Role of a Nursing Informatics Specialist in a Clinical Simulation Laboratory: The Catalytic Link

Abstract

Background: Technology in health care is pervasive and growing exponentially. Simulation in academic settings also continues to expand with the use of advancing technologies.

Problem: Technology appropriate usage and implementation can become problematic without experts with the right skills in nursing simulation labs. Gaps in technology utilization, simulation best practices, and data analytics now exist.

Approach: A school of nursing employed a nurse informaticist in its simulation laboratory to address the complexities of technology usage and aid in data analytics.

Outcomes: The nurse informaticist was effective at promoting simulation use, increasing faculty and learner usage of the simulation space. The initiation of data capturing was also achieved.

Conclusions: Highly trained nurse informaticists are ready to address the unique complexities of advanced simulation environments.