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.