Professional Documents
Culture Documents
patient care has become inundated with advances in technology over the
than a risk to our profession and assist others through the transitions.
past few years. Nurses must now face the vast challenge of learning and
which nurses practice, how they are educated, and the methods of providing
basis for changing the way patient care is being delivered. Duplicate charting
and documentation are eliminated and error reduction allows more time for
and flexibility in delivering patient care. Standards of care are also tracked
Abrahamsen, 2003). Blood pressure, temperature, and other vital signs are
now taken electronically, recorded and tracked for trends. Nurses are alerted
to any abnormal results based on previously established parameters
are administered properly. The ten rights are verified preventing medication
errors before they can occur. Handheld units are utilized to transmit patient
education or care plans compromised the validity and reliability of the data
(Abrahamsen, 2003).
enables a response to phone calls from any area within the unit through a
wireless local network. The ability to reach the nurses instantly reduced
Nursing and medical students are finding the PDA useful for collecting and
finding the PDA to be helpful with drugs, nursing diagnosis, and for
procedural references.
Immediate access to the Internet and its many resources eliminates the
need for the healthcare provider to cart around numerous and burdensome
Response to Change
As with any new process, one will witness many varying attitudes regarding
the change. Some individuals view change with excitement and anticipation
disruption or threat to their practice. Many nurses often resist the change to
routine of providing patient care. It is also noted that nurses question the
security of their jobs and feel quite powerless with the unbridled, extensive
and quickened process of the overall change in the healthcare arena due to
One of the greatest fears is that advancing technology will make the nursing
to their nursing responsibilities, one that will decrease time spent with
advancements. Those nurses who have been in the healthcare field for a
number of years often find the change quite difficult. They must
simultaneously learn new skills and new system programs which require
additional time not always readily available. Patients are the priority and
computer skills are squeezed in when time permits. (Bozak, 2003 & Gillespie,
2003).