She organized the first nursing track at SCAMC (Symposium on Computer Applications in Medical Care) in 1981 and also initiated at that conference the first Nursing Informatics-Special Interest Group at SCAMC, which became the AMIA Nursing Informatics Working Group in 1991; was instrumental in creating the American Nurses Association Council on Computer Applications in Nursing (CCAIN) in 1986, which became the Steering Committee on Databases to Support Nursing Practice in 1990, and which is currently the Committee for Nursing Practice Information Infrastructure (CNPII); and initiated the first national workshops and conferences on this new nursing specialty. She also developed, from a federally funded research, the Home Health Care Classification (HHCC) System consisting of two Taxonomies: HHCC of Nursing Diagnoses, and HHCC of Nursing Interventions classified by 20 Care Components. The HHCC is “recognized” by the ANA as a nursing classification that is coded and ready for computer-based patient records. Do visit her Web Site at: http://www.sabacare.com.
She remains very active in informatics today as the current Chair of the Nursing Informatics Special Interest Group for the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA), the current Chair of the Steering Committee of the International Standards Organization (ISO/TC215 WG3) An Integrated Reference Terminology Model for Nursing initiative; participates in several other health-related national standards committees; is a Distinguished Scholar at Georgetown University; an Adjunct Professor at The Graduate School of Nursing The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences; teaches several online informatics courses offered by schools of nursing; and is involved in numerous other informatics activities.
When asked,”What do you perceive to be the greatest potential contribution of information technology to the future of nursing practice?” Dr. Saba responded:
“I have a firm belief that in the future, if we become visible, nursing practice
will be revolutionized and we will truly be a profession of nurses with our
own classification systems, bibliographic systems, and payment systems. We
need to think “outside the box”. We need to use the Internet to enhance our
practice and provide telenursing care. We need to become wireless and conduct
our services using all the newer IT tools. We have a long way to go, but if we
utilize information technology effectively, informatics will become an integral
part of our profession and the health care industry. I do believe we have the
knowledge and perseverance and I am convinced it will come to pass.”
From: The Big Picture: Nursing Informatics Comes of Age Dr. Virginia K.Saba Reflects on the Evolution of Nursing Informatics. An Interview with FITNE.
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