussion, or indicating a relationship between two or more lines of reasoning in the discussion. Cite sources in your responses to other classmates. Complete your participation for this assignment by the end of
the week.
Tasks
In order for data to be reliable there are several conditions that need to be met—accurate, timely, and complete. Share an example of when you had to make a decision using data that were not accurate, timely,
or complete.
Please use this information below and rewrite using personal account presented in this paper.
Relying on data
I agree that informatics is used in practically every element of healthcare and nursing in general. Yes, we have progressed technologically over the years, and we continue to make technological advances when it comes to communicating between healthcare teams and systems. Nurses must have the technical skills to manage equipment and perform procedures. According to expert(McGonigle, & Mastrian, 2017), the interpersonal skills to interact appropriately with people and the cognitive abilities to observe, recognize, collect data, analyze and interpret data, and reach a reasonable conclusion form the basis of a decision. I agree with the author because when we fail to do so, sentinel events occur, and patient care is hampered, slowed, or stopped. The scenario mentioned earlier was precisely the case a few weeks ago when I returned to work after a brief absence. The patient’s orders had changed, and the nurse on duty neglected to submit the information to the patient’s electronic MAR.
He went to the doctor with the patient and received orders to begin a new seizure medication, titrate the present one for a month, and discontinue it. He attributed the new drug to the MAR but did not modify the current medicines as he was supposed to. If I hadn’t used my nursing judgment, this scenario would have been a disaster waiting to happen. As I prepared to provide the child’s routine medication, I saw the new med on the MAR. I also noticed the old drug was still at full strength, so I decided to phone mom and inquire about the prescription order. Then that mum informed me that he had multiple drug adjustments but no record of it on the medication profile. The data was available, but it had not been electronically endorsed. This gap in data entry was a crucial oversight because we, as the healthcare team provider, interact electronically and trace each nurse’s footprints in this manner.
The nurse neglected to pass on this information electronically, created a significant information barrier to safe care, and was the precursor to an incident report if this error was not discovered. In my career, I’ve experienced many close calls and have seen colleagues involved in medical errors because there was a break in communication. On the other hand, I’ve also seen them prevented because of meticulous documentation and the availability of necessary information. Today I learn from the mistakes of others and carefully apply checks and balances when it comes to documentation. I am entirely aware that a patient could be harmed or possibly die if accurate, timely, and vital information translation is not provided. Hence, communicating across computers and healthcare networks is the way to go for optimal patient care.
References
McGonigle,, D., & Mastrian. (2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.).
