International Nurses Day Supporting Nursing Staff the Digital Way

International Nurses Day: Supporting Nursing Staff The Digital Way

It’s International Nurses Day on Sunday 12 May – the perfect time to recognise and celebrate the work that nurses do to look after unwell and vulnerable people all over the world. The date was chosen to mark the birthday of Florence Nightingale, one of the best-known nurses of all time. As well as being known for her compassionate approach to nursing her patients Florence Nightingale introduced a number of important innovations to her nursing work, largely around hygiene and cleanliness.

Today, nurses continue to see valuable innovations come into common use that improve the quality of their care and make their working routines more efficient and effective. These include the rise and rise of digital care support systems and care management software, such as Care Vision. Whether nurses are based in hospitals, residential care facilities, or visit people in their own homes, technology and cloud-based communications have massively changed the way they operate.

Digital communications

Systems like Care Vision enable nurses to communicate with their patients and their family members, medical specialists, care managers and others remotely, 24/7. Information can be shared instantly and updates uploaded and provided on the spot. There are no longer delays while patient files are physically moved from one site to another. Data can remain secure and confidential.

 

Nurses’ interactions with patients can become more meaningful too, as data and observations can be tracked and compared with previous entries as needed. By being more closely connected with those in the care loop, nurses can ensure they adhere to person-led care principles and provide their patients with dignity and respect.

Safety first

In addition to keeping data secure and confidential via protected cloud-based storage, Care Vision can help nurses support patient safety in other ways. For example, eMAR, or electronic medication records help nurses stay on track with which medications have been given to which patients, how much and how often. Records are also typed, doing away with the risk of misreading poor handwriting or fading ink.

Automating this type of admin also speeds up many processes, giving nurses more time between appointments and more space to gather their thoughts before moving on to the next person. Nurses can also be physically protected during visits by Care Vision’s visitor signing in and HR tools. They know who will be on the premises and whether or not there will be sufficient staff to cover all roles.

Audits and accountability

Another benefit that Care Vision has for nurses and medical professionals is the ability to track actions, create reports and undertake audits with current, comprehensive data. Not only does this making the process of collecting data quicker and easier, it also ensures accountability and accurate reporting. As data is input in real time the risk of missing information or erroneous reports added after the event is minimised.

Actions can be tracked back in the case of medical anomalies or emergencies to see where problems might lie. It is also easy to see who has done what and when since all actions can be cross-checked to see who was on duty and responsible at the moment when each one took place. This means that nurses can work more cohesively as a team, know who has taken responsibility for what and check in with each other for more meaningful updates and co-operation.

Futureproofing nursing

Digital technologies are gaining more and more traction in all sectors, including medical and healthcare. From implantable devices and wearable technology to automated record-keeping and care management systems. Machines are taking away much of the onerous admin and filing duties that have cluttered up healthcare professionals’ schedules. Nurses can focus on what they trained to do – care for patients and work to improve quality of life and outcomes of medical treatment.

The more nurses can train in digital systems and use them to support their work, the more streamlined the ‘non-human’ contact aspect of their jobs will become. Leaving them with more time to build trust, strengthen relationships and bring some much-needed human contact and compassion to people at vulnerable times in their lives. However much technology evolves to support us in our lives, our need for humanity and the personal touch will never be lost.