Running head: Informatics Committee Meeting

Informatics Committee Meeting

Valerie Wallace

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

INFORMATICS COMMITTEE MEETING 2

Informatics Committee Meeting

Every other month, the nursing informatics committee of St. Marys holds a meeting for

its members. Under the professional practice council, the nursing informatics committee aims to

resolve problems, irritations, or install improvements in Connect Care. This specialized role is

more focused than it has been over previous years, as was discussed during the meeting held on

April 11th. The nursing informatics committee used to hold the additional purpose of training

staff in the world of Connect Care; however, Connect Care has now been in place for over five

years, and for those that are not already comfortable with the documentation systems there is

now a 24/7 Connect Care hotline for reaching staff that can answer Connect Care questions. So,

the primary purpose of the informatics committees April 11th meeting was to refine and redefine

the groups mission to improve Connect Care for end users. As the charter for this committee

was under revision, there was much discussion concerning the credentialing required for the

committee members. Previously, many of the members had to be a credentialed trainer for

Connect Care, a title that is only earned when many requirements are kept us to date. As it is,

many of the members currently have let their credentialed trainer title expire. Below the

credentialed trainer position is the role of super user; it was then discussed whether or not the

super user title should be mandated for committee membership. Regardless of titles, all members

preset agreed that all of the departments within the hospital needed to be represented in the

committee. During the meeting, past successes, such as the requirement for patient and

medication labels to be scanned in the MAR, were recognized; this recognition lead the group to

brainstorm strategies for achieving future successes within the hospital.

Application of Course Material

The organization of St. Marys relies on a departmentalization model. Governing is

separated between different entities in the hospital, such as surgical services, medical surgical
INFORMATICS COMMITTEE MEETING 3

services, mother and children services, and critical care, in addition to others. While the hospital

may be broken up into these different compartments, the hospital is still a unified whole that

relies on the cooperation and interconnection of all of the varying care services. This principal is

demonstrated in shared governance committees, such as the informatics committee. Shared

governance allows for decisions to be made at a lower level than upper management (Mikelaitis,

2016). The informatics committee consists of nurses that represent all of the different

departments within the hospital; despite their different backgrounds, all of these nurses work

together on this board to find Connect Care solutions for the entire hospital.
Laws and regulatory agencies have improved healthcare, ensuring that minimum

standards are met. One potential source of healthcare threats comes in the form of medication

errors. The Joint Commission has stated patient safety goals to improve healthcare safety in

hospitals; the goals related to medication errors include use medicine safely and identify

patients correctly (2016). The informatics committee identified medication errors as a top

priority problem that needed mending; it was discussed that the informatics committee met this

challenge several years ago by working with pharmacists and the Connect Care team to require

patient armbands and medications to be scanned prior to administration. By working to reduce

medication errors, the informatics committee improved patient safety within St. Marys hospital,

aligning their mission with that of the Joint Commission.

Striving to improve patient safety and iron out wrinkles in patient documentation, the

informatics committee strives to improve the quality of care at St. Marys hospital. The members

of the informatics committee serve as liaisons between end users and those in control of Connect

Care. In this middleman role, the members of the informatics committee receive suggestions and

complaints from staff about Connect Care, which in turn the informatics committee uses to

formulate improvements, such as the implementation of the patient and medication barcode scan
INFORMATICS COMMITTEE MEETING 4

rule. By constantly seeking ways to improve, the informatics committee implements regular

quality improvement efforts.

Application to Profession of Nursing
As a part of shared governance, professional nursing meetings can benefit hospitals and

the profession of nursing as a whole. Professional nursing meetings are compromised of mostly

front-end staff, the workers who directly face the challenges of patient care, and thus the people

most likely to see areas needing improvement. The unique perspective nurses offer to these

meetings allows for improvements that can benefit the entire hospital, including improved

patient care and improved collaboration between members of the healthcare team. Torres et al.

examined a rehabilitative committee consisting of registered nurses, nurse aids, occupational

therapists, physical therapists, and speech therapists that worked with stroke patients; the results

that came out of this collaborative committee were improved staff communication, satisfaction,

critical thinking, and improved patient results (2015). As more nurses have their voices heard,

and thus affect policies, the profession of nursing is strengthened. As nurses elicit improvements

by installing policy changes, the profession of nursing gains more depth, potential, and respect.

Professional nursing meetings provide an outlet for nurses to make significant, lasting impacts on

facilities and the profession alike.

Reflection
Observing a group of dedicated, passionate nurses seeking routes for improvement was

inspiring. I found it impressive that the members of the informatics committee were all well

entrenched in the hospital; from front-end staff complaints, to the history of the organization, to

the procedural structure of the facility, the knowledge among these ladies was immense. Clearly,

they were all so invested in St. Marys hospital and to the mission to improve it. My attendance

at the informatics committee meeting helped me to realize the potential strength in my voice as a
INFORMATICS COMMITTEE MEETING 5

professional nurse. Whether I join a committee or simply lodge a complaint, my voice will be

heard. I now expect to see myself actively seeking ways to improve the facilities within which I

work as I enter the workforce of professional nursing.

References

Mikelaites, C. (2016). Module I: Business of healthcare: Organizational structure, process and

effectiveness [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from

https://bsmcon.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?

course_id=_2444_1&content_id=_104594_1
INFORMATICS COMMITTEE MEETING 6

The Joint Commission (2016). Hospital national patient safety goals. Retrieved from

http://www.jointcommission.org/

Torres, A., Kunishige, N., Morimoto, D., Hanzawa, T., Ebesu, M., Fernandez, J., . . . Borg, S.

(2015). Shared governance: A way to improve the care in an inpatient rehabilitation

facility. Rehabilitation Nursing, 40(2), 69-73. doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/rnj.143