Introduction

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

Hi everybody, my name is Rachelle Ormond and I am currently in the DNP FNP track. I just started my third semester and hope to graduate in May 2012. I am originally from Boise, Idaho and have lived here most of my life, but I did live in Omaha, Nebraska and worked at an ENT surgery center there for a year. I really enjoyed all the trees and how green everything is out in the Midwest. The people are really friendly too. I also had a chance to be a mission nurse in Ecuador for about a year and since that time I have worked at a GI clinic and outpatient endoscopy up and until last summer (2009) when I started the program at the UofU. I really enjoy SLC and the people there so far. I love the mountains and so couldn't be living in a better place.

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

As a graduate level nursing, information management is very important to all aspects of nursing care and education. From the readings and powerpoints so far, I have just begun to learn how important it is for us to have a working knowledge regarding information technology and nursing informatics. This is important because we will be able utilize evidence-based practice in our specialty areas and therefore, be able to better care for our patients. It is also important to have a working knowledge of nursing informatics theories in order to understand how nursing informatics really works in the world today.

3. Describe what is happening related to IT in your clinical or practice setting.
I actually barely left my GI clinic (last Summer) when they were in the process of making the change from paper charting to computer charting, so I don't personally have a lot of experience in this realm. I can say that the clinical supervisor was just beginning to research charting software as I was preparing to leave, but I know they had a plan to be up on running with computer charting systems by Jan. 2010.

We were already using some IT via the hospital we were affiliated with to get lab, radiology, pathology, emergency room reports, etc. Since we were affiliated with a hospital, if there were certain tests performed at the hospital, we had the access and login to the hospital computer system and print off or review reports from te computer.

I also did some computer charting at one of the hospitals I worked at years ago. I personally think private clinics are probably a little slower at moving to computer charting mainly because of the expense involved as just a few providers have to pay for it all, but I do think it will be of great benefit in the technology age for all medical systems to go electronic. And I am really glad that my old place of employment is doing their best to keep up on the waves of the future.