Assignment: The Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker
The Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker
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:
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.
SAMPLE SOLUTION
The Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker
Nurses form the largest group of healthcare workers across the globe, and they play an important role in developing solutions for different problems in healthcare. Over the years, the nursing fraternity has experienced tremendous changes including the adoption of information and communication technology into practice. The incorporation of ICT into scientific knowledge and nursing practice to improve global health is referred to as informatics. ICT and informatics enhance timely access to patient information through the use of computerized documentation systems among other systems (Darvish et al. 2014). This is important because Healthcare is information-intensive and consequently, ICT and informatics are crucial in the handling and utilization of this information. This includes different roles such as retrieval of previous health records, access to standards of practice, documentation of patient information, and care among other roles.
A knowledge worker is a high-level worker who applies formal training-obtained analytical and theoretical knowledge to establish innovative products and Services (Todericiu & Boantă, 2018). Therefore, a nurse as a knowledge worker should be in a position to utilize technology and ensure evidence-based decision making. Also, technology can be utilized to enhance benefits such as communication among providers and promoting positive patient outcomes as a result of speedy diagnoses, and treatment of health issues.
The nurse, as a knowledge worker has different roles and they include being collecting data, utilizing the information gathered, using knowledge, and creating knowledge. The first role of collecting data entails gathering relevant information about a patient, and this is followed by a review of the gathered information to assess useful information that may be used in the treatment process or acquisition of treatment resources. The collected data includes both objective and subjective information as well as other vital information such as ensuring safe issues within the facility. An example of a safety issue is the prevention of falls by patients within the hospital.
The nurse as a knowledge worker is an information user, hence is required to interpret information gathered to come up with information of clinical significance or gain insights into the issue at hand. As a knowledge user, the nurse utilizes the gathered information to make meaning out of it while applying evidence based knowledge. This process is characterized by translating the information into useful meanings, or interpreting it in ways that can be useful to the treatment processes or healthcare delivery. Over time, the nurse keeps gathering and using information and knowledge, such that they become experts, hence they are able to create knowledge, and therefore, become knowledge builders (Todericiu & Boantă, 2018).
The action of creating knowledge requires the nurse to make use of various resources and ICT and informatics become a readily available resource. Informatics when incorporated into nursing science, enable nurses to come up with technology based interventions that aim at improving healthcare outcomes (Collins et al. 2017). The main role of informatics in nursing is to help the nurses enhance timely care through improved access to patient information with the help of computerized documentation systems.
The Infographic on The Nurse as A Knowledge Worker
The Nurse as a Knowledge Worker
(Utilizes theoretical as well as analytical knowledge for better public health) |
· Benefits of informatics
· Applied in Research · Leads to Inter professional Communication · Enables Data management · Facilitates Continuous learning · Increases knowledge base |
Skills
· Data collector · Utilizing information · Using Knowledge , · Knowledge creator |
Ways of obtaining information
· Physical examinations · Observations · Laboratory tests and screenings · Learning |
How?
• Continuing to learn • Keeping up with latest technology • Applying EBP • Setting goals |
The Powerpoint Presentation is attached
The_nurse_as_a_knowldge_Leader
References
Collins, S., Yen, P. Y., Phillips, A., & Kennedy, M. K. (2017). Nursing informatics competency
assessment for the nurse leader: The Delphi study. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 47(4), 212-218. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0000000000000467
Darvish, A., Bahramnezhad, F., Keyhanian, S., & Navidhamidi, M. (2014). The role of nursing
informatics on promoting quality of health care and the need for appropriate education. Global journal of health science, 6(6), 11–18. https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v6n6p11
Todericiu, R., & Boantă, A. (2018). The Challenge of Managing Knowledge Workers and Their
Skills. In Emerging Issues in the Global Economy (pp. 363-370). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71876-7_32
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