Healthcare Informatics Schemata: A Paradigm Shift over Time.

The schemata "A paradigm shift over time©" (Sackett & Erdley, 2006) a graphic model, visualizes development and progression of informatics in health over time. The model portrays information technology trends, from computers as resource through computational ubiquity, and the shift to social networking and e-Health. The discrepancy between "real" and "proposed" suggests gaps involving issues such as value, interoperability and ontology requiring attention, development and ultimately adoption, hinging on a universal standards framework. The workshop objective is to review previous and current models of healthcare informatics to springboard revisions of the schemata for current and future use.

The effect of educational games on medical students' learning outcomes: a systematic review: BEME Guide No 14.

BACKGROUND: An educational game is 'an instructional method requiring the learner to participate in a competitive activity with preset rules.' A number of studies have suggested beneficial effects of educational games in medical education. AIM: The objective of this study was to systematically review the effect of educational games on medical students' satisfaction, knowledge, skills, attitude, and behavior. METHODS: We used the best evidence medical education (BEME) collaboration methods for conducting systematic reviews. We included randomized controlled trials (RCT), controlled clinical trials, and interrupted time series. Study participants were medical students. Interventions of interest were educational games. RESULTS: The title and abstract screening of the 1019 unique citations identified 26 as potentially eligible for this article. The full text screening identified five eligible papers, all reporting RCTs with low-to-moderate methodological quality. Findings in three of the five RCTs suggested but did not confirm a positive effect of the games on medical students' knowledge. CONCLUSION: The available evidence to date neither confirm nor refute the utility of educational games as an effective teaching strategy for medical students. There is a need for additional and better-designed studies to assess the effectiveness of these games and this article will inform this research.

The potential of 3-D virtual worlds in professional nursing education.

Three-dimensional (3-D) virtual worlds (VWs), such as Second Life, are actively being explored for their potential use in health care and nursing professional education and even for practice. The relevance of this e-learning innovation on a large scale for teaching students and professionals is yet to be demonstrated and variables influencing adoption, such as increased knowledge, self-directed learning, and peer collaboration, by academics, and health care professionals requires empirical research.

Why nursing needs to explore and shape its own future--the background to the NI2006 post congress conference.

Within this paper we describe the background context and discussions that lead to the selection of the theme for the NI2006 Post Congress Conference. The rationale for the choice of the overall theme is introduced, together with the selection of the five main sub-themes, on which the group discussions were based, and that lead to the production of the group papers that form the core of these Proceedings.

Why nursing needs to explore and shape its own future--closing summation and remarks.

This meeting was not the first, nor hopefully the last, of its kind to address a set of issues of very real concern--the future of healthcare, nursing and, in particular, nursing informatics. This summation reviews the purpose of the NI2006 Post Congress Conference, briefly reviews the preparatory work (which resulted in three days of intensive discussions for all participants after spending up to a week involved in a major international conference and associated meetings), the themes of each group and threads evident within the final reports included in these proceedings, observations as to issues not mentioned, and closing with suggestions of possible direction(s) and or course(s) of pre-emptive actions relevant for the international nursing informatics community.

Health care in 2020.

While this case study uses an example of a home health team, it is meant to describe a system in which clinicians and healthcare organizations specialize and develop expertise by performing a large volume of specific services, procedures for given medical conditions or diagnoses. We introduce the concept of "consumer as a direct employer" of healthcare services. In this model, nurses may work as independent contractors, or as a member of a team contracting out as a unit, as in our example of the Rhine Home Health Team. Nrses also may work as employees to healthcare organizations as they do today.

The Western New York regional electronic health record initiative: Healthcare informatics use from the registered nurse perspective.

This paper describes a select population of Western New York (WNY) Registered Nurses' (RN) perspectives on the use of healthcare informatics and the adoption of a regional electronic health record (EHR). A three part class assignment on healthcare informatics used a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) Analysis, and a Healthcare Informatics Schemata: A paradigm shift over time(c) timeline to determine RN perspectives about healthcare informatics use at their place of employment. Qualitative analysis of 41 RNs who completed the SWOT analysis provided positive and negative themes related to perceptions about healthcare informatics and EHR use at their place of employment. 29 healthcare organizations were aggregated by year on the timeline from 1950 through 2000. Information suggests that, RNs have the capacity to positively drive the adoption of EHRs and healthcare informatics in WNY.

Incorporating healthcare informatics into the strategic planning process in nursing education.

The purpose of this article is to describe the incorporation of healthcare informatics into the strategic planning process in nursing education. An exemplar from the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York School of Nursing, is interwoven throughout the article. The challenges and successes inherent in a paradigm shift embracing the multifaceted adoption of technology in higher education are illustrated. The paradigm shift that necessitated this change, the need for informatics standards and competencies identified by regulatory agencies and the relationship of the triad mission of the Academy which includes research, teaching and service are then elucidated. Information pertinent to the strategic planning process is described including the use of a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis to facilitate the integration of a healthcare informatics model into a nursing curriculum.

Acute care nurse practitioner education: enhancing performance through the use of clinical simulation.

Full-body patient simulators have been used for a number of years to educate nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologists. These lifelike mannequins operate from a sophisticated computerized system with the ability to generate multiple physiologic events and respond to numerous pharmacologic stimuli. The authors recently integrated the use of the patient simulator into the curriculum to educate their acute care nurse practitioner students. The learning process was divided into three steps: the presimulation experience, the simulation experience, and the postsimulation experience. These steps are described as well as important principles that need to be integrated into each phase of the process. A case scenario on respiratory failure provides an example of the simulation experience. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of this teaching method, as identified by faculty and students, are discussed.