Technology in the Healthcare and Nursing

The main aim of nursing education will always be constant where nurses prepare the various needs of
patients, act as leaders and an advanced science that is beneficial to patients, maintain a health professional
capacity to ensure safe delivery and quality care of patients. Simultaneously, nursing education requires a
transformation in various ways to prepare graduates to work hand in hand with other professionals in the
health industry while applying the health care system. Nurses in the entry-level are required to manage a
smooth transition from the theoretic perspective of academic learning to the various practical environments
especially in public and community health setting (National League for Nursing, 2007).
Through the advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), graduates are required to go through a program
that will assist in the preparation of assuming roles as primary care, long-term care, special practices and
acute care. Technology is an aspect that seems to be essential in the day to day activities all over the world.
As years go by, human beings have become dependent on it, and it is seen to affect various industries
(National League of Nursing, 2007). Healthcare and nursing are one of the industries that are significantly
affected by the development of technology. Technology has been integrated into the health sector, and it has
become a critical factor in health care education.
Nursing graduates are required to be conversant with the use of technology to improve the services they
provide to patients (National League of Nursing, 2007). Technology in the health sector has brought about
the question of whether technology has improved health education or it has pushed away from the nursing
students. The paper is going to discuss the importance of technology to nursing education while debating on
whether it has also driven away nursing students.
Technology in healthcare is seen through the healthcare system in information technology. If one looks back
on how healthcare was founded thirty years ago in comparison with currently, it is understood that there has
been a significant transformation due to technology. There was the need for improvement due to the evolving
of diseases that needed advanced medical attention. As years go by technology is also seen to improve
significantly, therefore, creating a solution to the developed infections of the decade where individual
computers were introduced. It seems that technology development seen in clinical applications are critical in
healthcare and will be the trend continues in the future. In the early 1970’s, healthcare information
technology rose together with the beginning of computers. The idea was not broadly accepted by many in the
industry until the end (Pravikoff, Tanner & Pierce, 2005).
Despite the computer advancement experienced, clinical patient care was not considered until after the
twenty-first century. Individual departments started to apply clinical applications to improve the speed of
their processes (Pravikoff, Tanner & Pierce, 2005). It is seen to have assisted in promoting the type of
services they provide. Automated systems that were started applied in laboratory, radiology and pharmacy.
Application of technology then spread and was adopted in the various clinical departments. Information
technology is changing at a rapid rate and seems to be affecting multiple industries while creating
opportunities and challenges.
Development of technology in the healthcare is seen to have encouraged the development of new training
tools used in healthcare education. Due to technology, there is the existence of simulation training where
qualified professionals who are new become experts and practice courageously once they meet their clients
for the first time. It is similar to the way airline pilots confidently fly aero-planes after training using flight
simulations. Gaining of the student experience through practice is slowly diminishing due to the safety of
patients and ethical explanations (McNeil et al., 2003). High demand for clinical placement and limited
supervisors while practicing is the main reasons as to why there has been a reduction in opportunities to
practice. Due to such shortage, there was a need to get an alternative to how the experience may be gained in
nursing education (McNeil et al., 2003).
Training simulations have enabled gaining of a learning experience in a safe environment and are encouraged
in various institutions through the institute of medicine’s report of 1999. It is inspired because of the secure
environment it provides and at the same time students gain experience in the various disciplines in medicine
(Brown, 2008). Due to technology, there are new tools used in the health industry, and therefore they require
the users to undergo proper training and teaching to operate the tools smoothly. The trained students need an
assessment to ensure that they are efficient which is done through training simulations (Brown, 2008).
Technological methods that are seen to beneficial to the health industry tend to be included in the school
syllabus of healthcare organizations, institutes of nursing and medical schools. Due to the effectiveness of the
technology, there has been a vast improvement in the healthcare sector with cures being developed and
proper care is given to patients (George et al., 2010). Nursing students have seen the benefits of technology
because they can gain updated education and training according to the current tools in the healthcare
industry. Some institutions have incorporated the study of new technologies used in the industry in their
curricula in a way that a nurse graduating from the institution is conversant with the technologies used
(George et al., 2010).
Another way technology is used in nursing education is during training by the instructors where they use
technology as a tool to disseminate information. One of the ways of transferring the information is through
call and video conferencing. There are classes where instructors are not readily available due to geographical
distance, and therefore they carry out their courses through conferencing. The lecturer will use a telephone or
computer to communicate with the students (Grady, 2011). Thus, one can say technology has played an
enormous role in the nursing education through providing a platform where instructors can pass their
information easily despite their geographical location. The can now teach and give assignments without
having to be near physically. There has been a shortage of nursing instructors over the years, and therefore
the few available instructors face the dilemma of geographical locations. Technology has now filled that gap
and has enabled both students and instructors to become flexible and manage to conduct their classes
regardless of the distance (Grady, 2011).
There is the existence of virtual classroom that is used to transfer didactic lectures by clinical instructors that
assist in communication among students, faculty and clinical sites preceptors. They also conduct a visit to
clinical sites to evaluate the performance of students and effectiveness of clinical instructors (Grady, 2011).
There are also conferences on patient multidisciplinary that take place through the use of video conferencing
technology. The technology is seen to defy geographical location distance and thus to enable large numbers
of people to attend the academic conference that may be educated on essential matters of healthcare.
According to Grady, distance learning efficiency relies on the ability of the instructor to come up with
strategies that are engaging. Video conferencing provides involvement in an environment and integration of
situations and information relayed (Grady, 2011).
Despite the fact that technology is essential and helpful in promoting nursing education, there are also
challenges faced. Firstly, is that technology keeps evolving at a rapid rate. Technology keeps changing with
improvements made therefore many nurses find it hard to keep up with the change leading to shortages on
the number of nurses who are up to date with the tools. It means that nurses have to undergo training often to
update their knowledge of the technologies used (Kenny, 2002). Secondly is that technology being expensive
to purchase therefore many healthcare institutions may lack the capacity to have all tools used in nursing.
Due to the change in technology, it is hard for the institutions to keep purchasing technology as it changes.
Lastly is the fact that technology has made work easier and therefore taken over some duties that were
carried out by nurse thus reducing their need. Technology has begun replacing manpower therefore reducing
the number of nurses required in a hospital as compared to years back where more nurses were needed due to
demand (Kenny, 2002).
In conclusion, technology is vital to nursing education as compared to pushing students away. The
advantages are more and valid for they have assisted in improving the type of care given to patients (Kenny,
2002). Technology is seen to have changed the way nursing education takes place it has given an opportunity
to many nursing students to gain information. Training simulations have assisted nursing students to achieve
practical experience without exposing patients to harm. They can gain instruction from their instructors
despite their geographical distance. Therefore, it is seen that as much as there are challenges the advantages
have made more impact as compared to the disadvantages.
References
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