Advancing Emergency Nurses’ Leadership and Practice through Informatics

The unharnessed power of nurses’ data

Abstract

Collection of data in healthcare is vitally important to inform healthcare resource planning and monitor effectiveness of care. The Canadian Emergency Department information System and Canadian Triage Acuity Scale are primary tools for collecting such data. Although emergency nurses use these tools to collect significant patient and healthcare data on daily basis, their understanding of the purposes and implications for collecting these data is sub-optimal. Furthermore, emergency nurses’ awareness about informatics, and the limited representation in information and communication technology strategic initiatives and research within Canadian emergency nursing are some barriers preventing nurses from realizing the full benefits of information and communication technology to improve patient and system outcomes, and nursing knowledge development. The National Emergency Nurses Association is well positioned to provide the leadership required to move nurses from being data collectors, to information users by maximizing their potential to advance Canadian emergency nursing practice through informatics.