Module 7: Influence on my life

This course on informatics and technology has been an eye-opener. I have enjoyed learning about technologies that I use every day, such as the internet, powerpoint, and Web CT. I feel that I now know more about the field of nursing informatics and what that scope of practice entails. It was also interesting to me to learn about different types of intelligence and how people can use technologies to learn in their optimal way. Also, I thought that the lesson on heuristics showed how people make mental shortcuts, and I became more aware of this in my personal practice. I am currently trying to combat against this. Overall, there have been several gems that I have gleaned from this course, and they have taught me to look around at the different technologies that I could be using.

Module 7: Least applicable technology

For me, I think that some of the structured terminologies are least applicable to my professional life. Although there are some that I use (such as the forms on Powerchart at the University Hospital), I find that there are also some that I do not often see, such as the ICD-9 nomenclature. Because I work in conjunction with case managers and others who use the standardized terminologies, there are many that I do not use personally, such as for placing codes on my patients' diagnosis and treatment.

Module 7: use of technology in my life and ethical implications

I will be most likely to incorporate online research databases into my personal life. I find that the information in PubMed is reliable, and many of the articles that are found there have been peer reviewed. Also, I like the fact that I can save a search and can receive e-mails when new articles are published on a certain topic. This technology will help me keep abreast of the latest findings on a given topic, and this will help me to better implement evidence-based practice.
Online research databases may cause ethical concerns in a couple of ways. First, if I find an article that indicates that a certain practice is the most effective, yet my workplace encourages doing it a different way, I would have to decide between doing the best practice and pleasing my superiors or complying with the hospital policy. To address this concern, it may be best to talk to my manager pr nurse educator and show her the article. This ay lead to the newer practice being adopted later on. Another ethical concern would be with researching topics for my patients. If a patient wants to learn about a certain topic, I would be in a position that would allow me to help her. However, because research must be analyzed for its credibility, and patients might just believe every article they read, I would need to carefully sift through information in order not to misinform my patients.

Module 7: Most interesting technology

This semester, the technology that I found to be the most interesting was the decision support (I researched Iliad). I had never known that such a thing existed, and I enjoyed learning about it. It seems that this type of technology would be useful in the clinical setting in diagnosing patients based on certain criteria. However, I don't think that I would ever use it just because I will not be responsible for diagnosing patients as a clinical nurse leader.

Module 5-Decision Support: Nursing data

From learning about decision support systems (I researched Iliad), have found that in order for them to work properly, the correct data need to be entered into them. They are used in many cases by physicians or nurse practitioners, who are responsible for making vital decisions about patient care. Because the data are gathered and entered into electronic records by nurses, we have a great responsibility to enter quality data, so that accurate data can be entered into the systems, whatever they are. It is only with correct data that the decision support systems can actually help the care providers reach appropriate decisions.

Module 5-Decision Support: heuristics

The readings for this section (especially those by Thompson) rang true with me. I have found that the more time that I have been a nurse, the more I naturally depend on past experiences to make clinical decisions. I remember being a new RN on my orthopedic med-surg floor, stuggling with every decision I made because everything was so new to me. I was overwhelmed with all of the new information about procedures and policies. Now that I have been in this role for a couple of years, a lot of what I do and a lot of what I tell patients comes from mental shortcuts that I have made. It is almost as though I go on autopilot sometimes. Reading these articles, I understand why this way of doing things maks me vulnrable to biases. For example, if a patient's condition reminds me of another patient I once had, I may fall into the trap of thinking that the two patients have the same needs. I may also feel that I know the patient's condition better than I actually do (overconfidence). Two total hip patients may actually have medical issues that make thm very different. Relying too much on mental shortcuts (heuristics) can be dangerous.
However, I am also sure that experience makes us better nurses. If we are aware of the biases that we bring to the patient rooms, we may be able to keep ourselves from falling into them. While the natural way for humans to use information is to create shortcuts, we can make the extra effort to use evidence-based practice. If we continually try to learn about new and better ways of doing a procedure, for example, we can prevent overconfidence. We will realize that medicine is always changing and we will poise ourselves to change with it.

Module 6- Healthcare Information Systems and Devices

If the University Hospital were to start using a new IS component, I think that my primary responsibility as an RN would be to learn how to use it (if it applied to my practice). There would probably be instructional inservices available, and I could attend them and encourage other staff members to go with me. This would help the new system to catch on more quickly and be used to our advantage. Another responsibiliy would be for me to use the new techology after I have been taught. The hospital administrators and information systems specialists would have probably decided to adopt the program because it would help with my job, and I should accept this fact.