Introduction

The healthcare arena including education, research, administration and

patient care has become inundated with advances in technology over the

last decade. We must view the changes in healthcare as a challenge rather

than a risk to our profession and assist others through the transitions.

Nursing informatics applications have increased significantly within the

past few years. Nurses must now face the vast challenge of learning and

working within the age of technology. Technology influences the manner in

which nurses practice, how they are educated, and the methods of providing

and documenting patient care. In addition, advances in technology have also

become an integral link to staff development and continuing education.

The nursing profession, like many other professions, continues to

function on a daily basis within the realm of technology.

Increasing Use of Technology

Nurses encounter the use of technology daily. Also, technology is the

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

through computerized programs (Myles, 2000; Meadows, 2002, &

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

programmed into the systems (Myles, 2000).

Nurses are under constant stress and pressure to ensure medications

are administered properly. The ten rights are verified preventing medication

errors before they can occur. Handheld units are utilized to transmit patient

information directly to medical records (MR) providing more efficient

documentation with increased accuracy and consistency. Handwritten

documentation was often inconsistent and pertinent patient information was

frequently inadequate regarding nursing interventions. The resulting patient

education or care plans compromised the validity and reliability of the data

(Abrahamsen, 2003).

Another intervention is the use of a wireless phone system that

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

delays caused by pagers. In turn, patient and family satisfaction increased

assuring a better patient/care provider relationship (Abrahamsen, 2003).

Physicians and nurses have information readily available at a

moment’s notice to implement a change in the patient's plan of care.

Nursing and medical students are finding the PDA useful for collecting and

transmitting information used in clinical research. Nursing students are also

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

paper reference materials (Abrahamsen, 2003).

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

of gaining a new skill or as an opportunity to grow. Others view it as a

disruption or threat to their practice. Many nurses often resist the change to

advancements in technology because they feel it is an intrusion into their

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

informatics technology (Bozak, 2003).

One of the greatest fears is that advancing technology will make the nursing

profession obsolete. However, technology should be viewed as an assistant

to their nursing responsibilities, one that will decrease time spent with

administrative duties thus providing more time for hands-on care.

Technology has also demonstrated decreased medical errors relating to

automated orders (Simpson, 2003).

Since nurses spend a greater portion of their time documenting information,

adapting to electronic documentation is a much more difficult process than

for physicians. The age of the nurse, nursing experience and education level

impact acceptance of the technology. Younger nurses acquire informatics

skills while in nursing school and are more accepting of computer

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).