The HIMSS24 Nursing Informatics Forum is celebrating more than 25 years in Orlando next week, with an agenda looking back at the past quarter century – and forward to a future where the nature of technology-enabled nursing promises no shortage of change.
With the fitting title “Legacy and Innovation,” the Nursing Informatics Forum – cohosted by Sean Michaels, DNP, of Orlando Health and Whende Carroll, RN, of HIMSS – the preconference forum takes place on Monday, March 11.
Across opening and closing keynote addresses and six forum sessions in between, industry leaders will explore the dynamic field of nursing informatics amidst rapid technological advancements and significant industry changes.
With a primary focus on addressing the global nursing shortage and associated burnout, the discussions emphasize creative and empowering solutions, with the keynote opening speech to be delivered by Kenrick Cato, professor of informatics at University of Pennsylvania Medicine.
In his presentation, Cato will discuss the evolution of healthcare technology innovation over the past five, 10 and 15 years, highlighting its impact on nursing capabilities and emphasizing the pivotal role of nursing informatics in ensuring nurses’ involvement in strategic decision-making related to technology.
Sessions throughout the forum cover various themes, including the role of nurses in shaping an innovative healthcare future with AI, ethical considerations in AI integration, insights into technology adoption and integration in nursing practice, and the influential role of nurse informaticists in inspiring change.
Following Cato’s opening remarks, three sessions in a row will explore the impact of AI on nursing.
The first lecture, delivered by Tom Lawry, managing director at Second Century Tech, will offer an overview of key AI concepts, including AI’s potential to drive innovation and ensure equitable healthcare solutions and the intersection of nursing, informatics and AI shaping the future of healthcare.
The second, delivered by Robbie Freeman, digital experience and chief nursing informatics officer at Mount Sinai Health System, will both focus on the central role nurses will play in driving AI and digital innovation in healthcare and examine the ethical considerations of AI.
A third discussion focuses on ethical integration of AI in nursing to be led by Olga Yakusheva, professor of nursing and public health at University of Michigan, and Tracee Coleman, clinical informatics consultant at Optum Health. They’ll explain the strategy developed in collaboration with the Nursing Knowledge Big Data Science Initiative to leverage AI’s potential while addressing ethical concerns.
Crucial integration strategies, key considerations and pitfalls, and the benefits and risks of AI in nursing will all be discussed, with a special focus on the importance of structure.
The forum culminates in a keynote closing speech from Connie Delaney, dean and professor at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, who will focus on the collective call to action at the nexus of nursing and technology, and assess the challenges and barriers that nurses and nursing informaticists face upon taking leadership roles in healthcare technology initiatives.