New Advancements in the Workplace – How Will it Affect Your Nursing Job?

Healthcare is an ever-changing profession, and it’s crucial to embrace change and adapt accordingly as a nurse. Advancements in the nursing industry can offer positive benefits. Let's discuss some upcoming changes that we foresee in healthcare, and some tips on how to embrace them.

Upcoming Advancements in Healthcare

Patient Identifiers - Patient identification technology continues to experience significant improvements. For instance, think about cell phone identification. A few years ago, password protection was only done through numbers. It eventually progressed to fingerprints and facial recognition.

Equipment Advancements - Equipment such as patient beds are offering more advanced solutions, helping patients avoid bed sores and avoid falling.

Robots - Robots will never take over the nursing profession because they lack the caring and empathetic traits of humans. However, robots are helping nurses with retrieving medications, sending labs, gathering supplies, etc.

Electronic Medical Records (EMR) - As nurses, we want to be at the bedside providing care - not charting. However, charting helps patients receive the care they deserve. Therefore, it’s important to embrace technology and all that comes with it. The Electronic Medical Record, or EMR, is advancing rapidly in healthcare across both clinics and hospitals. Larger hospitals can afford the latest and greatest systems, while smaller hospitals are constantly updating their smaller processes.

Tips for Embracing Advancements in Healthcare

Embracing the latest healthcare technology can be challenging. Nurses often have trouble removing themselves from a patient in order to spend time charting on a computer. These tips will help you embrace innovations and develop a more positive mindset.

Appreciate the Science - Embracing the science of nursing can help nurses accept technology. Without nurses, we wouldn’t have color-coded charts or other systems to help remember specifics within the field.

A continuous learning process-. In today’s ever-changing nursing world, new software continues to help nurses gather up-to-date data on patients faster and more effectively. As a nurse, you will have many stories to tell future nurses about the transformations you have seen.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help - Never be embarrassed to ask for guidance on using a machine for the first time. After time, many nurses learn shortcuts in the electronic medical record system that can be used to make your charting easier.

Appreciate technology - As much as it can drive us crazy, technology is here to help. If anything, think about ways that it can be improved. Jot down your ideas and bring your suggestions to the Information Technologies team.