When you apply technology to medical professions like nursing, it logically follows that this will apply to nursing education too. As a nursing student of today, you can access your nursing education online, including web-based and live simulations, reference guides, electronic textbooks, apps, and more. According to the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology, up to 50% of health budgets may be lost annually as a result of technology’s role in nursing education
Technology can transform education by introducing new ways of connected and interactive teaching. This will link your teachers to you along with professional resources, systems, and content that will improve your learning experiences significantly. Nursing education uses technology in the nursing curriculum to enhance the nursing program.
Technology plays a huge part in education. The students’ learning process gets simpler as technology advances. Students can easily learn the concepts thanks to technologies utilized in schools and universities, such as computer labs and high-end equipment and instruments. Students learn more practically when they witness events in action.
They find it simple to make connections between theory and practice. Additionally, there are educational games that get young children ready for school. When their favorite cartoon characters are employed and they witness animations, most things become clear to them. Technology helps the educational system tremendously. Nurse educators use online education in educational institutions in the teaching-learning process during online education.
Technology is a key element in the world we presently live in. Every day, a new piece of hardware or software is released into the market that either makes our lives better or much easier in some way or advances an existing piece of hardware or software. Even though technology significantly contributes to making our lives easier, this is not its primary function. The relevance of technology in education is steadily expanding. Technology assists students at all educational levels more and more as it develops. Nursing education perspectives have changed by integrating technology into the virtual learning environment
The usage of technology in the classroom is very helpful in ensuring that the students comprehend and assimilate what is being taught. For instance, classrooms may be equipped with projection screens linked to computers so that students could view their notes instead of just sitting and listening to the teacher’s lecture as many students prefer to study visually.
Benefits of Technology in Medical and nursing education
With their dedication and compassion, nurse practitioners can quickly rise to the top of their specialty in the medical healthcare industry. Additionally, the compassionate aspect of personalized treatment has captured the hearts of many patients, raising demand for it in the medical field.
But training to be a nurse is not simple! Being a good nurse demands a complete degree, tonnes of effort, and hard work. The medical industry consistently values registered nurses, thus they are always pushed to continue their education. The guidelines that you can adhere to become a nurse practitioner are listed below.
With the use of artificial technology, algorithms can make efficient use of the data and assist nurses in carrying out their medical procedures more comfortably. As a result, using robotics and AI has enabled nurses to complete their tasks more quickly. Technology’s involvement in nursing education has grown along with its application in nursing and medicine.
Nursing students may have access to mobile apps, reference materials, electronic textbooks, live and web-based simulations, and online teaching. According to the U.S. Department of Education, technology “also can alter teaching by ushering in a new model of connected teaching.” To assist instructors to enhance their education and personalized learning, this paradigm ties them to their pupils as well as to professional information, tools, and systems.
Makes the procedure more affordable
Nursing has established itself as a labor-intensive worthwhile profession, from support to becoming an expert in nurse practitioner billing. However, the development of robotics and technology has reduced the difficulty of a few jobs and reduced the necessity for recruiting more personnel.
Makes practitioner training better
There is extensive education and preparation needed to become a nurse practitioner. However, the development of technology has improved learning. As a result, technology has streamlined the training process, enabling nurses to carry out procedures that had previously been risky.
Easy, effective communication
Communication barriers are becoming a thing of the past thanks to innovations like video conferencing, interactive instant messaging, and Internet audio calls. As a result, nurses can now provide much more real-time patient care because patients can now phone for assistance in an emergency or use instant messaging to communicate their concerns.
Having a resource to turn to in times of need gives patients and their families comfort. Many hospitals and clinics have created mobile applications so that patients may quickly contact a specialist and find solutions to their difficulties.
Makes the nurse-patient interaction better
The use of technology in the medical industry improves the patient experience and makes it easier for the nurse to assist these patients. The overall health of patients and their experience receiving nursing care are improved by artificial intelligence. With the use of technology, a nurse may swiftly detect any problem, gather data, and communicate it to the doctor.
It makes the learning process more convenient
Since technology has become an important part of medical practice, it has become necessary for technology to become part of nursing education too. Many nursing schools are now changing their paradigms as they integrate technology into their teaching environment.
This is essential to foster meaningful and active learning experiences. Over time, educators of nursing students are effectively learning to support technological integration. Almost all students today own smartphones and feel comfortable with using different types of technology. The choice to include technological tools that will support learning successfully is vital, especially in terms of helping students overcome challenges and supporting innovative content delivery.
It makes education more accessible
The use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) in hospitals has changed the world of healthcare information technology. This advancement has played a crucial role in improving accessibility. The advancements in telecommunication systems have also made it easier for students like you to receive your education through mobile educational apps, live video conferencing, and remote classes.
The advent of online degree programs is arguably one of the largest developments brought about by technology. More people may be able to earn a degree because of the ease and flexibility that these programs offer. Without having to relocate and look for a new job, a practicing nurse can complete an online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program in Nursing Administration or another MSN program.
An LMS underlies the operation of online education (LMS). These software solutions manage every aspect of the e-learning process, including material delivery, course registration, tracking, and reporting. A variety of systems are available to nursing programs, each with unique features and advantages.
The nursing assignment helped by professionals
As a college student, you can take advantage of technology in many ways. For instance, if you have a very difficult nursing assignment to accomplish but you still need to study for a big test, you can use your smartphone to seek professional assistance. You can get online nursing assignment help from Assignment Bro whenever you feel overwhelmed. Since written assignments are an important part of your education, hiring professional writers to help you out will make your life a lot easier.
Provides Simulated Environment
Simulations using computer-controlled training manikins are another way that technology is used in nursing education. Manikins can be programmed by instructors to replicate situations that nurses could encounter in real-world settings. Students can assess the manikin’s symptoms, take vital signs, and make decisions. According to a Nurse Education Today article, the manikin will not stay dead once it dies, giving it a safe environment for students to practice critical thinking and decision-making.
Online virtual worlds can replicate patients as well, unlike manikins, which need to be physically present. A nursing student can respond to simulated patients in real-time utilizing the required instruments and procedures by employing screen-based simulation, such as serious gaming. Like the flight simulation software that aids in training pilots of aircraft, businesses produce virtual simulation software to assist in the education of nurses and other healthcare professionals.
The advantages of learning in a simulated environment are the same as those of newly popular game-based learning. According to research, gamifying nursing education can draw in and pique students’ interests. Additionally, it promotes the growth of abilities including originality, critical thinking, and memory retention. But most significantly, it enables students to train in a low-risk setting without endangering the lives of actual patients.
Usage of Mobile devices in Nursing Prof
Using applications and online resources on smartphones and tablets, nursing students and practicing nurses have fast access to drug references, diagnostics, medical textbooks, and more. Additionally, mobile technology is highly valued and utilised in healthcare settings. According to one article, healthcare professionals most frequently use smartphones and tablets to increase patient communication, staff coordination, and access to electronic health information (EHR).
The types of technology used in nursing programs vary, and new technology is added on a near-daily basis. There is no doubt that further technological advancements will be made in the future to help nurses learn more effectively while also enhancing patient safety.
Researchers at Science Daily have shown that the dispersed practice strategy or the method of dispersing learning over time is effective when learning novel and occasionally intimidating disciplines like pediatrics and intensive care. With the use of technology, pupils can further segment their learning into even minute sub-divisions.
This is achieved by distributing conventional educational content to various screens, such as a tablet, television, or cell phone. achieving the capacity to permit pupils to learn in various environments or during brief moments while traveling. Education materials are also organically arranged into manageable and contained learning units due to the architecture and design of mobile content.
The reinvention of Learning Process and Content
Through the use of multisensory learning, virtual and augmented reality are reinventing how learning content is interacted with and increasing conceptual and procedural recall.
Beyond its immersive entertainment uses, virtual reality is swiftly becoming a powerful tool for engaging with and visualizing health science knowledge. With the use of technology, students can display digital overlays or upgrades in the real world or be projected into a virtual reality environment (VR). The method of distribution offers hitherto unrealized degrees of course and instructor involvement.
Healthcare virtual reality example
By enabling instructors to lecture and see a model of human anatomy before a class, one speaker in a recent Ted Talk illustrated the value of VR technology in education.
A more authentic learning experience that involves more senses and improves learning outcomes and memory retention can be created through virtual reality learning content that gives pupils haptic input (source). By adopting digital models of patient conditions or hospital flow environments, educators can now practice for scenarios while minimizing the impact on actual patients and the surroundings.
Given that touch learning informs visual learning more so than visual learning influences touch learning, this enables deeper degrees of learning. Today, information technology systems are transforming every sector of the American economy, including healthcare. It is possible to improve staff, patient, and family experiences, save countless lives and increase efficiency by implementing ever-more-durable systems in our medical institutions and practices.
In the field of nursing, using DET is viewed as a resource that complements traditional education, with rising adoption and positive outcomes like improved nursing students’ problem-solving abilities. When paired with case studies, DET can be used in conjunction with other instructional strategies to improve learning outcomes. However, researchers emphasized the necessity for DET use to be used in more diverse ways. They concluded that digital PowerPoint presentations, email, and a google search engine were the most often used digital tools by students in their survey of undergraduate nursing students.
Eliminates barriers
Aside from becoming a cultural trend, technology is also the main method by which organizations and individuals transmit and use information. Incorporating this into the nursing education system will enhance information sharing, collaboration, communication skills, student participation, and critical thinking.
For instance, you can use social networking, websites, blogs, and other online applications that are all engaging and interactive. Nursing organizations like the Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA), the National League for Nursing (NLN), and the American Association of Colleges for Nursing (AACN) have revised their nursing curriculum standards to encourage technology and informatics competencies in programs for nursing education.
Reduced Operational Costs
Information technology solutions enable healthcare organizations to allocate resources more strategically and save a considerable amount of cash, effort, time, and supplies. To better staff and arrange medical personnel to best serve patients, one example of this is to use comprehensive data regarding the specific needs of admitted patients and combine it with data regarding individual staff skills, availability, and even current information including fatigue levels when applicable.
Technology systems, in addition to human arrangements, can enable better supply management. With the use of information systems, inventory, refrigerator contents, equipment check-outs, and countless other things may be monitored, viewed, and updated in real-time. According to the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology, up to 50% of health budgets may be lost annually as a result of technology’s role in nursing education.
According to the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology, hospitals could potentially save millions of dollars by using better health information technology. It is estimated that 50 percent of healthcare budgets may be lost annually due to system inefficiencies.
Drives operational effectiveness and team learning
To efficiently use resources or acquire insights, the internet of things enables automated or simplified operation of devices and equipment by connecting them to the internet. By automating the temperature and equipment control in schools, significant operating cost savings are being realized every year.
For instance, schools can automate the control of their heating and lighting needs in response to periods of low activity, such as after lessons, or based on the number of students present. By employing a web-based system to automate the control of mechanical equipment in the building, one school in Tipp, Ohio is saving up to $100,000. (source).
The IoT paradigm for combining infrastructure and technology can further develop prospects for collaborative learning. A learning system software that can analyze mobile location data can help connect students who elect to have their location and course interactions broadcast if they need assistance in their pediatrics class but are unsure of who to speak with.
By working together or aiding a fellow student while utilizing just common technological tools like a school management system and personal mobile devices, the student with information to share could then be rewarded.
Online Streaming
The utilization of real-time TV interactions and web-based streaming in instructional programming is another beneficial technology advancement. By using this technology, educational institutions can reach out to more students without having to physically alter their buildings. Additionally, it guarantees that students engage with one another and develop meaningful relationships.
Overall, students are in favor of this kind of technology use since it fosters relationships with their professors, increases sentiments of compassion, and simulates being present even when they are not physically present in class.
Successful Care Coordination
Collaboration between various care professionals is made easier by easy access to information. Conflicting prescriptions and treatments are among the errors and dangers that are reduced by this transparency. When these inconsistencies appear in patients’ electronic health records, care professionals use monitoring technologies to set off alerts.
Faster lab results
Electronic health records make it easier for caregivers to access patient data than with traditional techniques, enabling prompt test scheduling and treatment. [4] Additionally, as soon as test findings are made available, caretakers can obtain them.
Shorter stays in the hospital
The deployment of electronic records, according to the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology, reduces the time required to assess fall victims by 20%, shortening hospital stays in those situations. [6] Similar to this, according to the National Center for Policy Analysis, hospitals implementing HIT technology shorten typical patient stays from 5.7 days to 5.5 days. [4] Due to its success, researchers are also looking into other advantages of employing HIT and electronic health records, such as whether telemonitoring can prevent elderly patients from being admitted to nursing homes sooner.
Streamlined Records Management
The paper charts that were previously utilized during doctor visits have been replaced by electronic health records. [3] Patients will be asked for less information during visits when more healthcare providers embrace EHR technology because they will already have up-to-date records on file. Additionally, EHRs expedite the conventional intake procedure, which can seem overly laborious for relatively simple medical needs. By giving all network-connected healthcare professionals rapid access to up-to-date patient information, EHRs also cut down on errors.
Wearable technology training healthcare professionals in preventative care
It allows students to practice handling patients’ health in a proactive manner
A subclass of IoT devices called “wearable technology” tracks health information using jewelry like watches and necklaces that send vital signs to a mobile app. This offers information on fitness and health that can be utilized to create individualized treatment plans or prompt interventions. Nursing students can actively control their patients’ health by using wearable devices.
How healthcare providers manage data and provide services has significantly changed as a result of recent technological breakthroughs. For this reason, nursing schools create cutting-edge curricula that support the modern caregiving environment, and both new and seasoned nurses continuously learn new technologies.
The healthcare information technology (HIT) industry, where providers utilize potent software and hardware to handle patient records, has seen the most significant developments. Organizations function more effectively when HIT is combined with electronic health records (EHRs) and administrative data. HIT is used by informatics practitioners to increase the efficiency of EHRs for storing, analyzing, and making important choices utilizing real-time patient data. The most recent operational enhancements made possible by health information technology are represented by the benefits listed below.
eConsults conducted remotely to prepare practitioners to assist rural populations
It prepares professionals to provide large-scale services to remote communities while managing technological constraints. The use of video conferencing has almost been around for two decades. To serve rural communities, healthcare providers use this well-established technology. Despite the challenges of getting to these locations, telecommunications can help professionals give remote residents urgent medical advice and direction.
Students can receive training in etiquette and the best ways to use video conferences to treat patients by using technology to support distant consultations. Without actually being present with the patient, this can further assist nurses in developing the empathy and connection that are essential to providing high-quality care.
Delivering customized healthcare through 3D printing
It allows nurses to provide cost-effective and scalable care for an infinite variety of patient demands met by personal equipment.
The just-in-time, customized, and scalable creation of real-world materials, tools, and replacement components is made possible by 3D printing. The use of 3D printing provides the right equipment or replacement at precisely the right moments for healthcare organizations aiming to reduce their inventory to ensure that resources are deployed efficiently. Nearly 100 hospitals have a centralized 3D printing facility as of 2016.
This method of producing specialized medical equipment, such as custom-fit casts or artificial bones and organs, may be another way to provide high-quality and scalable care. To provide patient-tailored items using 3D printing, nursing students may also profit from doing so. This will necessitate having a basic understanding of the technology and how it might assist patients. Additionally, it will be necessary for nursing applicants to comprehend how to trace, capture, and feed patient molds into a 3D printer. Applications include the creation of homemade artificial limbs by amateurs that enable amputees to conduct daily duties.
Patient safety is ensured
Health information systems can synthesize patient data in addition to storing and displaying it. This enables, for instance, the programming of security checks that could notify medical professionals before a patient is supplied a prescription of any potential side effects. The ability to centrally store all of a patient’s data, including lab results, medical imaging, and more, can also assist prevent expensive errors that might occur when not all necessary data is available while making decisions.
Greater Accessibility to Patient Information
Health information technology systems could enable seamless and immediate access to patient records for every medical professional working with a specific patient, enabling lab technicians, specialists, doctors, and nurse practitioners to access pertinent information and better guide treatment. But they also make it easier for patients to access healthcare as well as for medical professionals. Patients would be able to be more active in their treatment plans and be better educated about their diseases and care if digital versions of their files, including their whole EHR, could be accessed at any time and from any location.
Improved Performance Analysis
The use of technology may open up a variety of ways to monitor staff performance, patient care and stability, and institution efficiency. Based on individual skill sets, staffing decisions could be computed using health information technology. Additionally, based on information about previous performance, treatment choices might be made proactively. Patients could anonymously rate the quality of care they received, giving administrators additional insight into the qualifications and compatibility of the staff. And governing bodies could make use of performance measures to assess institution efficacy more precisely.
Efficient Care Coordination
Medical personnel who are simultaneously active in a patient’s care can record, share, and distribute updates, logs, and discoveries thanks to information technology systems. The nonprofit healthcare organization Catholic Health Initiatives, which operates more than 90 hospitals in several states, makes use of a sophisticated information system that enables its personnel to record and exchange all aspects of a patient’s care and data. The coordination of care and case management as a result of this cross-disciplinary information exchange has greatly increased patient satisfaction and produced a more seamless experience for both caregivers and patients.
Proof of care follows the proof of notions
Mindfield Consulting is a pioneer in helping organizations use technology more effectively and scalable to fulfill their goal and mandate. Institutions can benefit from our experience building business cases, tying together technological applications, and evaluating results. For more than 20 years, Mindfield has provided technology essential to missions. Even when many other things are happening, portable monitoring technology enables nurses to track and record statistics at the appropriate time. They can now continuously monitor patients from anywhere in the hospital because of this. The portable monitor can send alerts and alarms to nurses, potentially saving lives.
Allows for Artificial and Duplicate environments
Another important aspect of technology in the education of nurses is the use of simulations with electronic manikins for training. With these, instructors can program manikins to mimic situations that nurses might experience in clinical practice.
During the training with manikins, you can practice taking vital signs and making decisions based on the symptoms exhibited. Since the subject isn’t alive, this makes it a safe environment where you can practice your decision-making and critical thinking skills. Online virtual realities can also simulate patients for you. With the help of screen-based simulations, you can respond to patients in real-time and use the appropriate procedures and tools.
These days, some companies make virtual situation software that can help nursing students and healthcare professionals. These are a lot like the flight simulation software used to train pilots.
More support
The combined efforts of faculty members, school administrators, preceptors, nurse mentors, staff educators, providers, and administrators can support and promote ongoing education with the technology used in the care of patients. Nurse educators can be at the forefront to help in shaping educational policies by measuring and analyzing the success of learning through technology. They can do this through assessments of students and evaluation of the learning processes.
At the same time, the accrediting agencies of nursing programs can give accountability for programs that provide quality improvement and appropriate outcome measures. Whether it is for ongoing or initial accreditation, a university or college should have a requirement to have academic standards consistent with the most recent evidence-based pedagogy. The use of technology in nursing curriculums is one of the current criteria required by most accrediting bodies.
Disadvantages of Technology’s role in nursing education
Cybersecurity Risks in Healthcare
The simplicity with which data is generated, saved, and exchanged between systems and parties between systems is one of the main benefits of employing technology in healthcare. This proliferation of data, when it functions properly (and when parties follow HIPAA compliance), enables better healthcare management, from diagnosis to therapy. It does, however, carry the possibility of significant risk.
Many of these data capabilities are powered by cloud connectivity, which also gave rise to the category of cloud-connected medical equipment. The term “internet of things” refers to the concept of gadgets with sensors that can communicate with other devices and systems (or IoT). However, the amount of data being produced and floating across the internet can be hazardous.
Risk linked with cybersecurity doesn’t merely refer to the disclosure of personal information or the occasional ransoms associated with data breaches. The dangers associated with manipulated data may have detrimental effects. Correct and accurate datasets are essential for patients and medical professionals that use data to guide treatment decisions. A mistaken diagnosis or treatment plan, as well as other negative outcomes, may result from the deletion or alteration of data.
This draws attention to one of the major drawbacks of IoT in healthcare. Without the proper security protocols, access to patients’ linked medical equipment to change functionality is possible. In the worst instance, a major gadget malfunction in critical settings could happen.
Lack of Compassion in Patient-Doctor Communication
Even when they are not physically present with one another, technology can help keep healthcare personnel and patients linked. Instead of relying on sporadic consultations, it is conceivable, for instance, to create and update a treatment plan on an ongoing basis by utilising data and technology. As we proceed through the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians are using telehealth more and more as a critical tool. In these hard times, the use of such instruments has maintained the healthcare system and ensured that patients receive continuity of treatment.
Similar to earlier detection of possible problems, remote patient monitoring can reduce healthcare expenses by preventing future consequences. Telehealth and remote monitoring also make it possible to address the global lack of clinicians, which includes the United States. The personal touch of therapy is removed while working with dashboards on connected medical devices and computers, which leads to a loss of empathy for patient care.
Using technology as the interface for care can be frustrating and confusing, especially for elderly and vulnerable patients. It may also lead to misunderstandings about treatment plans or patient noncompliance.
Poor Implementation accompanied by Frustration
As we continue to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of medical technology, the adage “technology is fantastic — when it works” comes to mind. According to research by Asurion, 80% of Americans frustratingly experience technology at least once every day.
Systems need to be precise, simple to use, and ultimately better than the current patient care practices for technology to benefit healthcare. It is crucial for clinicians and medical professionals to make sure that the technology they use is simple to use and comprehend, rather than a burden. Healthcare practitioners who spend more time battling technology than providing patient care are more inclined to ignore its use and new developments.
However, even for healthcare professionals that support the use and implementation of technology, it is essential to make sure that the results produced by the technology are more accurate or better at diagnosing.
Care must be taken to ensure that medical practitioners are aware of the limitations of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning. For instance, because they are trained on historical data, many machine learning models struggle to adjust to changes over time when operational data significantly differs from learned data. Similar to this, practitioners who rely too heavily on AI/ML systems may become complacent and fail to cross-check or take other factors into account when making predictions.
Frequently Related to Technology’s role in nursing education
How does technology support and improve nursing education and nursing practice?
Technology’s involvement in nursing education has grown along with its application in nursing and medicine. Nursing students may have access to mobile apps, reference materials, electronic textbooks, live and web-based simulations, and online teaching.
How will technology change in the future for nursing?
In four years, 91 percent of nurses could use a mobile device to access an EHR, medical and medication database references, and lab diagnostic results. By 2022, the usage of mobile technology may be able to cut down on the number of preventable medical errors and care problems brought on by a breakdown in communication by 46%.
What impact does technology have on education?
Thanks to technology, access to educational possibilities are now more widespread than ever. Technology has increased communication and teamwork opportunities as well. In the past, classrooms have been somewhat solitary places where students could only collaborate with those in their class or building.
Can nurses remain relevant in a technologically advanced future?
Growing as compassionate professionals would enable nurses to remain relevant in a technologically advanced environment by delegating routine chores like vital sign taking, nursing procedures, and medicine dispensation to machines while they focus on more difficult cases.
How technology can be used to enhance teaching and learning?
Growing as compassionate professionals would enable nurses to remain relevant in a technologically advanced environment by delegating routine chores like vital sign taking, nursing procedures, and medicine dispensation to machines while they focus on more difficult cases.
What is robotics in nursing education?
Today’s robotic nurses assist patients with physical mobility or carry out basic chores like monitoring vital signs or giving medication. Some robotic nurses act as interfaces for doctors to communicate with patients from a distance.
What are the gaps in learning methods for online education of nurses?
The shortcomings found in the learning methods of nurses included failing to recognize and react to a patient who was deteriorating, not paying attention to the “basic things,” taking shortcuts and showing errors in critical thinking. The nurse surveillance, cooperation, and communication deliberative processes were employed to manage the deficiencies found.
What is the impact of computers and technology on nursing and health care?
Nurses can swiftly obtain vital information from your electronic health record regarding your health or condition, as well as your treatment strategy, thanks to computers. To provide you with the best treatment possible, nurses can access information such as your laboratory test and x-ray findings and health reports from other members of the healthcare team.
Conclusion
The continuous evolution of technological advancements in nursing is part of the future. There are many emerging technologies, software, and AI that are quickly becoming in demand as more hospitals, facilities, and schools integrate these into their educational healthcare systems. Integrating technology in nursing curricula means improving healthcare technology in the educational process. The learning process used in an online learning environment via distance learning and online software programs is used in modern-day nursing schools for professional development in clinical nursing.
