Walden NURS 6050 Nursing Informatics MSN — Complete Week-by-Week Study Guide

Instant Download Available!

We have a pre-done course guide for this exact course — download instantly and get ahead.

Week 1 establishes nursing informatics as the specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science (AMIA/ANA definition). The DIKW model (Data → Information → Knowledge → Wisdom) organizes all informatics thinking and appears on every exam and in virtually every paper in this course. You will trace HIT evolution: the HITECH Act (2009) drove EHR adoption through the Meaningful Use incentive program, which evolved into Promoting Interoperability. Discussion Board 1 asks you to identify a HIT tool in your practice setting and analyze it through the DIKW lens — with APA citations and 2 peer replies by Sunday 11:59 PM ET.

Key Deliverable: DB1: DIKW Analysis of a Clinical HIT Tool (250+ words, APA, 2 peer replies by Sunday 11:59 PM ET)

Week 2 covers the health data standards that make interoperability possible: SNOMED CT (350,000+ clinical concepts for terminology), LOINC (laboratory and clinical observation standardization), ICD-10-CM/PCS (diagnosis and procedure coding), HL7 FHIR (the API-based standard enabling EHR data exchange across systems), and nursing-specific terminologies — NANDA-I (nursing diagnoses), NIC (nursing interventions classification), and NOC (nursing outcomes classification). Your Week 2 assignment evaluates your facility's EHR for nursing terminology integration and interoperability capacity using a structured framework.

Key Deliverable: EHR Interoperability Evaluation (3-4 pages, APA, peer-reviewed sources from last 5 years)

Week 3 examines CDSS — one of the most important and most problematic HIT innovations. CDSS types include drug-drug interaction alerts, sepsis screening algorithms, order sets, and diagnostic support tools. The alert fatigue problem is well-documented: studies show 49 to 96% of CDSS alerts are overridden by clinicians, often because the volume of alerts desensitizes staff to even critical ones. You will evaluate a specific CDSS using the AHRQ Health IT Safety Framework and write a 4-page report analyzing its effectiveness and safety implications.

Key Deliverable: CDSS Safety Evaluation Report (4 pages, APA, AHRQ framework applied)

Week 4 midterm requires evaluation of a specific telehealth platform using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) — developed by Davis (1989) and widely used in HIT research. TAM predicts technology adoption based on two constructs: Perceived Usefulness (will this technology improve my performance?) and Perceived Ease of Use (will this technology be effortless to use?). Your 6-8 page paper evaluates a telehealth platform on both TAM constructs, then assesses patient outcome evidence, equity implications (the digital divide and access barriers for elderly or low-income patients), workflow integration challenges, and nursing role implications.

Key Deliverable: Midterm: Telehealth Evaluation Paper Using TAM Framework (6-8 pages, APA) — due Sunday 11:59 PM ET

Week 5 introduces healthcare big data — the 4 Vs (Volume: petabytes of EHR data generated daily; Velocity: real-time streaming from monitoring devices and wearables; Variety: structured data from EHRs plus unstructured data from clinical notes, images, and voice; Veracity: data quality challenges that make analytics unreliable if unchecked). Clinical applications: Epic's Sepsis Predictive Advisory, the Rothman Index for patient deterioration, LACE index for readmission risk, and population health dashboards for chronic disease management. You will analyze a population health analytics tool for its evidence base, equity implications, and nursing data governance role.

Key Deliverable: Big Data and Population Health Analytics Analysis (4 pages, APA) + DB3

Week 6 addresses the ethical dimensions of nursing informatics. HIPAA Privacy Rule (minimum necessary standard; PHI definition; covered entities and business associates), HIPAA Security Rule (administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for ePHI), and HITECH Act breach notification requirements (60-day notification to patients; media notification if >500 affected). Algorithmic bias is a growing ethical concern: studies show AI-based clinical tools, including sepsis prediction models and dermatology imaging AI, produce systematically worse results for minority patients. You will write a case analysis applying a nursing ethics framework to a specific HIT ethical dilemma.

Key Deliverable: HIPAA and Algorithmic Bias Ethics Case Analysis (3-4 pages, APA)

Week 7 addresses the nurse informaticist's role leading EHR implementations, system upgrades, and workflow redesign projects. Kotter's 8-Step Change Management Model is the primary framework (create urgency → build coalition → form strategic vision → communicate → empower action → generate short-term wins → consolidate gains → anchor in culture). You will develop a mini change management plan for implementing a specific new nursing informatics tool in your practice setting, including a stakeholder analysis, identified barriers and mitigation strategies, and a communication plan.

Key Deliverable: Informatics Change Management Plan (5-6 pages, APA, Kotter's model applied)

Week 8 final delivers two major items. The Nursing Informatics Proposal (10-12 pages, APA, minimum 10 peer-reviewed sources from last 5 years) is the course capstone: identify a clinical problem addressable by technology, propose a specific HIT solution with full evidence base, design an implementation plan using Kotter's model, specify outcome metrics and an evaluation strategy. The Respondus LockDown Browser proctored final exam (75 minutes) tests all course concepts — DIKW, data standards, CDSS, telehealth, big data, privacy law, and change management.

Key Deliverable: Final Exam (Respondus, 75 min) + Nursing Informatics Proposal (10-12 pages, APA, 10+ peer-reviewed sources)