Summer Institute in Nursing Informatics

SINI 2023 will focus on the value of informatics and the informatician to include innovations across the healthcare continuum. We will explore measurement, growth and sustainability of current practices, care delivery optimization, and the importance of informatics professionals. New educational essentials and standards of practice will be highlighted along with exploring innovations to support a technology enabled healthcare environment.

At the conclusion of SINI2023, participants will be able to:

1. Discuss the value, growth, measurement, and sustainability of informatics and the informatician. 
2. Examine the changing role of informaticians in conjunction with new educational and practice requirements.
3. Explore innovations in technology across the continuum of care.
4. Prepare academic and practice educators to teach/guide other clinicians how to operationalize informatics competencies in academic and practice settings.

Track A: The Value of Informatics and the Informatician

Clinical informatics and the informatician are crucial for patient care, and the success of a healthcare system. However vital their work, Informatics staff can feel invisible to the rest of the health care organization. How do you measure the value and promote the growth of informatics and informaticians throughout the health care community? What are the data metrics used to determine the value of informatics? How is this value shared back to the health care community? This track will explore ways to capture the value of the informatician and reinvest the benefits to the organization and the patient.

Track B: Innovations Across the Continuum of Care 

Recently, U.S. healthcare systems have explored ways to address health population management and chronic disease challenges using innovative solutions, including health care informatics technologies and new care models. The pandemic shifted the way we communicate and deliver health care using hybrid approaches. In line with these changes, there was a paradigm shift in the nursing and health care informatics domain with regard to the way we learn, teach, and practice informatics. 

This track introduces experts and practitioners in care delivery, care management, health IT implementation and interprofessional educators, who will explain and demonstrate innovations they have used in their emphasis areas.

SINI “U”: Preparing Educators to Navigate Clinicians into Cyber Healthcare

Healthcare systems across the globe are evolving with the rising tide of change. As the wave of health information technologies and tools mature and are implemented into practice, there is a constant demand for eHealth and cyber competent and capable clinicians who can navigate these changes. The need for rapid and relevant data driven decisions and best practice uses of technology continues to grow with the internal and external pressures of ever-present healthcare system transformations and consumer demand. Societal needs have driven systems away from all in-person visits to virtual care where and when needed. This requires nurses at all levels and every practice environment to be competent and capable to participate in the changes and lead this evolution. SINI “U” will prepare academic and practice educators to navigate clinicians in all practice settings to develop competencies and capabilities to address the evolution in cyber healthcare.

Program Chairs

Barbara Van de Castle, DNP, APRN-CNS, RN-BC, OCN
SINI 2023 Co-Chair
Assistant Professor, Nursing Informatics Program
University of Maryland School of Nursing
vandecastle@umaryland.edu

Charlotte Seckman, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN
SINI 2023 Co-Chair
Associate Professor, Nursing Informatics Program
University of Maryland School of Nursing
seckman@umaryland.edu

Planning Committee

Marion Ball, EdD, FLHIMSS, FCHIME, FAAN, FACMI
Executive Director, Multi-Interprofessional Center for Health Informatics
University of Texas at Arlington
Marionball6@gmail.com

Cheryl A. Fisher, EdD, MSN, RN
Director and Associate Professor
Nursing Informatics Program
University of Maryland School of Nursing
cheryl.fisher@umaryland.edu

Blossom Jiang
Graduate Student
University of Maryland School of Nursing
SINI Social Media Coordinator 
bjiang@umaryland.edu 

Arpad G. Kelemen, PhD
Professor, Nursing Informatics Program
University of Maryland School of Nursing
kelemen@umaryland.edu

Kathleen McGrow DNP, MS, RN, PMP
Chief Nursing Information Officer
Microsoft Health and Life Science Industry Team
Kathleen.Mcgrow@microsoft.com

Mary Etta Mills, ScD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
Nurse Planner
University of Maryland School of Nursing
mmills@umaryland.edu

Eun-Shim Nahm, PhD, RN, FAAN
Associate Dean of PhD Program and Professor
Co-Director, Biology and Behavior Across the Life Span Organized Research Center
University of Maryland School of Nursing
enahm@umaryland.edu 

Cynthia Russell, DNP, RN-BC, EBP-C
Informatics Nurse Specialist
Frederick Memorial Hospital
Adjunct Professor, University of Maryland 
Crussell@frederick.health 

Ernest Opoku-Agyemang, MS, MA, RN
Assistant Professor, Nursing Informatics Program
University of Maryland School of Nursing
eopoku@umaryland.edu

Claribel Sawyerr, DNP, MPH, RN-BC
Supervisory Nurse Consultant - Informatics
Department of Clinical Research Informatics
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
csawyerr@cc.nih.gov

Sonia Smith, BS
Senior Program Specialist, Office of Professional Education
University of Maryland School of Nursing
sonia.smith@umaryland.edu

Marisa L. Wilson, DNSc, MHSc, RN-BC, FAAN
Associate Professor and Specialty Track Coordinator, Nursing Informatics Program
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing
mwilsoa@uab.edu

Rhonda Schoville, PhD, MSBA, RN
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Systems, Populations, and Leadership
University of Michigan School of Nursing
rhondas@med.umich.edu

Rebecca Freeman, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP
Vice President for Health Informatics
University of Vermont Health Network
freemanjr@gmail.com

Sayonara Barbosa, PhD, RN
Associate Professor, Nursing Informatics and Critical Care Nursing Program
Sub-Coordinator, Graduate Program in Health Informatics
Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil
sayonara.barbosa@ufsc.br

Lynn Marie Elizabeth Bullock, DNP, RN, NEA-BC
Director, Office of Professional Education
University of Maryland School of Nursing
lbullock@umaryland.edu

Toria Shaw Morawski, MSW, IICDP
Sr. Manager, Professional Development
ShawMorawski@himss.org

Teri Young, MSB, RN-BC
Vice President, Clinical Systems & Chief of Clinical Informatics
University of Maryland Medical System
teri.Young@umm.edu

Diane Constantine, MSN, RN-BC, NEA-BC
Director, Clinical Informatics
University of Maryland Medical System
Adjunct Faculty, University of Maryland School of Nursing
dconstantine@umm.edu 

Overview

The Summer Institute in Nursing Informatics (SINI) was introduced in 1990 at the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) following the implementation of the nation’s first master’s program in nursing informatics.

SINI is a nonprofit event hosted by UMSON that provides an opportunity to deliver multiple-level learning experiences to meet the needs of nurse and health care informaticians across the spectrum of practice.

For more than three decades, the UMSON informatics faculty, along with an expert planning committee consisting of national and international leaders in the field, have assessed the learning needs of the nursing/health care informatics community; reviewed technology and informatics trends; and made recommendations to determine the overall theme, goals, and objectives for each SINI event, held annually in July.

The overall mission, vision and goals of the institute are as follows:

Mission

SINI’s mission is to provide clinicians, leaders, and academicians with new knowledge, exceptional presentations, meaningful networking opportunities, and experiences that further develop leadership in the field of nursing and health care informatics.

Vision

SINI’s vision is to serve as the premier institute for innovative nursing and health care informatics continuing education and knowledge sharing. We aim to advance the field nationally and internationally.

Objectives

• Maintain a scholarly institute that is on the leading edge of nursing and health care informatics.
• Promote evidence-based practice in nursing informatics and serve as a guide to translate evidence into practice.
• Identify national and international experts and emerging specialists to examine topics related to the latest innovations.
• Provide a forum for peer networking.
• Offer a venue to advance leadership in informatics.