Genesis

1. Introduce yourself to the group. Include your graduate area (e.g., teaching, acute care NP, etc.).

My name is Liana Kinikini and I am currently in the DNP-GNP program. I feel at times like my life is a circus and I'm walking the tightrope. I'll explain this later but for now, here is some information about me. My interests are in caring for the geriatric population. I earned a bachelors in nursing from Brigham Young University and now that I'm attending the University of Utah I am unsure who to cheer for when football season comes around. I usually cheer for whoever is losing. I favor underdogs. I currently work as a float pool nurse for Intermountain Health Care and as a charge nurse for IASIS. For the float pool I work in the areas of acute care and women services. I used to work for the ICU float pool as well but realized I was ... not crazy (too many specialties).

Among my different scholastic endeavors I'm also a wife and mother. Like most nurses, balancing life (family, work, school) is a definite skill and I feel I am pretty good at doing it. Walking that tightrope has required a lot of concentration, but who can complain considering the views I get from way up here? I hope to continue helping people and working with populations both within the United States and abroad. I was raised on a small pacific island kingdom so the sea constantly beckons me to return. I would love to spend some time providing much needed services to third world countries.

2. Why do you as a graduate level nurse need to know about information management?

British author, J.G. Ballard said, "Science and technology multiply around us. To an increasing extent they dictate the languages in which we speak and think. Either we use those languages, or we remain mute." The way we communicate and offer services are founded upon the way we keep, access and review information. Failing to understand information management will limit the effectiveness of any practitioner.

Information management is necessary to provide effective health care. We base our practice on our ability to gather and especially manage information. The use of electronic information methods are critical. Especially since all the information, past and present are now more readily available to health care professionals. The benefits of being able to retain information, especially crucial information that a patient may not disclose by mistake can prevent additional problems in treatment.

The ethics behind the availability and accessibility of this information can be a problem. Issues of confidentiality are important to understand for both the health care professional and the client. Understanding how information is dispersed and how information is shared would be essential to provide the best and more adequate care for patients. As a graduate level nurse, understanding the power and limitations of information management is literally a matter of life or death.

3. Describe what is happening related to IT in your clinical or practice setting.

In one of the hospital systems in which I practice, although the vital signs and EKG waveforms are collected electronically, we are still paper charting in the NICU and Nursery units. That will soon change as the hospital is gearing up to train the personnel to use the established computer charting systems that will provide structured documentation. This will aid in future participation of empirical research.