Impact of Emerging Techology on Nursing Care
It’s no secret that we live in an ever-changing world, especially when it comes to technology.
With technology changing almost every day, many careers, including nursing, are heavily
affected. While improvement in technology is often a good thing, sometimes it can be hard for
nurses and other medical professionals to keep up with constant evolution of things.
Below we have outline the impact emerging technology has had on nursing care.
Key areas of technological change in the medical field
While technology is changing all around us, there are some key areas within the medical field
where technological change is rapidly occurring. According to Carol Houston, MSN, DPA,
FAAN, there are seven emerging technologies that will change the field of nursing:
● Genetics and genomes
● Less invasive and more accurate tools for diagnostics and treatment
● 3-D printing
● Robotics
● Electronic Healthcare Records (EHR)
● Computerized physician/provider order; Entry (CPOE) and Clinical Decision Support1
While this isn’t an exhaustive list of evolving technologies in the medical field, it does cover
some of the technologies you are more likely to come across. But, how do you keep up with
technologies like the ones listed below?
Carol says that the best way organizations can be better ready to respond to emerging
technologies like the list above is “forecasting what skills sets will be needed to meet these
emerging technologies and proactively addressing any skill set deficits of the cuman capital
employed in those organizations.”1
How nurses can keep up with technological change
Having people who understand the technology is not enough. Holly A. De Groot, PhD, RN,
FAAN points out “while technology specialists have expertise in their own field, they must work
closely with nurses who are the content experts in patient care processes if the new technology
is to succeed.”2
This means that nurses are going to have to work hand-in- hand with those implementing the
new technologies. Beyond that, Carol makes the argument that there a key skill sets nurses
must have in order to adapt and succeed with the ever evolving technology scene in the medical
field. She outlines the following skill sets as key:
● Being able to use technology to facilitate mobility, communication and relationships
● Having expertise in knowledge information, acquisition and distribution
● Understanding and using genomics in nursing1
While there’s no way for nurses to avoid new technologies on the job, there is still a way to be a
successful nurse while learning new technologies and how to use them. The important thing to
remember is that as a nurse, you must be willing to adopt the changes and learn how to adapt
to an ever-changing technological environment.
Where have you seen changes in technology at your job? Tell us in the comments below!
SOURCES:
1.
http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/Tab
leofContents/Vol-18- 2013/No2-May- 2013/Impact-of- Emerging-Technology.html
2.
http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJI
N/TableofContents/Vol142009/No2May09/Overview-Nursing- Technologies.html
