There are numerous examples of specialization and collaboration in nature. Natureâ€TMs sophisticated organizations include ant colonies and bee hives, to name a few. Each thrives because its members specialize by task, divide labor, and collaborate to ensure the colony’s or hive’s food, safety, and general well-being.

Humans, on the other hand, do not fare too badly in this regard. Healthcare is a prime example. Nurse informaticists collaborate with specialists on a regular basis as specialists in data collection, access, and application to ensure that appropriate data is available to make decisions and take actions to ensure the general well-being of patients.

You will reflect on your own observations and/or experiences with informaticist collaboration in this Discussion. You will also make recommendations for how to improve these collaborative experiences.

To Get Ready:

Examine the resources and consider how nursing informatics has evolved from a science to a nursing specialty.
Consider your interactions with nurse informaticists or technology specialists in your healthcare setting.
Post a description of your experiences or observations about how nurse informaticists, data or technology specialists, and other professionals in your healthcare organization interact with one another. Provide at least one strategy for improving these interactions. Provide specifics and examples. Then, explain how you believe the continued evolution of nursing informatics as a specialty, as well as the continued emergence of new technologies, will affect professional interactions.