Happy Sunday!

Before writing these posts, I reflect on areas were I've had interactions related to informatics in my day to day life that catch my attention. 

You may have noticed that I titled this reflection Genetics & Informatics. This is an areas we discuss during the Nursing Informatics Certification Exam Review (NICER) Program and it typically comes with some questions. How is genetics related to informatics? 

Well, I have experienced this myself through professional informatics consulting with a large genetics company, and also personally, with my own health visits. 

The professional informatics consulting involved working with a clinical information system to support the design and testing of their product before deployed to clients. The product provided cancer screening tools for genetic counselors to use when working with referred patients to determine their cancer risk. I worked to test the software in the same way that I would for any other clinical...

Just a few weeks ago, I remember hearing of ChatGPT across several industries and thought leaders. Similar to other anticipated tech trends, ChatGPT began to bring discussions of promise and risk. As with any new technology, there will be benefits and disadvantages (e.g., often referred to as unintended consequences). 

As I heard this term used over and over again, I wanted to find out what it was and why it was gaining so much attention almost immediately after being introduced. 

ChatGPT is a new artificial intelligence (AI) technology that initially launched by OpenAI at the end of November 2022. The GPT in ChatGPT stands for, "generative pre-trained transformer". 

Yet, how exactly does it work? Well, the best way to explore this new technology is to test it out for yourself. You can sign up for an account here for free and try for yourself: https://chat.openai.com/. 

I signed up for an account and am also attending a workshop in a few weeks to better...

Here we are in February already, can you believe it?

I am writing this today on what is the coldest day of the year in Boston. It was bound to get cold up here in the Northeast. We've had a relatively mild winter but without fail, those chilly temps find their way to us. 

Well, I entitled this post, Demystifying Nursing Informatics for a reason. 

In my nearly 20 years within the speciality practice of Nursing Informatics, I continue to get asked by nurses (and non-nurses), "what exactly IS nursing informatics?

In fact one time, I was traveling to Duke University where I was teaching the Intro course to Nursing Informatics. I was trying to get to my hotel and there was a roadblock. I told the person that I was there to teach nursing informatics and his response was, "Info-what?!".

I laughed (and have never forgotten :)). 

Well, for some time now, I have wanted to develop a program to help demystify this specialty practice that has brought me so many exciting...

Happy New Year!

Well, another year is upon us... 2023 here we go!
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As you set your intentions and goals for the new year, aim high. Even if it seems like it might be a 'reach', reach for it. You may be surprised at what you can do and work toward in a year.
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If you are interested in informatics but do not know where to start, consider our newest program, How to Influence Change in the EHR and/or health IT systems.
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If you are interested in exploring new career opportunities, it may be time for a resume revamp. Highlight your achievements and areas where you may not have realized can be highlighted through our Revamp your Resume program.
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We also know many of you are interested in board certification in informatics. Our NICER program has a first time pass rate of over 90% on the first try with informatics nurses from across the country having participated.
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We have more on our end coming to you soon working to bring you more to support your educational and business needs.
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Best wishes to...

Wishing each of you a happy holiday season! 

As 2022 nearly comes to an end, it is natural to think about the future while also reflecting on the accomplishments of the past year. 

At iCare, we saw so many of you reach your goals and share your successes with us! Those are exciting moments for us and we appreciate you sharing your accomplishments with us!

We also heard from you of areas where you'd like to see more from us in the year to come and beyond. (More to come in 2023...)

We upgraded our website and moved to a new platform for more ease of use and the opportunity to expand our offerings in a more seamless way. 

We also added on some new programs with one more coming *hopefully* before the end of 2022!

Revamp your Resume was added to support your professional  resume development. We often hear from nurses who are not in formal informatics roles but wish to do so, how they can showcase their informatics and health IT expertise. While this program was...

Hello all, 

I hope that everyone had a nice thanksgiving holiday. Perhaps you were able to get some rest, have some time with friends and family, and maybe even a little shopping and decorating along the way in preparation for the holidays. 

We shared an email on Wednesday with details about our sales through Wednesday November 30th this week and wanted to give another reminder. 

For the first time, we are offering our Nursing Informatics Certification Exam Review (NICER) Program at 25% off, saving approximately $100 off of the program. (We have not increased the price of the NICER Program in 6 years). The NICER Program is now virtual and on-demand with access for as long as you need until you pass the exam. Our exam pass rates are at or above 90% on the first try! The NICER Program comes with an abundance of resources, videos, and test questions along with a study guide. 

We have also recently added two new programs that are designed to help support professional...

Good afternoon all, 

On this eve of Thanksgiving, I wanted to write and wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving holiday.

The last few years have been so challenging in many ways. This may be the first holiday since 2019 where you are able to see some of your family, friends, and/or colleagues. 

As nurses and healthcare professionals, caring for others is part of our nature and how we were educated. Yet, it is just as important to care for and invest in yourself. This is something I try to work on each day. 

I am looking forward to a quiet and restful day with family tomorrow. I hope that you all have a day tomorrow that you are looking forward to as well. 

Be well and Happy Thanksgiving, 

~ Tiffany

Can you believe that we are less than two months away from a new year? The 2022 year has gone by fast. Something that always comes to mind toward the end of a year is closing out the current year and planning for the next. 

As we head toward closing out the 2022 year, it is important to reflect on what you have accomplished in your professional career. 

Perhaps you were asked to serve on a new health IT, quality and safety, or informatics council. 

Perhaps you were asked to give a presentation on behalf of your colleagues for a project that helped support care delivery. 

Perhaps you took on a new role, received an award, or earned a new certification. 

Whatever you may have achieved, now is the time to ensure it has been added to your resume. In fact, I encourage you to consider establishing a cycle at least once, preferably twice, per year where you revamp your resume!

I often hear from nurses who are either looking for ways to stand out in their resume or...

During the summer of 2014, I finally committed to taking the informatics nurse board certification exam. 

I did not know how to approach studying for it nor how it would go but I was tired of putting it off and knew if I did not do it soon, it would continue to get put off. 

While I had my PhD in nursing informatics from Duke, I knew that I was still missing that third party validation of my knowledge that could be assessed by clients, customers, and colleagues. I did not want there to be any question that my knowledge, experience, expertise, and approaches to health IT projects and practice  was comprehensive, thorough, and valuable to others. 

Unfortunately, there have been many times where I have been asked, "what is informatics?" and "what do informatics nurses do?". Those are times when I reflect on their questions and recognize that more clarity is needed to our roles and capabilities. 

One way to demonstrate your capabilities, expertise, and...

I recently read, Devices and Desires: Gender, Technology, and American Nursing by Margarete Sandelowski PhD RN FAAN. I did not know what I would learn while reading but was intrigued by the possibility of uncovering more about nursing and technology in care delivery. I was also delighted to know such a book was available on this topic. 

Without giving anything away, the book offers many insights that continue to perpetuate in today's healthcare delivery systems. Nurses continue to be the most involved caregiver with patients. Nurses also continue interact with technological hardware and software tools more frequently than their healthcare professional peers. We continue to struggle with finding the right balance between human care and technological tools to support such care. Nurses also continue to advance the profession through their own day to day advocacy for those whom they care whether 100 years ago or today. 

One of the sentences that really caught my...