TN005 Assignment The Nurse Leader and the Systems Development Life Cycle
Competency Discussion Response: SDLC in Healthcare
The active participation of the nurse managers in each stage of System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is essential for the use of healthcare information system. Nurse leaders have clinical skills and organizational background, they guarantee that new technologies provide solutions that are both effective and feasible in the context of health care systems. Its omission can result to several emergent issues that may disrupt the functionality of the system as well as the standard of care for patients (Risling & Risling, 2020).
Challenges of Excluding Nurse Leaders from the SDLC
Misalignment with Clinical Workflow:
It is expected that nurse leaders have a comprehensive understanding on clinical procedures and processes that the organizations engage in each day. Lack of participation in the SDLC results in unnecessarily constructing systems that do not conform to the real world’s clinical practices (Risling & Risling, 2020). Such lack of integration may lead to sub-optimization, excess workload, and staff dissatisfaction of the clinical staff, hence negatively affecting the quality of patient care.
Lack of User-Centered Design:
Nurse leaders are in a good position to contribute knowledge of end user personalities, expectations and demands, particularly regarding the nurses and other members of the healthcare professions (Risling & Risling, 2020). Reducing input from stakeholders may lead to system designs that is not easy to use or can cause difficulties to users hence a low uptake of the system and possible misuse of results or information.
Inadequate Addressing of Patient Safety Concerns:
These are important insights into the system because nurse leaders are always alert regarding patients’ safety and can easily comprehend various issues related to safety if a system is implemented. Beynon mentioned that their exclusion from the SDLC can lead to the exclusion of well-known safety feature or fail-safes that could jeopardize patient safety (Risling & Risling, 2020). The involvement of the nurse leaders ensures that the system put in place to protect against adversity safeguards are included and an environment conducive to safe care is established.
Poor Integration with Existing Systems:
Various systems and technologies are nowadays integrated in healthcare setting and environments. Having an appreciation of the concepts of the interfaces and the compatibility necessary for communication and transfer of information, nurse leaders are well placed (Laukka et al., 2020). Lack of their input heightens the risks of compatibility problems, data isolation, and splitting of processes the new system basically attempts to solve within the health care system.
Limited Buy-In and Resistance to Change:
Nurse leaders are key stakeholders that have high turnover to support the implementation of new technologies in healthcare organizations. Through their engagement in the SDLC, the nursing staff is more likely to have a sense of ownership and commitment towards changes than if done by other personnel (Laukka et al., 2020). If excluded then it will result in negative organizational outcome such as resistance to change, low morale and reluctance to adopt the new system.
Missed Opportunities for Continuous Improvement:
Nurse leaders have insight into various quality improvement programs and can easily spot ways in which they might make the system progressively better (Laukka et al., 2020). Their absence could lead to the failure to make improvements as well as changes based on practical feedback or changing healthcare requirements.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is can be postured that exclusion of nurse leaders in the SDLC brings several problems that hinder the effectiveness and safety of HIS. They are also the key stakeholders whose contribution is critical to make these systems fit within the clinical processes, easy and safe to use, as well as integrated and adopted by the whole healthcare team. By incorporating the nurse leaders into the SDLC, healthcare organizations stand to gain better outcomes towards the achievement of the intended goals and objectives that include improved patient care as well as the efficiency of operations in the organization.
References
Laukka, E., Huhtakangas, M., Heponiemi, T., & Kanste, O. (2020). Identifying the roles of healthcare leaders in HIT implementation: A scoping review of the quantitative and qualitative evidence. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(8), 1–15. NCBI. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17082865
Risling, T. L., & Risling, D. E. (2020). Advancing nursing participation in user-centred design. Journal of Research in Nursing, 25(3), 226–238. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987120913590