BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN NURSING:

NURSING INFORMATICS
COURSE MODULE COURSE UNIT WEEK
1 4 4

Computer Software

Read course and unit objectives

Read study guide prior to class attendance
Read required learning resources; refer to unit
terminologies for jargons
Proactively participate in classroom discussions
Participate in weekly discussion board (Canvas)
Answer and submit course unit tasks

At the end of this unit, the students are expected to:

Cognitive:
1. Define computer software
2. Discuss the history of computer software
3. Identify the types of software
4. Explain the concept of software packaging, and identify common software packages
5. Cite common software considered useful in the practice of the nursing profession
6. Discuss computer programming and factors related
Affective:
1. Listen attentively during class discussions
2. Demonstrate tact and respect when challenging other people’s opinions and ideas
3. Accept comments and reactions of classmates on one’s opinions openly and graciously

Psychomotor:
1. Participate actively during class discussions and group activities
2. Express opinion and thoughts in front of the class

Saba, V., and McCormick, K. (2006) Essentials of Nursing Informatics 4th Edition, Overview of
Computers and Nursing, Historical Perspectives of Nursing and Computer (pp 59-69). New York:
McGraw-Hill Companies

Computer Software Definition

Software is a general term for the various kinds of programs used to operate computers and
related devices. Software can be thought of as the variable part of a computer. Software requires
hardware, which is the physical substrate on which software exists and runs, and hardware is
useless without software.

The term software dates back to at least 1850. At that time, it is referred to a type of garbage that
would decompose, and hardware referred to garbage that would not decompose. The current
usage dates back to at least 1958, when John W. Tukey, a highly influential statistician who held
posts at both Princeton University and Bell Labs, used it in an article in the January 1958 issue of
American Mathematical Monthly. Titled the Teaching of Concrete Mathematics, he described
software as the carefully planned interpretive routines, compilers, and other aspects of automotive
programming.

Types of Software

There are two basic types of software namely system software and application software.

• System Software
System software is a program that manages and supports the computer resources and
operations of a computer system while it executes various tasks such as processing data and
information, controlling hardware components, and allowing users to use application software.
That is, systems software functions as a bridge between computer system hardware and the
application software.

o Basic Input and Output System (BIOS)

The BIOS software has a number of different roles, but its most important role is to load the
operating system. When you turn on your computer and the microprocessor tries to execute
its first instruction, it has to get that instruction from somewhere. It cannot get it from the
operating system because the operating system is located on a hard disk, and the
microprocessor cannot get to it without some instructions that tell it how. The BIOS provides
those instructions.

o Operating Systems
Operating systems are the software component of a computer system that is responsible for
the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of the
computer. The operating system acts as a host for applications that are run on the machine.
As a host, one of the purposes of an operating system is to handle the details of the
operation of the hardware. This relieves application programs from having to manage these
details and makes it easier to write applications. Almost all computers, including handheld
computers, desktop computers, supercomputers, and even video game consoles, use an
operating system of some type. Common examples are Microsoft Windows and Linux /
Unix.

o Disk Operating System (DOS)

DOS is the medium through which the user and external devices attached to the system
communicate with the system. DOS translate the command issued by the user in the format
that is understandable by the computer and instruct computer to work accordingly. It also
translates the result and any error message in the format for the user to understand.

o Graphical User Interface (GUI)

GUIs are computer program that enables a person to communicate with a computer through
the use of symbols, visual metaphors, and pointing devices. The GUI has replaced the
arcane and difficult textual interfaces of earlier computing with a relatively intuitive system
that has made computer operation not only easier to learn but more pleasant and natural.
The GUI is now the standard computer interface, and its components have themselves
become unmistakable cultural artifacts.

o Utility Programs
A program that performs a specific task related to the management of computer functions,
resources, or files, as password protection, memory management, virus protection, and file
compression. Common examples are Disk Defragmenters, Application Launchers and Web
Browsers.
• Application Software
Programs that specify the information processing activities required for the completion of
specific tasks of computer users. Examples

Classification of Application Software

• Word Processing Software

Writing tasks previously done on typewriters with considerable effort can now be easily
completed with word-processing software. Writing tasks such as keying in reports, letters, and
tables, as well as merging documents, can be performed easily. Documents can be easily
edited and formatted. Revisions can be made by deleting (cutting), inserting, moving (cutting
and pasting), and copying data. Documents can be stored (saved) and opened again for
revisions and/or printing. Many styles and sizes of fonts are available to make the document
attractive.

• Spreadsheet Software
Spreadsheet software permits performance of an almost endless variety of quantitative tasks
such as budgeting, keeping track of inventory, preparing financial reports, or manipulating
numbers in any fashion, such as averaging each of ten departmental monthly sales over a six-
month period. A spreadsheet contains cells, the intersection of rows and columns. Each cell
contains a value keyed in by the user. Cells also contain formulas with many capabilities, such
as adding, multiplying, dividing, subtracting, averaging, or even counting. An outstanding
feature of the spreadsheets is its ability to recalculate automatically. If one were preparing a
budget, for example, and wanted to change a variable such as an increase in salary or a
change in amount of car payments, the formulas would automatically recalculate the affected
items and the totals.

• Data Base Software

A database contains a list of information items that are similar in format and/or nature. An
example is a phone book that lists a name, address, and phone number for each entry. Once
stored in a database, information can be retrieved in several ways, using reports and queries.
For example, all the names listed for a given area code could be printed out and used for a
commercial mailing to that area.

• Desktop Publishing Software

This software permits the user to prepare documents by using both word-processing devices
and graphics. Desktop publishing software uses word-processing software, with all its ease of
entering and revising data, and supplements it with sophisticated visual features that stem from
graphics software. For example, one can enhance a printed message with virtually any kind of
illustration, such as drawings, paintings, and photographs.
• Presentation Software
A speaker may use presentation software to organize a slide show for an audience. Text,
graphics, sound, and movies can easily be included in the presentation. An added feature is
that the slide show may be enhanced by inclusion of handouts with two to six slides printed on
a page. The page may be organized to provide space for notes to be written in by the audience
as the presentation ensues. An example of this is Power Point. Preparation of the software is
simplified by the use of 'wizards' that walk the user through the creation of the presentation.

• Office Suite Software

Office suite software puts together complete programs of software. A typical suite package
might include word processing, spreadsheet, databases, and presentation software. Depending
on the jobs that need to be done, the suite provides the tools to make professional-looking
documents.

Application programs are written in a particular programming language.

Common Software/Programs Utilized in the Nursing Practice

In most hospitals, software used by nurses includes admission, discharge and transfer (ADT)
systems that help with patient tracking and medication administration record (MAR) software.
Increasingly, hospitals have added charting software that computerizes at least some parts of the
nursing record.

Nurses also utilize common software for communication purposes. Some examples are as follows:

• Chat Rooms
Chat rooms are like electronic conference calls. Multiple users can send and receive messages
at the same time. Some chat rooms are public but private chat rooms require password. Chat
room technology is synchronous, that is, users can connect in real time even at huge distances.

• Social Network
Social network refers to any number of web addresses designed to create online communities.
These communities can be focused around common interests, goals, or simply away for people
to interact.

• Electronic Bulletin Board

Electronic bulletin board is an early form of computer conferencing but still popular nowadays.
They may be called discussion boards or electronic forums. Forums can be posted using
administrative or user defined categories. Electronic bulletin board is asynchronous which
means users can post messages at the time of their convenience.
• Listservs
Listservs are considered the least powerful version of the electronic bulletin board. The
software functions more like an electronic mailing list. When a user post message to a board, it
is merely emailed to all members of the conference.

Programming Languages

A programming language is a means of communicating with the computer. The only language a
CPU can understand is binary or machine language.

A computer executes a sequence of instructions (a program) in order to perform some task. In

spite of much written about computers being electronic brains or having artificial intelligence, it is
still necessary for humans to convey this sequence of instructions to the computer before the
computer can perform the task. The set of instructions and the order in which they have to be
performed is known as an algorithm. The result of expressing the algorithm in a programming
language is called a program. The process of writing the algorithm using a programming language
is called programming, and the person doing this is the programmer.

Categories of Programming Languages

• Machine Language
Machine language belongs to low level programming languages. They are the most basic and
can be understand directly by the computer and consist of binary numbers 1 and 0.

• Symbolic Language
Symbolic language, on the other hand, use convenient symbols or mnemonics.

• Assembly Language
Assembly language are intermediate languages that are very close to machine language and
do not have the level of linguistic sophistication exhibited by other high-level languages but
must still be translated into machine language.

• High Level Language

High level languages are programming languages that must first be translated into a machine
language before they can be understood and processed by a computer. They use traditional
mathematical symbols. Also called Compiler Languages, for these languages requires a special
program called a Compiler, which translates programs written in particular languages into
machine language.
Common Programming Languages

• Beginner’s All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code (BASIC)

BASIC is the first lingua franca of microcomputers, often taught to beginning programmers
because it is easy to use and understand and because it contains the same major concepts as
many other languages, it is thought to be more difficult.

• Common Business Oriented Language (COBOL)

It is a language that can be run on any computer makes and models. It was designed for writing
business programs with minimum of time and effort

COBOL is a compiled language, are split into four divisions:

o Identification
o Environment
o Data
o Procedure

• Formula Translation (FORTRAN)

The first high-level computer language and the progenitor of many key high-level concepts,
such as variables, expressions, statements, iterative and conditional statements, separately
compiled sub-routines, and formatted input/output.

• Pascal
Pascal is a compiled, structured language, built upon ALGOL, simplifies syntax while adding
data types and structures such as sub ranges, enumerated data types, files, records, and sets

• C
C is considered by many to be more a machine-independent assembly language than a high-
level language, its close association with the UNIX operating system, its enormous popularity,
and its standardization by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) have made it
perhaps the closest thing to a standard programming language in the
microcomputer/workstation marketplace

Computer Programming

Computer programming refers to the process of writing a computer program, which is a series of
instructions written in proper sequence to solve a specific problem. A program encompasses the
program instructions and is generally written by a computer programmer.

There are five major steps in writing any computer program:

• Problem Definition – involves the identification of the problem to be solved regarded as the
most crucial step in programming

• Program Design – where the process designing takes place

• Writing the Code and Program Documentation – includes structure and narrative
documentation

• Alpha Testing – also known as desk checking where components are checked based on the
intended purpose and design

• Beta Testing and Program Documentation – involves installation to actual user environment
that signals program implementation

Software - a general term for the various kinds of programs used to operate computers and
related devices. Software can be thought of as the variable part of a computer. Software requires
hardware, which is the physical substrate on which software exists and runs, and hardware is
useless without software.

Programming language - a means of communicating with the computer. The only language a
CPU can understand is binary or machine language.

Auslander, Marc A.; Larkin, David C.; Scherr, Allan L.. "The evolution of the MVS Operating
System". IBM J. Research & Development, Website:
http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/rd/255/auslander

• List down 5 examples of common software for communication purposes in each category
• Create a poster or one-page guide on ‘Safety and Security at Social Networking Sites
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Auslander, Marc A.; Larkin, David C.; Scherr, Allan L.. "The evolution
of the MVS Operating System". IBM J. Research & Development,
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TechTarget Webpage, Website:

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http://sunset.backbone.olemiss.edu/~misbook/sfsysfm.htm