response

The cross posts provide new or supplemental information to the original posting or raise additional areas for discussion. New or additional peer reviewed references should be cited in both cross posts.

Discussion cross posts should elaborate upon the ideas of others or content found in the readings/keynotes by adding details, examples, a different viewpoint, or other relevant information. The cross posts should provide original insights or responses which integrates multiple views. (Just saying ditto, I agree, or restating the original post is not considered elaboration.) There should be evaluation and feedback which assesses the accuracy, reasonableness, or quality of idea, and provides constructive feedback to classmates.
 
Be sure to use at least one reference. APA formatting, References should be timely, published within the previous 5 years.

Listed below is the discussion post you must respond to in 250-350 words max:

Background and Significance
            Nursing informatics is a critical skill set that is incorporated in the nursing profession. 
Information technology is being used to help the healthcare profession improve the standards of nursing. The improvements are allocated within the use of a software known as, “Cerner” that helps to ensure patient centered care is delivered. This also allows nurses to be more efficient and provide a detailed analysis of documentation. To be proficient it is vital to have this knowledge such as “ basic computer skills, information literacy and information management which are essential components of current nursing practice” (Foster, M., & Sethares,2017). Having an insight and competency in this expertise before starting a career as a new nurse is beneficial. Colleges are finding this to be essential and are incorporating it into the curriculum throughout nursing schools. In turn this will help to familiarize yourself with the software involved in patient documentations. However, there are still going to be challenges involved in informatics. 
Benefits of EHR in the Healthcare Field
 The electronic health record (EHR) has many benefits for patients and nurses. For patients, it allows them to have access to their own personal health record. This will allow patients to  electronically view their health records and lab results. Additionally, this will help with future doctor appointments because the EHR will have all their patient history stored.  For nurses “ the EHR allows for multiple members of the health care team to access, update, and share critical information to be used at the point of care without time delay” (Neumeier, 2016). This allows for flexibility for example, if a patient gets ill in another state while traveling they can still gain access to their information and show it to the physician. 
Opportunities in Healthcare
            There are various positions in informatics for healthcare professionals.  For example, “ the career has many opportunities such as clinical transformation, leadership, entrepreneurship, consultant, researcher, and educator” (Harmon, C. S., & Parker, C. D, 2017). I like all the different variations available because if you do not like a certain area then you may try another. One certainty is job employment  because technology is continuously growing and expanding. Most hospitals if not all have switched to electronic based records. 
Challenges Faced
 As in most careers there will be challenges to face. I personally think that one issue is that technology is always changing and advancing. With that said in informatics you will need to keep up to date with the software and training required. Another aspect is “nurses have many options to consider when contemplating formal education in informatics . Therefore, a nurse’s decision in selecting a formal education program can be challenging. ” However, having options to choose from can be a good situation to be in.

^PLEASE REMEMBER THIS IS AN RESPONSE TO THE DISCUSSION ABOVE^