Assignment: The Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker NURS 6051
Assignment: The Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker NURS 6051
The term “knowledge worker” was first coined by management consultant and author Peter Drucker in his book, The Landmarks of Tomorrow (1959). Drucker defined knowledge workers as high-level workers who apply theoretical and analytical knowledge, acquired through formal training, to develop products and services. Does this sound familiar?
Nurses are very much knowledge workers. What has changed since Drucker’s time are the ways that knowledge can be acquired. The volume of data that can now be generated and the tools used to access this data have evolved significantly in recent years and helped healthcare professionals (among many others) to assume the role of knowledge worker in new and powerful ways.
In this Assignment, you will consider the evolving role of the nurse leader and how this evolution has led nurse leaders to assume the role of knowledge worker. You will prepare a PowerPoint presentation with an infographic (graphic that visually represents information, data, or knowledge. Infographics are intended to present information quickly and clearly.) to educate others on the role of nurse as knowledge worker.
Reference: Drucker, P. (1959). The landmarks of tomorrow. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
To Prepare:
- Review the concepts of informatics as presented in the Resources.
- Reflect on the role of a nurse leader as a knowledge worker.
- Consider how knowledge may be informed by data that is collected/accessed.
The Assignment: The Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker NURS 6051:
- Explain the concept of a knowledge worker.
- Define and explain nursing informatics and highlight the role of a nurse leader as a knowledge worker.
- Include one slide that visually represents the role of a nurse leader as knowledge worker.
- Your PowerPoint should Include the hypothetical scenario you originally shared in the Discussion Forum. Include your examination of the data that you could use, how the data might be accessed/collected, and what knowledge might be derived from that data. Be sure to incorporate feedback received from your colleagues’ responses.
By Day 7 of Week 2
Submit your completed Presentation.
Submission and Grading Information
To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:
- Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
- Click the Week 2 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
- Click the Week 2 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
- Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
- If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
- Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 2 Assignment Rubric
Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity
To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:
Submit your Week 2 Assignment draft and review the originality report.
Submit Your Assignment by Day 7 of Week 2
To participate in this Assignment:
Week 2 Assignment
Next Module
To go to the next module:
Module 2
Module 2: The Role of the Informatics Specialist in Healthcare (Weeks 3-4)
Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Nurse Informaticist [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Accessible player –Downloads– Download Video w/CC Download Audio Download Transcript
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Analyze interactions between nurse informaticists, data/technology specialists, and other professionals in healthcare organizations
- Recommend strategies to improve interactions between nurse informaticists and other professionals
- Analyze how nursing informatics as a specialty and new technologies impact interactions between nurse informaticists and members of healthcare teams
- Recommend nursing informatics projects to improve outcomes or efficiencies in healthcare organizations
- Identify stakeholders impacted by nursing informatics projects
- Analyze how nursing informatics projects improve outcomes or efficiencies in healthcare organizations
- Identify technologies required for implementation of nursing informatics projects
- Analyze the role of the nurse informaticist in nursing informatics project teams
Due By | Assignment |
Week 3, Days 1–2 | Read/Watch/Listen to the Learning Resources. Compose your initial Discussion post. |
Week 3, Day 3 | Post your initial Discussion post. Begin to compose your Assignment. |
Week 3, Days 4-5 | Review peer Discussion posts. Compose your peer Discussion responses. Continue to compose your Assignment. |
Week 3, Day 6 | Post at least two peer Discussion responses on two different days (and not the same day as the initial post). |
Week 3, Day 7 | Wrap up Discussion. Deadline to submit your Assignment. |
Week 4, Days 1-6 | Continue to compose your Assignment |
Week 4, Day 7 | Deadline to submit your Assignment |
Learning Resources
Required Readings
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
- Chapter 25, “The Art of Caring in Technology-Laden Environments” (pp. 525–535)
- Chapter 26, “Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge” (pp. 537–551)
Mosier, S., Roberts, W. D., & Englebright, J. (2019). A Systems-Level Method for Developing Nursing Informatics Solutions: The Role of Executive Leadership. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 49(11), 543-548.
Ng, Y. C., Alexander, S., & Frith, K. H. (2018). Integration of Mobile Health Applications in Health Information Technology Initiatives: Expanding Opportunities for Nurse Participation in Population Health. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 36(5), 209-213.
Sipes, C. (2016). Project management: Essential skill of nurse informaticists. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 225, 252-256.
Discussion: Interaction Between Nurse Informaticists and Other Specialists
Nature offers many examples of specialization and collaboration. Ant colonies and bee hives are but two examples of nature’s sophisticated organizations. Each thrives because their members specialize by tasks, divide labor, and collaborate to ensure food, safety, and general well-being of the colony or hive.
Of course, humans don’t fare too badly in this regard either. And healthcare is a great example. As specialists in the collection, access, and application of data, nurse informaticists collaborate with specialists on a regular basis to ensure that appropriate data is available to make decisions and take actions to ensure the general well-being of patients.
In this Discussion, you will reflect on your own observations of and/or experiences with informaticist collaboration. You will also propose strategies for how these collaborative experiences might be improved.
To Prepare:
- Review the Resources and reflect on the evolution of nursing informatics from a science to a nursing specialty.
- Consider your experiences with nurse Informaticists or technology specialists within your healthcare organization.
By Day 3 of Week 3
Post a description of experiences or observations about how nurse informaticists and/or data or technology specialists interact with other professionals within your healthcare organization. Suggest at least one strategy on how these interactions might be improved. Be specific and provide examples. Then, explain the impact you believe the continued evolution of nursing informatics as a specialty and/or the continued emergence of new technologies might have on professional interactions.
By Day 6 of Week 3
Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days, offering one or more additional interaction strategies in support of the examples/observations shared or by offering further insight to the thoughts shared about the future of these interactions.
*Note: Throughout this program, your fellow students are referred to as colleagues.
Submission and Grading Information
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 3 Discussion Rubric
Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 6 of Week 3
To participate in this Discussion:
Week 3 Discussion
Assignment: The Impact of Nursing Informatics on Patient Outcomes and Patient Care Efficiencies
In the Discussion for this module, you considered the interaction of nurse informaticists with other specialists to ensure successful care. How is that success determined?
Patient outcomes and the fulfillment of care goals is one of the major ways that healthcare success is measured. Measuring patient outcomes results in the generation of data that can be used to improve results. Nursing informatics can have a significant part in this process and can help to improve outcomes by improving processes, identifying at-risk patients, and enhancing efficiency.
To Prepare:
- Review the concepts of technology application as presented in the Resources.
- Reflect on how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence may help fortify nursing informatics as a specialty by leading to increased impact on patient outcomes or patient care efficiencies.
The Assignment: (4-5 pages not including the title and reference page)
In a 4- to 5-page project proposal written to the leadership of your healthcare organization, propose a nursing informatics project for your organization that you advocate to improve patient outcomes or patient-care efficiency. Your project proposal should include the following:
- Describe the project you propose.
- Identify the stakeholders impacted by this project.
- Explain the patient outcome(s) or patient-care efficiencies this project is aimed at improving and explain how this improvement would occur. Be specific and provide examples.
- Identify the technologies required to implement this project and explain why.
- Identify the project team (by roles) and explain how you would incorporate the nurse informaticist in the project team.
- Use APA format and include a title page and reference page.
- Use the Safe Assign Drafts to check your match percentage before submitting your work.
By Day 7 of Week 4
Submit your completed Project Proposal.
Submission and Grading Information
To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:
- Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK4Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
- Click the Week 4 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
- Click the Week 4 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
- Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK4Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
- If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
- Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 4 Assignment Rubric
Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity
To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:
Submit your Week 4 Assignment draft and review the originality report.
Submit Your Assignment by Day 7 of Week 4
To participate in this Assignment:
Week 4 Assignment