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Positive and negative impact of technology in nursing
Positive and negative impact of technology in nursing
Technology impact on nursing practice
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Introduction An understanding of nursing informatics helps nurses to implement safe, reliable care to their patients. The integration of information, data and knowledge nurses are enabled to be good decision makers (McGonigle, 2012). Labor and delivery nursing have benefited from integrating technology into the care of the mother and fetus. The perinatal nurse has a vast array of technologies that assist in establishing trust with parents during pregnancy. Doppler ultrasound is utilized during pregnancy to reassure mothers of fetal well-being. External fetal monitoring with Doppler ultrasound has limitations for fetal monitoring during labor. Technology such as the Doppler ultrasound is used to increase patient confidence in the medical field. …show more content…
The use of technology during prenatal visits helps the patient adapt to the presence and use of technology to enhance medical care. In obstetrics, especially during labor, the interaction with fetal monitoring and the patient has been studied. The results show that the patients gained trust in technology by seeing the monitor strip being recorded, and hearing the baby’s heart rate (Montague, 2010). Patients described confidence in their care with the use of technology that worked well with providers who were proficient in the usage of the monitoring technology. The interaction with the monitoring and the nursing staff provided a positive picture of technology for patients. The standard of care now involves frequent monitoring of maternal and fetal well-being during labor. Most patients can see the nurse charting on the monitor via the electronic health record. Bedside charting allows the patient to see the interaction between care providers, technology and any interventions that are necessary to protect the patient. All of these aspects of nursing care in labor and delivery increase patient confidence in the use of technology, expand trust in technology and ensure that patients are comfortable with the application of technology to provide more efficient and safer care for all …show more content…
These changes are necessary to promote patient safety. Nursing informatics enables nurses to adapt to these changes. The field of obstetrics is a good source of information to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing technology, assessing limitations of medical technology, and assessing patient response to the integration of technology as a part of routine care. Doppler ultrasound technology allows for improved assessment of fetal growth and development as well as reassurance to mothers when they are able to hear their baby’s heartbeat. Changing the standard of care to include external monitoring of maternal heart rate along with fetal heart rate would decrease the possibility of undesired outcomes with labor and delivery. Continued evaluation of patient response to care provided with the use of technology will further promote the development of better, easier technology for nurses and health care providers, as well as increasing patient safety and confidence in the medical field.
Works Cited
Bhogal, K., & Reinhard, J. (2010). Maternal and fetal heart rate confusion during labour. British Journal Of Midwifery, 18(7), 424-428.
Hale, R. (2009). Non-invasive techniques for fetal monitoring in pregnancy and labour. British Journal Of Midwifery, 17(10), 661.
McGonigle, D., Mastrian, K., (2012). Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge. 1st ed. United Kingdom: Jones & Bartlett
Diagnostic medical sonography is a profession where sonographers direct high-frequency sound waves into a patient’s body through the use of specific equipment to diagnose or monitor a patient’s medical condition. As described by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this examination is referred to as an ultrasound, sonogram, or echocardiogram. The high-frequency sound waves emitted from the handheld device, called a transducer, bounce back creating an echo and therefore produce an image that can be viewed on the sonographers computer screen. This image provides the sonographer and physician with an internal image of the patient’s body that will be used in the diagnosis. The most familiar use of ultrasound is used in monitoring pregnancies and is provided by obstetric and gynecologic sonographers, who also provide imaging of the female reproductive system. Other types of sonography include; abdominal sonography, breast sonography, musculoskeletal sonography, neurosonography and cardiovascular sonography. Due to the vast nature of uses in sonography, most professionals study one field that they choose to specialize in. Diagnostic medical sonography is a rapidly growing field because of the increase in medical advances. The area of Cleveland, Ohio has continued to rise in the medical field with great strides, providing better career prospects with the availability of numerous employment positions.
During pregnancy an echocardiogram of the fetus can be done to produce images of the heart by sending ultrasonic sound waves to the vital organ. These sound waves create an image for the physician to analyze the babies heart function, structure sizes, and blood flow. A positive diagnosis before birth has shown to improve chances of survival, and will allow for appropriate care to be readily available at birth. If a baby is born without being diagnosed with the heart defect, some symptoms previous noted such as low oxygen levels can be suggestive of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The baby may not display any symptoms or signs for hours after birth because of the openings allowing for blood to be pumped to the rest of the body. However, listening to the babies heart can revel a murmur indicating an irregular flow of blood in the heart. If a murmur is heard, or signs of the defect are observed, diagnostic tests will be ordered and performed. An echocardiogram is still the go-to test once the baby is born to evaluate the heart. The echocardiogram will diagnose the newborn, by revealing the underdeveloped left ventricle, mitral and aortic valve, and the ascending aorta commonly seen in
Thus, reducing administrative work gives an opportunity to clinicians to spend more time with their patients. Through health informatics, some medical procedures can be automated, saving money for the health care budget. Research by Blumenthal and Tavenner (2010) states that, “The widespread use of electronic health records (EHRs) in the United States is inevitable. EHRs will improve caregivers' decisions and patients' outcomes. Once patients experience the benefits of this technology, they will demand nothing less from their providers.
Lora Schwacke, a certified Childbirth Educator in the Bradley Method, serves many clients in the role as a Doula. The term Doula, which is Greek in origin, translates to “women 's servant”. This person, almost always a female, is responsible for helping the birthing mother to have a safer and more pleasant labor and delivery. While not a medical professional herself, a Doula is very knowledgeable about the entire childbirth process, and can give tons of insight into the processes, procedures, and unforeseen issues than can arise while bringing life into the world.
Ultrasound Technicians are very valuable in the world of health care. Also known as Diagnostic Medical Sonographer, an Ultrasound Technician uses special machines and equipment that operates on sound waves to determine or diagnose medical problems for patients. There are specializations within this field in which some individuals explore. For instance, areas of specialization includes but not limited to; pregnancy, heart health, gynecology, and abdominal sonography. Although each specializing branch has its own distinctive function, they all involve probing the body to facilitate doctors with diagnoses.
According to the Registered Nurse (RN) Scope of Practice Position Statement, “the RN is responsible for providing safe, compassionate, and comprehensive nursing care to patients and their families with complex healthcare needs” (Texas Board of Nursing, 2011). Nurses often care for five to six patients at one time; therefore, in order to provide the best quality care, patients are often connected to monitoring devices such as, physiological monitors, venti...
Obstetric Ultrasound -- a Comprehensive Guide to Ultrasound Scans in Pregnancy. Mar. 2006. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. .
Technological advances enable nurses to provide accurate, timely care for a patient. This is due to the fact that these advances enable doctors and nurses to quickly diagnose, explain and predict the health-illness status of a patient, thus allowing health care professionals to spend less time finding answers, and more time providing quality care. For nurses, this includes spending time with the patient establishing rapport, communication and a trusting relationship for optimum clinical care.
When a mother finds out she is pregnant it is a wonderful experience. Most people are excited to see their first “picture” of their baby, the ultrasound. Even more exciting is getting an ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby. But ultrasounds are useful for more than just getting that first image of the fetus or finding out whether it is a boy or a girl. While it is something most parents dread finding out when pregnant, an ultrasound can also detect a birth defect. There are many different birth defects that can be detected by an ultrasound during pregnancy like Spina Bifida, Down syndrome, and abnormalities with the heart and lower urinary tract, and the importance of detecting them with an ultrasound is shown in the benefits of discovering the birth defect early, and the options it gives the parents after discovering the birth defect.
Electronic Fetal Monitoring Technology has had a very prominent influence on electronic fetal monitoring since its appearance in the 1960’s and 1970’s. For many years, fetal monitoring was simply done by listening to a fetal heartbeat through a stethoscope. Dramatic changes in the heartbeat, such as a long period or a drop in the rate or intensity, could be detected,. Now, not only is the electronic fetal monitor used on the outside of the womb by strapping electrodes to the mother’s abdomen but electrodes can also be inserted during the first stage of labor and placed directly on the baby ’s head.
Electronic medical records not only effect health care professionals, but the patients of those health care providers as well. However, nurses spend the most time directly using electronic medical records to access patient date and chart. Nurses now learn to chart, record data, and interact with other health care providers electronically. Many assume that electronic means efficient, and the stories of many nurses both agree, and disagree. Myra Davis-Alston, a nurse from Las Vegas, NV, says that she “[likes] the immediate access to patient progress notes from all care providers, and the ability to review cumulative lab values and radiology reports” (Eisenberg, 2010, p. 9). This form of record keeping provides health care professionals with convenient access to patient notes, vital signs, and test results from multiple providers comprised into one central location. They also have the ability to make patients more involved in their own care (Ross, 2009). With the advancement in efficiency, also comes the reduction of costs by not printing countless paper records, and in turn, lowers health care
Technology is stated as the scientific method and material used to achieve a commercial or industrial objective. To go one step further, nursing technology is using a tool to advance nursing practice. “The Institute of medicine identified that technology as a viable method of enhancing patient care delivery and improving staff productivity” Sensmeier, Horowitz (2003 page). Because inadequate nursing staff causes shortcuts to be taken, there are mistakes made that could have possibly been prevented. Errors by nursing staff were variously reported as being responsible for between 44,000 and 98,000 hospital deaths per year. Sensmeier, Horowitz (2003). Technology can have a large impact on nursing. In the past 5 to 10 years, computerized patient records have increased less than 10%. This number shows us that we are still not embracing technology to its full potential. Today in most hospital systems computerized electronic charting is being used. Many hospitals have many different systems for...
Perry, S. E., Hockenberry, M. J., Lowdermilk, D. L., & Wilson, D. (2013). Labor and Birth Processes. In Maternal Child Nursing Care (5th ed., p. 351). Elsevier-Health Sciences Division.
I am a registered staff nurse who prior to commencing my midwifery training was working on a surgical ward facilitating pre and postoperative care for critically and chronically ill patients. I was fortunate that during my nursing training I had an opportunity to be assigned practice placement with the community midwives and visit the labour ward. After this learning experience I was able to make a decision to undertake midwifery training after completing the required period of post registration experience. While with the community midwife I attended antenatal clinics where I practiced midwifery skills, namely palpation and auscultation with a Pinard’s stethoscope and enhanced my communication skills. Unfortunately I was unable to hear anything through a Pinard’s stethoscope and so when I made a decision to pursue midwifery tr...
. ‘The need for communication skills has always been a fundamental part of delivering maternity care.’ (RCM, 2010) Many women may become anxious that they feel that their heart is beating faster than it normally would in their pre-pregnant state as the cardiac output in pregnancy is greater as it increases by around 30-40%. It is then again the midwives job to use effective communication to provide support to the woman and help her by providing an insight into what is going on in her body and ensure her that it is to all accommodate for the growing fetus. It is important that the midwife is able to reassure and empathise with the woman when discussing these adaptations as there may be difficulties in communication if the woman is worried