"I went into nursing to care for patients, not computers."

Nursing is the science of caring. When I first had the interest to be a nurse, my interest was in helping other people. The use of technological solutions was not a core focus for me to pursue my nursing education and preparation. 

When electronic health records (EHRs) began to enter into the nursing care practice, we as nurses started to see a shift in how visible technology was in care delivery. Charting went from paper based records to electronic based records. 

However, technology has always been a part of care delivery. 

Consider the stethoscope. Is that a technology? 

What about the blood pressure cuff or the oxygen saturation monitor? 

Technology has always been a part of nursing care delivery. However, how we use technology and to what extent has increased tremendously over the last two decades. 

To help support the integration of technology into nursing care, we have nurses who specialize in the use of technology. The nursing specialization is called nursing informatics. 

Not every nurse who is working in an informatics nursing role will have "informatics nursing" in the title which can be confusing to know who to go to at times. 

In my 20+ years in this field, I continue to hear, "What is nursing informatics?" from nurses of all experience levels. 

If you can relate, you may be interested in our program, "Demystifying Nursing Informatics". 

In 90 minutes, you will have many of the common myths and misconceptions answered while also gaining insight on how to get started in this specialty field as well. 

You can learn more about the program here. Upon completion you will receive 1.5 contact hours to add to your continuing education nursing portfolio. 

Informatics is a central part of nursing today and every nurse can benefit from knowing how to get involved for today and the future. 

~ Dr. Kelley