RN-02 Timi Abiola
Timi Abiola is a nursing informatics nurse in Canada.
Location: Canada
Nursing Specialty: Nursing Informatics
Years of Experience: 2
How did you become a nurse? Where did you go to school?
I took the 4-year BN program at the University of Calgary after graduating from high school. The program was unique in that you don’t take any nursing courses your first year; it’s all pathophysiology & anatomy, statistics, and electives! That was when I cultivated my passion for psychology and mental health.
Where did you start as a nurse and what is your current role?
After graduation I started working in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, both inpatient and outpatient. I later transitioned to the clinical informatics analyst role I’m currently in. In this role, my team and I are responsible for supporting the Addiction & Mental Health portfolio within my organization. Even after making the transition, I still pick up additional shifts at the bedside and in the outpatient programs I previously worked at.
Can you explain your field of nursing and what a typical day at your job looks like?
Nursing informatics (which falls under the larger umbrella of clinical informatics) is defined by the Canadian Nurses Association as “the practice and science of integrating nursing information and knowledge with technology to manage and integrate health information.” I would say this is an accurate description! I am the only nurse on my clinical informatics team, so my medical knowledge, the way I apply the nursing process to the informatics work I do, and my nuanced understanding of the way changes to the electronic health record (EHR) impact nurses are assets to my team.
A typical day in my role involves providing workflow problem-solving and solutions to electronic health record (EHR) end-users and frontline leaders. This can look like: hopping on a Teams call to walk a healthcare provider through the process of completing a specific task, creating tip sheets for leaders to distribute to their teams, or visiting specific programs or hospitals to provide training with the goal of standardizing data entry into the EHR. I also spend a significant amount of time advocating for changes to the EHR. This involves obtaining feedback from frontline staff and presenting business cases that speak to the rationale for the requested change to governance bodies. Pulling data out of the system, analyzing it, then presenting it in reports that are shared with directors to help inform their decision making is also an important part of my role.
What are your typical hours?
I work a .79 FTE which ends up being 15 shifts in a month. I work M-F the first two weeks of the month, Tuesday to Friday the third week, and Tuesday to Thursday the fourth week. My hours are 08:00-16:15. I work on a hybrid arrangement where I work from home on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and in the office Tuesdays and Thursdays. I also pick up additional bedside shifts on the weekend, which are either from 07:00-15:15 or 15:00-23:15. I avoid working nights at all costs!
What advice would you give for nurses interested in a similar position?
Be proactive in terms of getting involved in opportunities that will grant you leadership, quality improvement, and change management experience early on in your career. This could look like: becoming a charge nurse, joining & actively participating in a quality assurance or joint workplace health and safety committees, or facilitating the implementation of new initiatives that are introduced by management. Volunteering to become a Super User when your organization is implementing a new EHR is the #1 opportunity to seek out as it will provide you with an avenue to gain the three types of experience I mentioned earlier.
How do you recharge or deal with burnout as a nurse?
Setting time aside each week to watch anime and other shows is my top coping skill! Currently, my favorite anime are Attack on Titan (oh so many tears during the series finale), Jujutsu Kaisen & Code Geass. For North American shows, I’m loving Gen V! My wife and I recently started Modern Family, and it’s hilarious! I also enjoy attending live music shows, training in the gym, listening to music, and meditating at the beginning and end of my day as ways to recharge.
What’s one secret or nursing tip you’ve learned?
Finding strategic ways to set yourself apart as a nurse will open the door to opportunities that you didn’t even know existed! And in my opinion, prioritizing developing strong leadership and communication skills is one of the best methods of achieving this. It’s never too soon to begin cultivating these skill sets.
What’s one change you would like to see in the nursing world?
For us to stop eating our young! I remember hearing that proverbial phrase in nursing school and not thinking much of it at the time. I was therefore in for an unpleasant surprise when I graduated and was subjected to significant bullying behavior at the hands of the more senior nurses on the unit. Fortunately, as my colleagues and I who started around the same time gained competence, confidence, and influence (in that order), we were able to transform the unit culture into something that was kind, welcoming and supportive. All the bully nurses became uncomfortable in the transformed work environment and left. This proves that change is indeed possible!
What’s one work item you can’t live without?
My black ink Pilot Precise V7 RT pens. They write smoothly, the ink flows readily, and you can purchase replacement ink tubes! Japanese-made pens are in a class of their own.
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