Nursing Welcomes its First Informaticist
Christine Curran, PhD, RN, CNA, joined Nursing in August as a senior nurse scientist. As BWH's first nurse informaticist, Curran helps nurses manage information more effectively by using informatics knowledge and technology-based tools. “Informatics is the science of how one takes data, turns it into information and ultimately knowledge used to make important decisions for patient care,” she explained.
Curran describes her role as part research and part operational. Her key research interest is how the display of information affects how the reader perceives it and makes a decision based upon it. “I examine how data displays, such as graphs, charts and icons, affect the speed and accuracy of decision-making in the clinical setting,” she said. As her first project, she is participating in the Partners initiative to move hospitals to electronic documentation by working with IS and clinical departments to understand their information needs.
Curran joins BWH from Ohio State University where, as a clinical associate professor in the College of Nursing, she began implementing a clinical information system (CIS) in the technology learning lab, including a coordination of the CIS with a human simulator for students to practice on before treating patients.