Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:The Culture of Health Care
Unit:Nursing Care Processes
Lecture:Nursing routines and procedures including performing invasive procedures, administering medication, documenting procedures, and using technology
Slide content:Technology Challenges for Nurses Potential problems with technology: Poor design Poor implementation or system integration Poor maintenance Solutions: Involve nurses in technology selection Implement in stages, train nurses in use Teach nurses how to monitor technology 19
Slide notes:Some of the technologies that nurses use are poorly designed. Examples of design problems that researchers have found with hospital technologies include ergonomic flaws, usability issues, and interfaces that are not aligned with provider workflow processes. Other potential problems with health care technology are poor implementation, poor integration into existing systems, and poor maintenance. Its important to include nurses in the process of selecting new technologies and equipment, looking at factors such as ergonomics, safety, and usability. New technology should be implemented in stages so that nurses can get used to it. They should be trained in how to use the technology and evaluated on how well they learn it. Once the technology or equipment is in use, nurses can monitor it for problems. They can also conduct risk modeling to predict how to respond to potential equipment failure. Nurses should provide feedback on how well the technology or equipment works with patients. As already mentioned, technology professionals typically understand the importance of having clinicians as part of their team in designing, developing, and implementing health care technology solutions. Nurses are valuable assets in ensuring that effective and efficient clinical systems and technology are implemented in all provider settings. 19