Learning objectives:

1. Identify technologies that demonstrate value by transforming delivery of nursing care.
2. Describe three or more benefits of technology for improving safety and efficiency of care.
3. Understand importance of  including nurses in design, testing, and evaluation of technology.

Description and outcomes:

Leading edge technologies bring value to nurses and patients with life-saving interventions.  Information systems and devices remove the human potential for error, provide a single set of clinical data, and enable greater efficiencies.  Technologies eliminate waste saving nurses’ time, and their employers money.

Technologies also have significant impact helping keep care at home and in the community. Nurses are on the front lines helping patients monitor their own health and vital signs, and implementing programs for health promotion and chronic illness management.

Today’s nurses want active engagement in the use of technology from design to testing to quality improvement.  However, nurses have often been passive consumers of technology-accepting the device or system purchased off the shelf without full knowledge of field testing with nurses in a practice setting.  When technology does not serve the needs of the nurse and patient, the nurse creates a “workaround” which typically underutilizes the technology, overrides safety features, and creates inconsistencies in care.

When nurses are more satisfied, so are their patients.  It is important to invest in technologies that are nurse friendly.  This includes advanced functionality, greater support of workflow, greater ease of use, ergonomically sound design, and rapid retrieval of data with connectivity to all systems.  Nurses find that technology solutions can eliminate repetitive and mundane tasks.  As a result, nurses can spend more time on direct patient care.  Greater input into development and testing of technology by nurses will speed adoption and utilization of technology. Technology is the greatest tool available to transform and innovate the delivery of nursing care. Technology that is user-friendly, nurse tested, and encourages rapid adoption will go a long way to preserving the nurse’s precious time for direct care to keep patients safe and enhance outcomes.

See-P-Cipriano’s-Presentation-The Technology-Enabled-Nurse-

View an interview with Pamela Cipriano