Making the decision to launch a blog is not simple. I came to the conclusion that it’s not a terrible idea after giving it a lot of thought, some self-reflection, and doing some basic research. To get through nursing school and the challenges of working long shifts, I must admit that there are some excellent nursing blogs and resources available today. I relied on a few of those myself. Why not make my contribution to this body of support? My goal in starting this blog is to break down barriers in the informatics domain and create a harmonious synergy between the worlds of nursing care and technology, empowering nurses to improve patient outcomes and healthcare delivery.

Computer Science and Back Again

Being a teenager is tough enough without having to make life-altering decisions at that very tumultuous time in one’s life. Like most, I struggled with what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

However, I enjoyed working with computers and web design when I was in high school. I attended a local vocational high school and graduated with a few CompTIA certifications. I then went on to take 3 years’ worth of computer science and digital media courses at the local community college.

But somewhere along the line, I had an epiphany… I knew I would not be satisfied with merely sitting in front of a computer, inputting and reviewing lines of code for the rest of my life.

Little did I know, I’d have the opportunity to circle back to this love in the future.

Allied Health Career Path and Beyond

After taking an extended hiatus from college and working in retail, I got a job working as a lab assistant in a large medical lab. For me, this was pivotal to helping me carve out my path in healthcare. I enjoyed working in the lab, but I wanted more. I wanted to know the patients behind the specimen and their disease processes; more than that, I wanted to help them.

Working for this same medical laboratory, I became a phlebotomist. I loved working in this role and enjoyed the patient interactions. But, again I wanted more involvement in patient care, more knowledge, and the ability to impart that knowledge to others. That’s when I made the leap to go to nursing school.

In nursing school, I found a passion for patient care. I felt like I wanted to work in every specialty I learned about or participated in through our clinical rotations. My resume certainly reflects that. I’ve worked in hemodialysis, med/surg, pediatric home health, operating room, and now informatics.

But what is informatics anyway?

Looking back on nursing school, I don’t ever recall learning about nursing informatics as a specialty. In some of my first nursing jobs at hospitals, I don’t recall ever meeting anyone who worked in informatics or being presented with any information about it. More recently in one of my informatics roles where I worked as a facility EHR Analyst, I was met with plenty of questions about my role and the realm of informatics in general.

Clearly, there is an opportunity here to shine some light on nursing informatics and how it can transform the care we provide to our patients.

So hopefully in detailing a little bit of my background and journey so far, I have provided more context for my purpose.

Join me on my journey through the written word while we examine medical practices from bygone eras, appreciate the strides we’ve made in healthcare today, and envision the possibilities that the future may unfold.