Nursing informatics according to the American Nurses Association (ANA) is an integration of nursing, computers and information sciences. The integration helps in providing better service to patients while assisting nurses and other providers to make timely and effective decisions because records are easy to access from different points. The designation of nursing informatics as specialty practice by ANA was in 1992. ANA developed a certification process that it first introduced in 1995.

Course objectives for nursing informatics

Various courses have objectives that motivate students to make a choice. These are the objectives of informatics.

1.Introducing theories of informatics

Students studying nursing informatics course begin by learning the theories behind it. Theory studies cover the human and computer interface components, ethics in nursing informatics, confidentiality, privacy, and ergonomics. The students will also study and learn about their role in patient care and the way of applying nursing informatics theory to the nursing practice.

2.Training students on applying technology to the nursing practice

Students who study nursing informatics also need to understand the way of applying technology efficiently to nursing practice. The course provides an opportunity for students to learn technologies they can use in numerous situations. The students also learn the best way to apply them for management as well as communication of various types of data and information. Students also learn the way of using data principles and documenting information appropriately within computer applications specifically designed for nursing and healthcare administration.

3.Developing competency plans

Another course objective of nursing informatics is to provide nurses with a solid background in nursing informatics theory and technological application. The trainees also gain hands-on experience in customizing professional development plans. The purpose of competency planning is to meet personal preferences matching the needs of healthcare providers while aligning the competency plan to the requirements of the patients and staff. Students can also use the knowledge from the coursework to create educational development plans for clients. This process involves exploring the use of IT to document data, network, collaborate and make universal decisions. A close collaboration helps to develop an informatics plan that meets information needs in a specific environment. This can be a case study or a real-world scenario depending on specific course requirements.

4.Enhancing patient participation

Nursing informatics students learn how to collaborate with their patients with electronic access to their health history and recommendations. Patients who can access their records feel empowered to play more roles in the patient care and take it more seriously. Learners learn how to develop and run informatics care portals that their patients can access to track symptoms and medications.

5.Improving healthcare coordination

A nursing informatics course teaches enables nurses to know of ways they can use to interact with other nurses and doctors are simpler ways which yield better outcomes. Much specialization is taking part in healthcare, and most patients are receiving care from different specialists even in one hospital stay. An increase in specialization requires more coordination and informatics provides the way forward. One patient may have a different conversation with various professionals and care might suffer due to problems that arise when decisions for failing to make decisions in tandem. Health informatics helps to facilitate the necessary coordination for implementation of instruction from different specialists.

Other course objectives for nursing informatics

Nursing informatics course also intends to provide learners with an opportunity to:

One of the essential responsibilities in knowledge-based professions is for practitioners to pass what they know to another generation. In addition to the above course objectives for nursing informatics, those who excel will teach their colleagues or become nurse educators specializing in the area of electronics documentation.

Nursing is one of the most competitive fields because it is not just important but also necessary in any society. Nursing staff positions are highly competitive meaning that nursing staff applying to work in clinics, hospitals, and doctor’s offices should have high qualifications with professional, technical and people skills that help with job success.

A letter of recommendation is useful in showing that an applicant has that particular skill reason that makes him or her better for the role. A letter of recommendation (also for or recommendation letter) is a recommendation that a teacher, colleague, employer, supervisor, client or someone who knows the applicant will write to vouch for academic performance and individual work.

The purpose of the recommendation letter is to assure that the recommended person has skills, qualifications, and aptitude for a job. These letters are more of a symbol that represents a vital vote of confidence in a candidate to eliminate the need for a person to make a case to the office of a hiring manager. Most often, the writer of LoR sends it to a hiring manager or admissions office for those applying to join a nursing program. The letter facilitates an introduction or interview of a job or school candidate.

A person who gets a request to write a letter of recommendation for a nurse or student should consider it an honor. It is a responsibility to take seriously by writing a positive and sincere message.

Tips on how to write a nursing recommendation Letter

A letter of recommendation should reflect the content of the resume. I should also mention and specific skills and working experience. Unless a candidate has a form for filling the recommendation, writing it in the way of a letter should take a formal tone.

It should have these critical sections.

Contact information

The first part of LoR begins with the contact information (name, address, email, phone number) of the writer and the candidate followed by the date. Contact information should fit at the top of a letter. An email but not a physical letter should include contact information at the end after the signature.

Salutation

A letter of recommendation starts with words that acknowledge the reader like "Dear Mr. /Ms. /Dr." before the last name of the addressee. A term like“Dear Human Resources Manager” is more appropriate when you write a recommendation letter without knowing the last name of the gender of the recipient. You should address a recruiting team as one by using words such as "Dear Admissions’ Committee"when recommending a student for an academic program. A general letter should begin with "To Whom it May Concern" or start at the first paragraph.

Introduction

The writer should explain the relationship with the person who requested the letter and might include the period. The follow-up step is to explain the purpose of writing the LoR. It should include the name of an organization, job position, school or an opportunity that the person is applying. For example, I have been a nursed manager where Miss has been working for three years. I am pleased to recommend her for the position of a nurse supervisor at AB hospital.

Body overview

The body of the letter should include specific information about the personal characteristics of a candidate (understanding, confident, etc) and specific skills like excellent organization and communication skills. The writer should make the description specific as possible.

The first paragraph of a reference letter should explain the connection between the writer and person he or she is recommending. It mentions the relationship (professional or personal) and the qualification to write a letter to support graduate school admission or employment.

Middle paragraphs

The second up to fourth paragraphs should contain the information on the person getting the recommendation. It includes the reason for their qualification and the contributions they can make. It is essential to be specific and share the examples on why the person is a well-qualified candidate. The writer should connect the person to the job or educational program by describing the particular skills or qualities for the role. It is essential to spread the description even if it fits several paragraphs.

Closing paragraph

The last paragraph is the closing point where the writer should end the letter but not before stating availability if there is a need for more information or verbal communication. The writer can also reiterate to recommend the person “without reservation or wholeheartedly.”

A letter of recommendation should end with a professional closing such as "sincerely," handwritten signature and typed name after three or four spaces the contact information (email and phone). It is enough to type the name and contact information if the letter is an email.

Asking for a resume is a crucial step in how to write a letter of recommendation for nursing because it helps in accurate describing of the candidate.

Nursing requires creativity, and reflective writing helps in developing these skills. Nurses write reflective essays as part of their assignment. Reflective essays describe an experience or event, analyzes the meaning of experience and the lessons. An essay becomes reflective because a writer analyses a past event from the present.

Reflective essays require a writer to open up about emotions and thoughts to paint a real picture of their personality, individual traits, and history. They should carry a vivid summary and describe an experience in a manner that makes the reader feel like he experienced it. A reflective essay in nursing should focus on the clinical and medical expertise with the potential of contributing knowledge to their discipline as well as helping to serve a greater good to humanity.

Topics to write a reflective essay for English nursing

Ideas for reflective essays start with guided reflections. Nurses listen to stories and experiences of patients then convert them into an essay. This kind of writing does not just rely on hearing, recording and writing about the incidents. A nurse must be conscious about experiences during training and practice. They should know how to identify the right metaphors when writing the essays.

Many subjects can fit into a thoughtful essay for nursing, but they should be something about the field or anything that created an interest in joining this profession. Some of the subjects to use for a reflective essay include:

Structure to Write a Reflective Essay for English Nursing

Organizing a reflective essay should be in a similar format of writing other types of essays. The layout below is a great outline for a nursing reflective essay.

Introduction/introductory paragraph

The first paragraph is the point to identify the subject and give readers a general overview of the impression it makes to the writer. An introductory paragraph should include a thesis statement that serves as a focal point of the paper. A reflective nursing essay is patient-centered. The writing should begin with a brief introduction to the first condition of a patient. The introduction of a reflective essay gives the writer freedom for describing the patient regarding age, illness and brief case history.

Example of a Thesis for a Reflective Essay for English Nursing

"I was looking forward to a quiet moment after finishing my shift, but it was not going to happen. The elderly patient who came in the morning was having breathing difficulties. He had contracted pneumonia during a holiday trip. I quickly called our supervisor about the patient's condition before rushing to the bedside to check on him while waiting for the doctor to rush in."

Writing the Body of a Reflective Essay for English Nursing

The first of body paragraphs should start with explaining the reason why the subject in the essay made a significant impression. A follow up to the first statement the first paragraph should be the "why." A reflective essay allows speculation hence there is no right or wrong answer. Other reasons are for the subject to make an impression to the writer should follow up the first. The next paragraph can explain the condition and feelings that the nurse observed on a patient such as the physical state. A writer can also make some assumptions about the patient after an evaluation and might note any doubts. The last paragraph should present the most important lesson for the writer after an experience with the patient.

Writing the Conclusion of a Reflective Essay for English Nursing

A reflective essay for nursing should end with the reflections got during interaction with a patient. It recaps the thesis statement and reasons in the body of the essay but a few concise words. A nurse might also include a view on the future care that the patient requires before summing up the article with the final thoughts on the subject and closing reflective thoughts.

A reflective essay for English nursing should be in the first person narrative to make it personal and is better in chronological approach.

Technical writing is a form of written communication that explains or describes complicated processes or concepts in terms that non-experts can understand. Technical writing is a different skill from other forms of professional or academic writing. It relies heavily on writing in clear, concise terms blended with complex processes and concepts to explain them to a particular audience.

Nursing students should acquire technical writing skill as they might require it someday. Understanding the specifics necessary for technical writing is a valuable lesson in helping nursing students to excel in their specific field of study and meet career goals.

The ability of a writer to achieve the purpose relies on knowledge of the subject, the audience and the extent of knowledge that readers have concerning the topic. For instance, if the subject of the piece is about dispensing medicine to patients, an author must know the audience well. The language should be equal to the level if the readers who can be patients, nursing peers, doctors or other medical personnel. The approach to these audiences is different because their professional and technical knowledge on the matter is not equal. Each group of readers should feel that a technical paper matches their understanding and reasoning capacity.

Why Nursing Students Should Learn Technical Writing

Nursing students need technical writing skill as they will apply it in their education during clinical experience, clinical experience, internship and licensing exams. It is valuable to know the specifics of technical writing early in the nursing program as it will help in excelling at a specific field of study and achieving career goals. Nursing students will benefit from learning how to write technical work because they can apply it for these situations.

Coursework

Technical writing skills in coursework apply to the documenting procedures based on concepts learned during the study. For instance, a student might need to write a paper in an anatomy course about the effects of the heart on the circulatory system. In the psychological course, technical writing might be necessary for describing a mental condition and treatment in professional terminology.

Clinical Experiences

The clinical portion of nursing education entails hands-on training on tasks such as taking blood pressure, drawing blood for testing and completing other mandatory duties for nurses. Technical writing skills are essential for documentation of basic clinical procedures for reference in future.

Internship

All capacities of nursing internships expose nursing students to many procedures relating to general medical practices, specific approaches to patient care, patient follow-up practices and office procedures. Office practices in various medical environments are different making it essential to utilize technical when capturing the notes for them to be logical for future references and understanding.

Licensing exams

Writing content and procedures enables the nursing student to internalize the significant material according to findings in specific research during the nursing study and writing across the curriculum. Writing the technical concepts reinforces understanding in the learner which comes in handy when preparing for licensing.

Nursing career

Nursing students with impressive technical writing skills can perform better than others in the nursing profession. Their writing ability enables them to write necessary documentation for professionals and non-expert in health care. A nurse can write steps to manage a medical condition with homemade therapies to a patient. The same person can write a procedure on dispensing patient medication for other colleagues and still write a research-based report about new medical procedures for a manager or doctor.

Writing Style for Technical writing by Nursing Students

Technical writing requires the writer to present a complicated procedure and ideas with well-though explanations that the target reader will understand. Writing should be in second or third person perspective hence the writer must avoid mention of the first person.

The writer develops a technical report from studying and observation, but it should not be an opinion piece. it should express the technical concepts or processes step-by-step for clarity to the reader about the steps taken and outcome for each. It is more of an explanation that "action one leads to result in two."

The best way of presenting information in technical writing should be in brief sentences and paragraphs (chunking information). The language should be simple, direct and specific for quick understanding. Short sections help in providing white spaces on pages to visually break up the text visually and prevent monotony.