Question for any nurse informaticist

[nungum]

I will soon be in a nursing informatics position full time and was thinking about accepting a per diem position in my previous area of nursing (PACU) to keep up my clinical skills, if they offer me the job.

First question: I know it's probably better to work at a different hospital but was wondering if it should be a different hospital that uses the same system as the one I will be working with (Meditech)or a different system(Epic). I'm thinking that getting exposed to a different system may be beneficial in that it can give me a different perspective, but then again, working with the same system will allow me to put myself in the end-users feet and therefore be more helpful?? Or maybe it doesn't matter at all?

#2: Is any one solely doing nursing informatics full time and have you ever felt the need to be at the bedside throughout your NI career? Do others view you as less credible since you aren't at the bedside like they are?

Thanks in advance for any input/comments :)

[ikarus01]

I know it's probably better to work at a different hospital but was wondering if it should be a different hospital that uses the same system as the one I will be working with (Meditech)or a different system(Epic). I'm thinking that getting exposed to a different system may be beneficial in that it can give me a different perspective, but then again, working with the same system will allow me to put myself in the end-users feet and therefore be more helpful?? Or maybe it doesn't matter at all?

My two cents

You can be exposed to 5 different systems, but if at the end of the day you cannot figure out how to solve the problems of the system you're supporting, then all that exposure is irrelevant.

Now, if you're a consultant going around doing go live support gigs, then the different exposure to different applications might better position you to get those consulting gigs....

But if you're just starting out in NI, best to become an expert in your application first...

#2:

A: Is any one solely doing nursing informatics full time and have you ever felt the need to be at the bedside throughout your NI career?

B: Do others view you as less credible since you aren't at the bedside like they are?

Thanks in advance for any input/comments :)

A: I never felt the need to go back to bedside nursing. Most users are glad to know that I can understand their issues from their perspective, but even when I was implementing systems that weren't related to my clinical background, users were happy to know that at least I understood what nursing was about.

Also, I don't miss bedside nursing, and I wouldn't go back to it, but I do know of one colleague that does bedside nursing on some of her weekends because she misses the adrenaline of doing codes, monitoring patients, etc.

B: When I was new in the field, I lost credibility right away because I couldn't solve the issues of the users, and having 5+ years of bedside nursing at that time didn't help either.

And that's why I say, best to concentrate on becoming an expert on using/configuring whatever system you support because once you go into a meeting with the users, and you're able to answer all their questions/solve their problems, they will have all the respect for you, and your current involvement or lack of involvement in bedside nursing is irrelevant.

I don't hear users saying, "oh, here comes that guy that is no longer a bedside nurse anymore", but i hear, "go talk to that guy, he is good at figuring out stuff."

[nungum]

Thanks ikarus7401. Once again I appreciate all your insightful feedback.

[nkochrn, RN]

Thank for the info! I am anxiously awaiting news as to whether I will be hired for a NI position at my hospital. I was already told there would be no time for me to help out on the floor with pt. care. I do plan to continue taking ambulance call in the evenings though to keep up my skills.

[rninformatics, DNP, RN]

Marissasmommy,

Just be careful not to over extend yourself related to taking ambulance call and learning your new NI role.

Think about giving yourself a little vacation from the hands on clinical stuff so you can really make this new role a success!