Nursing Healthcare Technologies

How Clinical Nurses Manage Knowledge

Within a clinical nursing working environment, knowledge management is a very essential aspect. Nurses form an extremely important force within hospitals. Though physicians are accountable for the diagnosis as well as prescription towards a patient’s ailments along with conditions, the nurse usually has most of the contact with the patient during the entire period of admission. Nurses and patients’ interactions lead to the identification or acquirement of new knowledge regarding symptoms, transformed conditions, as well as other critical issues (DiCecco, 2005). The management of this knowledge is very crucial since it, to a large extent, may help in curbing particular diseases. For a clinical nurse, the dissemination of this information to other practitioners forms a critical task. This knowledge is then shared by the nurse with the other practitioners who are engaged in patients care, and requires to be extended to the physicians since they are responsible for making medical diagnoses, directing for extra tests, in addition to recommending care prescriptions (Scherffius, 2009).   

Given the critical role played by the clinical nurses within the hospital work setting with regard to acquisition and dissemination of knowledge, proper systems are required to be positioned. Nurses with the help of available channels, such as clinical nurses’ Knowledge Management Systems, are able to pass the knowledge to relevant parties (Benham-Hutchins, 2009). Though demanding in the absence of technology, clinical nurses are required to pass the information manually through the word of mouth or in writing. This to the nurse may be a daunting task since the practitioners dealing with patient care are so many. Knowledge may also be shared during special meetings convened to deliberate on issues regarding new awareness acquired (DiCecco, 2005).

Change in workflow due to using computer-based information technology

Computer oriented information technologies have transformed the health care industry.  Previously, nurses used to undergo a lot of stress in carrying out their activities. Presently, the availability of information technologies that are computer-based, has transformed the speed and accuracy with which nurses carry out their daily duties (Benham-Hutchins, 2009). The Electronic Health Records or EHR is a computer-based technology that has transformed the way I perform my work. Presently, my workflow is quite very smooth, quick, and accurate. EHR refers to the digital edition of the patients’ paper chart. Previously locating the patient’s records was among the most hectic and time consuming activities for a nurse. Currently, through the use of EHR, patients’ records are readily and instantly available, including the medical history, treatment plans, medications, immunization dates, radiology images, test results, as well as diagnoses. This easy accessibility of records has led to quick patient recovery and saving lives since the medical historical records assist the physicians to make informed decisions regarding patients’ illnesses (Benham-Hutchins, 2009). The automation of the health records has really made my duties as a nurse flow efficiently. Research has indicated that nurses spend only 20 percent of their time with patients; the rest of the time is consumed in records tracing and searching. Presently, I am able to spend more time with the patients since the period used for records retrieval is now used for patient care. The EHR has a transformative technology for nurses’ working environment. What has amazed me is the fact that the HER enables sharing of information beyond the locality of a given health facility. The hustle of having to wait for health records regarding a patient from another institution have been eliminated (Scherffius, 2009). EHR has, to a large extent, helped decrease the medical error incidences owing to its accuracy. Additionally, the duplication of tests has been entirely eliminated reducing treatment delays for patients.

An Information Technology Used Today That Was Not Used Previously

Formerly, I had not used the Clinical Information System or CIS; however, presently, CIS is an additional computer grounded technology that has really transformed the way healthcare is being carried out by nurses (Hebda & Czar, 2013).  CIS refers to the combination of a hospital’s patient records, test results, medical research resources, and pharmaceutical data along with additional information. This has provided me as a nurse with integrated PC-oriented tools, which have simplified the input as well as retrieval of information. The importance of the CIS is that during an emergency, the physician and the nurse will have instant access of the entire medical history of the patient. Secondly, the nurse will not have to go for the tests’ results from the lab; this is because they will be conveyed by the CIS to wherever the nurse is within the institution (Benham-Hutchins, 2009). Additionally, doctors are able to transmit the patient’s prescriptions to the pharmacy directly from the examination room. This has eliminated the need for a nurse to go for the prescriptions from the examination room. In the past, if physicians needed the past test results, then the nurse had to retrieve them manually from the records and take them to the physician. However, following the new development, the physician requests the past tests directly from the lab, thereby saving the nurse from the trouble (Scherffius, 2009). CIS has largely helped nurses save a lot of invaluable time and direct it towards other important duties. I have been able to attend to patients better and provide my ultimate attention to them; this is all owed to CIS. Additionally, the retrieving of medical research records has been very easy as compared to earlier systems, whereby, one could only study a research paper or a book as a hard copy.

Ways in which information technology has impacted my nursing practice

Clearly, information technology has transformed the healthcare delivery more than ever, since the number of lives saved is commendable. Nurses, being the individuals who perform a wide range of activities within the hospital, have been greatly favored by the adoption of information technology. Personally, it has transformed the flow of my work in a great way. Previously, working as a nurse was very tedious since I had to move up and down between offices including the records room to search for patient’ past medical records. Presently, however, that is no longer the case, since I am able to acquire a patient’s medical records instantly. This has enabled me save a lot of time, which I have directed to patient care (Hebda & Czar, 2013). I would on a daily basis attend to a reduced number of patients due to records searching and other activities; which is the case after the adoption of the EHR. This has increased the quality of healthcare delivery within the institution. The errors and records mix-up due to the tedious manual jobs of filing and retrieving information is all gone. I now effortlessly key in information into the system, which is much simpler than formerly demanding paperwork. Delays in the transmission of tests from the lab to the physician have been made very easy since the nurse’s role has been eliminated altogether. The numerous patients’ complaints I had to formerly handle due to delays are not recorded; and as a nurse I have experienced an over 90 percent decrease of complains (Scherffius, 2009). Indeed, computer grounded information technology has made nurses’ duties within the healthcare sector simpler and enable them deliver more quality patient care.  

References

Benham-Hutchins, M. (2009). Frustrated with HIT? Get involved! Nursing Management, 40(1), 17–19.

DiCecco, K.L. (2005). Information literacy part II: Knowledge and ability in the traditional resources. Journal of Legal Nurse Consulting, 16(4), 15–22.

Hebda, T., & Czar, P. (2013). Handbook of informatics for nurses and healthcare professionals (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Scherffius, J. A. (2009). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge. AORN Journal, 89(4), 777–778.