Nurse leaders need to be at the heart of the discussion of selecting, adopting and using different forms of technology and technological devices in a healthcare setting. The CNO especially needs to play an important role in how an organization is going to select, implement and adopt technology. If the CNO has a part of the decision making and helps create a culture of shared decision making with the staff an organization is more apt to have a better buy in with the nursing staff when introducing new forms of technology into the organization.
In health care today it important to have a good working relationship between the staff and the IT department and that needs to start at the top. The IT department can be the support but the nurse leaders and staff need to be the drivers with the technology. An organization whose CNO embraces technology and stays involved with it are better apt to place the right equipment into the hands of the nursing staff that are going to be integrating the technology into their daily workflow.
In healthcare organization that implemented technology into their facility the nurse leader used this as a way to also help facilitate one common goal across all organization and that was for safe medication administration. By focusing on what the causes of error and looking for good problem solving tools the nurse leaders were able to build a trust among other team members and address how integrating technology such as the BMV and eMAR can help to minimize errors in medication administration and address medication safety practices and maximize the benefits of technology in the organization.
Technology is crucial to the healthcare environment and the integration is happening at a rapid rate. It is important for the organizations to build relationships and trust between the administrative nurse leaders and other stakeholders that are going to be affected by the transformation in the system. By coaching and mentoring the staff and developing collaborative skills and practices together goals can be met when addressing the IT initiatives.
Templates and tools can be introduced to help define what role everyone is going to play in the integration process and this way the targets can be aligned. If an organization can focus on what is going to work the best and the nurse leaders are being supportive and building a trusting relationship with the staff involved the integration of the world of technology will become transformed into something the staff will become more and more familiar with and know how it can help improve the quality of care and the safety measures that in place to help with their daily practices. Emerging technologies are going to change the way healthcare is looked at and change the practice of nursing.
References:
AONE Guiding Principles for the Nurse Executives: For the Chief Nurse Executive Chief Information Officer and Industry Partners to Work Together to Leverage Technology to Enhance Clinical Outcomes
Nelson, R. & Staggers, N. (2014). Health Informatics: An Interprofessional Approach. Elsevier Mosby: St. Louis, Missouri.
No comments:
Post a Comment