Using Information Gathering to Improve Nursing Practice Research Paper

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Nursing According to the Systems and Diffusion of Innovations Theories

The internet and the distribution of electronic health records have changed the way the we receive and use health information but as health professionals and as patients. Particularly, public access to electronic healthcare information denotes that healthcare professionals have an added responsibility where patient education is concerned. Helping to educate patients regarding both their specific conditions as well as how best to evaluate information located online is an important dimension of preventative healthcare. This, in turn, imposes a serious responsibility upon healthcare professionals to effectively acquaint themselves with the technologies and information delivery systems that are currently reshaping the field and profession. The discussion here, drawn from a collection of articles located both via Google Search and the CINAHL database, employs the Systems Theory and the Diffusion of Innovation Theory to assess the way that the nursing profession is changing.

Systems Theory and Healthcare Delivery:

The connection between healthcare delivery and the Systems Theory is inextricable today. With the continuing rise in the permeation of sophisticated technologies in the field, "the clinical and administrative processes in today's healthcare environment are becoming increasingly complex. Multiple providers, new technology, competition, and the growing ubiquity of information all contribute to the notion of health care as a complex system. A complex system (CS) is characterized by a highly connected network of entities (e.g., physical objects, people or groups of people) from which higher order behavior emerges." (Clancy et al., p. 248)

The process of healthcare delivery is at once more automated, efficient and rife with information and, on the other hand, impacted by bureaucratic obstacles, time-management waste and economic redundancy. The Systems Theory offers an administrative basis for rendering improvements to efficiency and economic sensibility. In other words, the systems theory is an important foundation for identifying areas of weakness and making changes in process.

Diffusion of Innovation Theory and Change Process in Healthcare Delivery:

An article by Romano (1990) would be particularly prescient in recognizing that innovations on the horizon would have a direct and determinant impact on how nurses do their work. Dissecting the changes occurring in healthcare delivery through the lens of the Diffusions of Innovation Theory, Romano indicates that so many elements of the nurse's daily responsibilities must ultimately be channeled through the types of technological changes coming to the industry.

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According to Romano, we are increasingly focused on refining "the use of information technology by nurses as they care for patients, carry out administrative tasks in health facilities, and educate others in the discipline." (p. 11)

Systems Theory and the Current Nursing Practice:

The article by Brookes et al. (2007) is particularly useful in connecting dimensions of the current nursing practice with core features of Systems Theory. Moderated in the article by Brookes et al. By connecting to what the authors refer to as 'Role Theory,' the systems-driven approach dictates that a layered set of systems help to determine the roles, responsibilities and even the ethical expectations that shape the current practice. According to Brookes et al., "Nurses' perceptions of their role are influenced by societal attitudes, government policies and trends in professional issues. Dynamic factors in contemporary health environments challenge traditional nursing roles, in particular those of community nurses." (p. 146)

This denotes that there are a number of forces at play which converge to help nurses better understand the expectations before them. These forces are especially critical as the role of nurses evolves with the technological changes surrounding the profession. The article by Brookes et al. is especially useful in promoting some understanding of the framework shaping the profession as it crosses a new set of regulatory and practical thresholds.

Diffusion of Innovation Theory and the Current Nursing Practice:

According to the text by Kaminski (2011), the Diffusion of Innovation Theory….....

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