Nurse leaders discuss the nurse's role in driving technology decisions

Issue Date: January 2010 Vol. 5 No. 1
from American Nurse Today

American Nurse Today recently convened a roundtable of nurse executives from diverse settings to discuss nurses’ involvement in selecting, adopting, and using information technologies and high-tech clinical devices. At the heart of the discussion—engagement by nurse leaders and nurses on the front line when technology decisions are made. (For a list of participants, see Roundtable participants by going HERE and clicking on the PDF icon on the top of the page.)

Technology can help nurses make better decisions at the point of care, promote a healthcare organization’s core business of delivering care, and provide data about patient outcomes. Information technology (IT) and “smart” devices, such as beds with sensors and I.V. pumps with built-in safety alerts, offer great promise. They can improve safety and efficiency by reducing the risk of errors and eliminating redundant work, resulting in more time for nurses to care for patients.

Technology can be a factor in nurse recruitment as well. Frank Shaffer, Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) of Cross Country Healthcare, reported that “nurses today frequently ask what technology is in use when deciding where they will accept employment.”

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