The 20th Century: The Very Recent
Past
Twentieth century nurses, many of whom are still practicing
today, were witness to the technological explosion in the
healthcare workplace. The technology "invasion" started in a
small way with digital thermometers that replaced the
glass-mercury ones and then IV pumps that electronically
monitored infusion rates, soon skyrocketing into more and more
complicated and sophisticated monitoring and life-support
machinery. The intensive care units were born and many nurses
began combining their familiar high-touch skills with their new
high-tech ones. Technology changed procedures like cardiac
catheterization. Sonograms, CT scans, and PET scans revealed
information about interior body spaces, allowing faster and more
precise diagnoses and treatments. Laser surgery was born, and
laporoscopic surgery began replacing traditional surgery,
allowing patients to go home sooner and with fewer complications.
This may sound like ancient history to the younger generations
of nurses whose familiarity with technology is like breathing,
but the 25 years or so that it has taken for technology to
transform healthcare is hardly long enough to qualify as
ancient.
The 21st Century: The Present Hurtling
into the Future
Fast-forward now to the 21st century and what seemed dazzling
once pales in comparison to now. The most important technological
skill the 21st century nurse needs has less to do with learning
how to work the latest technological marvel and more to do with
adapting quickly to the obsolescence of it, always ready for the
inevitable "what's new and what's next." The 21st century nurse
is technologically proficient, computer literate, and Internet
savvy. This nurse may not know how to manage every piece of
technology he or she comes across, but is ready, willing and able
to master it quickly, without thinking twice about it.
The age of information begun in the latter 20th century has
broadened its impact in this new millennium in ways that could
only be called revolutionary. Accessing and using information,
the currency of these times, and staying connected to others
through high-speed communication devices has forever changed the
way we live and work. Those among you that find this revolting
rather than revolutionary may be lost in a time warp that will
marginalize your experiences and limit your involvement as the
21st century marches on.
The Informatics Nurse
Those among you that find this intriguing and exhilarating may be
interested in pursuing a nursing role that has emerged in the
last decade as the computer and Internet become omnipresent in
healthcare--the informatics nurse. In 1994, the ANA defined the
scope of practice for nursing informatics as a:
"...combination of nursing science, computer science, and
information science used in identifying, collecting, processing
and managing data and information to support nursing practice,
administration, education, research and the expansion of
nursing knowledge."
Roles and responsibilities of the informatics nurse might
include:
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Teach nurses how to research information on
disease management. |
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Evaluate online patient education
materials. |
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Evaluate and recommend software and hardware
for providers and agencies. |
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Coordinate data from multiple sources. |
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Participate in research relevant to current
trends in clinical information systems. |
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Participate on committees making decisions
about new information technologies. |
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Participate in computer education for
staff. |
If you feel that combining an interest in and knack for
technology with your nursing competency would make for a very
satisfying career option, you might want to start looking into
graduate nursing programs, as nursing informatics could be the
best line of work for you.
This article was adapted from:
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Your Career in
Nursing
$18.00
Take control of your nursing career and effectively manage it
in today's ever-changing healthcare industry.
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