Looking back on the career of Florence Nightingale, known as the founder of modern nursing, some of her quotes still convey the issues we are facing today. Implementing new technology in any health system must take into consideration the existing workflow to ensure it creates efficiencies. It’s crucial to make sure end-users, including nurses, are trained and equipped to use these technologies and incorporate them into everyday workflows. Successful project implementation should not be where things end, especially when adoption among end-users, including nurses, determines the longer lasting impacts of the project. High level adoption can be achieved when: 1. Nurses understand how technology is enabling them to better care for their patients by providing context relevant information. 2. Through clinical reasoning, this information is translated into meaningful clinical knowledge. 3. That knowledge is then put into action and used in decision-making to improve patient outcomes. 2. Democratizing knowledge using technology: Minimizing administra- tive/bureaucratic burden With the global shortage of nurses, it is critical to focus on building up the competencies of our existing nursing workforce to ensure nurses are working to their full potential. Healthcare organizations must make a concerted effort to design their technology systems in a way that does not overwhelm the care team with administrative tasks and bureaucratic stress. From my experience working with healthcare organizations, my recommendation is to first assess the existing systems to identify those tasks and documentation requirements that are typically high volume and, when combined, take up valuable clinical time. Following this assessment, organizations need to determine if those elements are relevant to the care of the patient. Making the decision to remove the ones deemed irrelevant or, at minimum, shifting them to non-clinical resources leads to much needed efficiencies and clinician satisfaction. 3. Democratizing knowledge using technology: Clinical Decision Sup- port (CDS) After implementing electronic health records (EHRs) with a well thought out process and adequate training, EHRs can become significant support systems for nurses. However, we are only scratching the surface of the enabling power of technology, which has the potential to support nurses beyond their day-to-day work and improve productivity. One of the missed opportunities I see when designing and implementing technologies such as an EHR is the ability to provide the right information to nurses to help them make better decisions at the point of care. Beyond the EHR, CDS tools are prime examples of how technology can democratize knowledge for nurses. When we focus on the adoption of evidence based CDS tools with the design intention of facilitating clinical decision making that is embedded into the everyday workflow, nurses can truly benefit from the technology. An example of this is the care planning process with built-in documentation being a requirement for every patient. Typically, organizations designing this workflow approach it from the perspective of compliance, which becomes a task with minimal value. My recommendation to healthcare organizations is to commence the care planning process with the intent of empowering nurses with ready access to actionable knowledge. By implementing a CDS mentality upfront, the system will be oriented towards reducing unwarranted variability and delivering safer, higher quality patient care. Over the years, certain countries have made concerted efforts to build the nursing profession into one that is highly respected, and they tend to attract more talent to join the workforce. This positive shift in the perception of nurses is taking place in countries like Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. In the US, nurses are not only involved in patient care, but are also accountable to provide a high standard of care that incorporates research and innovation. When nurses take on more responsibilities and leadership roles, they tend to feel appreciated and motivated to stay in the field. This helps to attract more talent to the workforce. On the contrary, in Latin America, the Middle East and other areas in Asia, nursing is not an aspirational profession. These regions lack provisions for advanced nursing education and training and have limited career progression pathways and a high turnover of skilled nurses. 4. Recognizing, respecting and investing in nurses to grow into trans- formative leadership roles
SUMMER 2021 EDITION 9
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker