Here we are in February already, can you believe it?

I am writing this today on what is the coldest day of the year in Boston. It was bound to get cold up here in the Northeast. We've had a relatively mild winter but without fail, those chilly temps find their way to us. 

Well, I entitled this post, Demystifying Nursing Informatics for a reason. 

In my nearly 20 years within the speciality practice of Nursing Informatics, I continue to get asked by nurses (and non-nurses), "what exactly IS nursing informatics?

In fact one time, I was traveling to Duke University where I was teaching the Intro course to Nursing Informatics. I was trying to get to my hotel and there was a roadblock. I told the person that I was there to teach nursing informatics and his response was, "Info-what?!".

I laughed (and have never forgotten :)). 

Well, for some time now, I have wanted to develop a program to help demystify this specialty practice that has brought me so many exciting...

Wishing each of you a happy holiday season! 

As 2022 nearly comes to an end, it is natural to think about the future while also reflecting on the accomplishments of the past year. 

At iCare, we saw so many of you reach your goals and share your successes with us! Those are exciting moments for us and we appreciate you sharing your accomplishments with us!

We also heard from you of areas where you'd like to see more from us in the year to come and beyond. (More to come in 2023...)

We upgraded our website and moved to a new platform for more ease of use and the opportunity to expand our offerings in a more seamless way. 

We also added on some new programs with one more coming *hopefully* before the end of 2022!

Revamp your Resume was added to support your professional  resume development. We often hear from nurses who are not in formal informatics roles but wish to do so, how they can showcase their informatics and health IT expertise. While this program was...

Can you believe that we are less than two months away from a new year? The 2022 year has gone by fast. Something that always comes to mind toward the end of a year is closing out the current year and planning for the next. 

As we head toward closing out the 2022 year, it is important to reflect on what you have accomplished in your professional career. 

Perhaps you were asked to serve on a new health IT, quality and safety, or informatics council. 

Perhaps you were asked to give a presentation on behalf of your colleagues for a project that helped support care delivery. 

Perhaps you took on a new role, received an award, or earned a new certification. 

Whatever you may have achieved, now is the time to ensure it has been added to your resume. In fact, I encourage you to consider establishing a cycle at least once, preferably twice, per year where you revamp your resume!

I often hear from nurses who are either looking for ways to stand out in their resume or...

During the summer of 2014, I finally committed to taking the informatics nurse board certification exam. 

I did not know how to approach studying for it nor how it would go but I was tired of putting it off and knew if I did not do it soon, it would continue to get put off. 

While I had my PhD in nursing informatics from Duke, I knew that I was still missing that third party validation of my knowledge that could be assessed by clients, customers, and colleagues. I did not want there to be any question that my knowledge, experience, expertise, and approaches to health IT projects and practice  was comprehensive, thorough, and valuable to others. 

Unfortunately, there have been many times where I have been asked, "what is informatics?" and "what do informatics nurses do?". Those are times when I reflect on their questions and recognize that more clarity is needed to our roles and capabilities. 

One way to demonstrate your capabilities, expertise, and...