Week 9 Discussion: The Inclusion of Nurses in the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Week 9 Discussion Instructions

In the media introduction to this module, it was suggested that you, as a nurse, have an important role in the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC). With a focus on patient care and outcomes, nurses may not always see themselves as contributors to the development of new systems. However, as you may have observed in your own experience, exclusion of nurse contributions when implementing systems can have dire consequences.

In this Discussion, you will consider the role you might play in systems development and the ramifications of not being an active participant in systems development.

To Prepare:

• Review the steps of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) as presented in the Resources.
• Reflect on your own healthcare organization and consider any steps your healthcare organization goes through when purchasing and implementing a new health information technology system.
• Consider what a nurse might contribute to decisions made at each stage of the SDLC when planning for new health information technology.

BY DAY 3 OF WEEK 9

Post a description of what you believe to be the consequences of a healthcare organization not involving nurses in each stage of the SDLC when purchasing and implementing a new health information technology system. Provide specific examples of potential issues at each stage of the SDLC and explain how the inclusion of nurses may help address these issues. Then, explain whether you had any input in the selection and planning of new health information technology systems in your nursing practice or healthcare organization and explain potential impacts of being included or not in the decision-making process. Be specific and provide examples.

BY DAY 6 OF WEEK 9

Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days, by offering additional thoughts regarding the examples shared, SDLC-related issues, and ideas on how the inclusion of nurses might have impacted the example described by your colleagues.

SAMPLE RESPONSE:

The systems development life cycle is a model that brings a project from an idea to completion and consists of multiple phases which include the initiation phase, planning phase, design and development, testing, training and implementation, operations and management, and the disposition phase (Singletary & Baker, 2019). This model is used when introducing new documentation systems into areas of healthcare, specifically hospitals. Nurses must be included in the system for the results to turn out positive.

Consequences of Not Involving Nurses in SDLC

For any system to work, there needs to be the participation of all parties, specifically those who any change will affect the most. Designers can create what they feel is the best software, but it is ultimately useless if it is not beneficial to those who use it. Nurses and physicians are the ones who use documentation systems the most. Nurses, therefore, should be included in the creation of the software to give their input on whether something will be of benefit or not. The biggest challenge of the implementation phase is the agreeableness to change by the people it directly affects (Laureate Education, 2018). If nurses were involved in the planning process and were aware of the changes beforehand, it would be much easier to transition from the old system to the new one. According to Weckman and Janzen (2009), nurses should be utilized and listened to in all development life cycle steps, as they can prevent any system issues and promote quicker problem-solving.

Personal Experience With SDLC

My previous job changed systems from Meditech to Epic about two years ago. It was quite a stressful time for people who had never experienced Epic, but luckily I had experience and was not afraid of the change and welcomed it. However, this was not the case for most of the staff because they did not know what would come. There were people assigned to become Epic super users who would be trained individually and allowed to share their input with any problems they foresaw down the line. During the implementation phase, the super users were available to the staff for any software issues, along with a team from Epic, to help aid in a smooth transition. Ultimately, the transition went well, and we did not experience any major issues. Everyone was very pleased with how simple and efficient the Epic software was.

Conclusion

Nurses are important in the entire systems development life cycle process. The system could potentially fail if the input and opinions of the nurses are not taken into consideration. It will save time, money, and resources to include nursing and other healthcare providers in the design, implementation, and evaluation of new technology software.

References

• Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Managing Health Information Technology [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
• Singletary, V., & Baker, E. L. (2019). Building Informatics-Savvy Health Departments: The Systems Development Life Cycle. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 25(6), 610–611. https://doi.org/10.1097/phh.0000000000001086
• Weckman, H., & Janzen, S. (2009). The critical nature of early nursing involvement for introducing new technologies. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.3912/ojin.vol14no02man02

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