Project Management: Essential Skill of Nurse Informaticists

With the evolution of nursing informatics (NI), the list of skills has advanced from the original definition that included 21 competencies to 168 basic competencies identified in the TIGER-based Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies (TANIC) and 178 advanced skills in the Nursing Informatics Competency Assessment (NICA) L3/L4 developed by Chamberlain College of Nursing, Nursing Informatics Research Team (NIRT). Of these competencies, project management is one of the most important essentials identified since it impacts all areas of NI skills and provides an organizing framework for processes and projects including skills such as design, planning, implementation, follow-up and evaluation. Examples of job roles that specifically require project management skills as an essential part of the NI functions include management, administration, leadership, faculty, graduate level master's and doctorate practicum courses. But first, better understanding of the NI essential skills is vital before adequate education and training programs can be developed.