How Nursing Has Changed With Technology An Issue Of Nursing

How has technology changed the art and science of nursing practice? Many facets of nursing practice have stayed constant over the years such as the way we advocate for our patients and the art of caring for our patients. However, nursing practice has evolved over the years especially in the bedside delivery of state of the art nursing care. Technology at the bedside has forced nurse educators to change the ways in which we always have taught nursing students. Technology has also begun to change the methods used in the actual bedside nursing care. In this issue, you will hear from some of the nursing experts in areas of nursing care that has changed in either the delivery of care or method of assessing care of the patient. Nursing experts will describe some of the historical changes and intrigue you in the changes expected to come to the bedside. Why is this issue important? First, we gain insight from a review of where we have been and nurses tend to reminisce on our past as well as romance our historical roots. Second, technology is ever changing and it is good practice to keep abreast of what is happening in other areas of nursing so that we can apply others successes in our own specific areas of nursing. Third, informatics in nursing is a growing field and nursing must embrace technology and learn to adapt various methods of delivery so that we can appropriately care for and advocate for our patients. With the changes in our national healthcare system, we must encourage nurses to try out new methods of delivery as well as encourage their ideas of how nursing can change. The articles in this issue reflect these changes.

How has technology changed the art and science of nursing practice? Many facets of nursing practice have stayed constant over the years such as the way we advocate for our patients and the art of caring for our patients. However, nursing practice has evolved over the years especially in the bedside delivery of state of the art nursing care. Technology at the bedside has forced nurse educators to change the ways in which we always have taught nursing students. Technology has also begun to change the methods used in the actual bedside nursing care. In this issue, you will hear from some of the nursing experts in areas of nursing care that has changed in either the delivery of care or method of assessing care of the patient. Nursing experts will describe some of the historical changes and intrigue you in the changes expected to come to the bedside. Why is this issue important? First, we gain insight from a review of where we have been and nurses tend to reminisce on our past as well as romance our historical roots. Second, technology is ever changing and it is good practice to keep abreast of what is happening in other areas of nursing so that we can apply others successes in our own specific areas of nursing. Third, informatics in nursing is a growing field and nursing must embrace technology and learn to adapt various methods of delivery so that we can appropriately care for and advocate for our patients. WWith the changes in our national healthcare system, we must encourage nurses to try out new methods of delivery as well as encourage their ideas of how nursing can change. The articles in this issue reflect these changes.

The Future of Nursing explores how nurses' roles, responsibilities, and education should change significantly to meet the increased demand for care that will be created by health care reform and to advance improvements in America's increasingly complex health system. At more than 3 million in number, nurses make up the single largest segment of the health care work force. They also spend the greatest amount of time in delivering patient care as a profession. Nurses therefore have valuable insights and unique abilities to contribute as partners with other health care professionals in improving the quality and safety of care as envisioned in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enacted this year. Nurses should be fully engaged with other health professionals and assume leadership roles in redesigning care in the United States. To ensure its members are well-prepared, the profession should institute residency training for nurses, increase the percentage of nurses who attain a bachelor's degree to 80 percent by 2020, and double the number who pursue doctorates. Furthermore, regulatory and institutional obstacles-including limits on nurses' scope of practice-should be removed so that the health system can reap the full benefit of nurses' training, skills, and knowledge in patient care. In this book, the Institute of Medicine makes recommendations for an action-oriented blueprint for the future of nursing.

"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/

The decade ahead will test the nation's nearly 4 million nurses in new and complex ways. Nurses live and work at the intersection of health, education, and communities. Nurses work in a wide array of settings and practice at a range of professional levels. They are often the first and most frequent line of contact with people of all backgrounds and experiences seeking care and they represent the largest of the health care professions. A nation cannot fully thrive until everyone - no matter who they are, where they live, or how much money they make - can live their healthiest possible life, and helping people live their healthiest life is and has always been the essential role of nurses. Nurses have a critical role to play in achieving the goal of health equity, but they need robust education, supportive work environments, and autonomy. Accordingly, at the request of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, on behalf of the National Academy of Medicine, an ad hoc committee under the auspices of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine conducted a study aimed at envisioning and charting a path forward for the nursing profession to help reduce inequities in people's ability to achieve their full health potential. The ultimate goal is the achievement of health equity in the United States built on strengthened nursing capacity and expertise. By leveraging these attributes, nursing will help to create and contribute comprehensively to equitable public health and health care systems that are designed to work for everyone. The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity explores how nurses can work to reduce health disparities and promote equity, while keeping costs at bay, utilizing technology, and maintaining patient and family-focused care into 2030. This work builds on the foundation set out by The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health (2011) report.

Using an approach that fosters critical thinking and values clarification, this textbook examines the full range of professional issues facing contemporary nursing. Coverage includes critical issues such as the nursing shortage, mandatory staffing ratios, violence in nursing, legal and ethical issues, plus the latest HIPAA regulations, career advancement and evaluations, and best practices for today and the future. This edition includes two NEW chapters: 1) a NEW chapter on developing effective leaders to meet 21st century healthcare challenges, and 2) a NEW chapter on the use of residencies for new graduate nurses as a transition to practice. In addition to these exciting additions, content has been updated throughout the book to reflect cutting-edge trends in healthcare including the impact of healthcare reform, and recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM). This edition promises to be an integral tool to providing effective nursing care in an increasingly global, rapidly changing, technology driven world.

Since its first publication in 1988, this guide has established itself as the premier reference text in the field for all health care professionals seeking an up-to-date review of the role of information technology in the nursing profession. The second edition of this seminal work goes on to address the growth and evolution of the nursing informatics discipline as well as the impact of the rapid and far-reaching changes in IT and in health care. In addition to a new section on integration, this edition includes all-new chapters on subjects such as: the national health information infrastructure; reengineering health care and business processes; electronic resources for nursing; usability concepts and the clinical workstation; ubiquitous computing and the nurse; information management and long-term care; the information needs of nurse-managed centres; critical path/care map and case management needs; large databases and their implications for planning and health policy; virtual reality; and defining the informatics nurse specialist.

The Future of the Nursing Workforce in the United States: Data, Trends and Implications provides a timely, comprehensive, and integrated body of data supported by rich discussion of the forces shaping the nursing workforce in the US. Using plain, jargon free language, the book identifies and describes the key changes in the current nursing workforce and provide insights about what is likely to develop in the future. The Future of the Nursing Workforce offers an in-depth discussion of specific policy options to help employers, educators, and policymakers design and implement actions aimed at strengthening the current and future RN workforce. The only book of its kind, this renowned author team presents extensive data, exhibits and tables on the nurse labor market, how the composition of the workforce is evolving, changes occurring in the work environment where nurses practice their profession, and on the publics opinion of the nursing profession.