Nursing Informatics and Nursing Shortages
Lastly, IS are becoming a more common way to support nursing care. They will become more sophisticated as new systems are developed. In the long run, the successful
incorporation of IS in the nursing field could help alleviate the nursing shortage in several ways.
IS can assist nurses in completing documentation and communication tasks, thereby giving
nurses more time for direct patient care. Nurses in a qualitative study were interviewed six
months after the implementation of laboratory order entry (Welychka, 1997). The nurses
reported that the system saved them time so they had more time for patient and family teaching
and attending in-service education. The use of IS in the field of nursing could also attract more
people to the nursing profession because they are excited about using the technology as an
adjunct to patient care, and the relief provided by successful use of IS could help retain nurses in
the workforce.