Studies in health technology and informatics
-
An interactive, video game-based training module, Burn Center, was developed to simulate the real-life emergency events of a mass casualty disaster scenario, involving in 40 victims. The game contains two components - triage and resuscitation. ⋯ After complete the triage component, the player will then take on the role of a burn care provider, balancing the clinical needs of multiple burn patients through a 36-hour resuscitation period, using familiar computer-simulated hospital devices. Once complete, players of Burn Center will come away with applicable skills and knowledge of burn care, for both field triage and initial resuscitation of the burn patients.
-
A study of Australian nurses on their use of information technology in the workplace was undertaken by the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) in 2007. This study of over 4000 nurses highlighted that nurses recognise benefits to adopting more information technology in the workplace although there are significant barriers to their use. It also identified gross deficits in the capacity of the nursing workforce to engage in the digital processing of information. ⋯ This project is being developed in collaboration with the ANF and the Queensland University of Technology. This paper will discuss the methodology, development and publication of the Australian Nursing Informatics Competency Standards Project which is currently underway and due for completion in May 2009. The Australian Nursing Informatics Competencies will be presented at the conference.
-
Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2009
A standard operating protocol (SOP) and minimum data set (MDS) for nursing and medical handover: considerations for flexible standardization in developing electronic tools.
As part of Australia's participation in the World Health Organization, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) is the leading federal government technical agency involved in the area of clinical handover improvement. The ACSQHC has funded a range of handover improvement projects in Australia including one at the Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH), Tasmania. The RHH project aims to investigate the potential for generalizable and transferable clinical handover solutions throughout the medical and nursing disciplines. ⋯ It considers the implications of these standardized operating protocols and minimum data sets for developing electronic clinical handover support tools. Significantly, the paper highlights a human-centred design approach that actively involves medical and nursing staff in data collection, analysis, interpretation, and systems design. This approach reveals the dangers of info-centrism when considering electronic tools, as information emerges as the only factor amongst many others that influence the efficiency and effectiveness of clinical handover.
-
Interdisciplinary communication in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is complicated by the dynamic workflow of clinicians, instability of patients, and highly technological therapies, equipment and information systems. Many countries have examined methods to improve clinician communication and to understand common patient care goals. ⋯ We found that the clinicians studied value the availability of time sensitive information when it impacts their decisions and workflow and trust RNs' judgment of clinical information and situations. Future work should include analyses of RN perceptions of interdisciplinary communication in the ICU.
-
Nursing informatics competency lists can provide a clear picture of required skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed for today's nursing workforce in a high-tech environment. Many stakeholders such as employers and educators have a vested interest in defining nursing informatics competencies for nurses. The primary objective of this paper was to compare and contrast published nursing informatics competencies. ⋯ Findings revealed that there is variation among published informatics competencies in regard to content, presentation, and audience. A general list of competencies that can be utilized by nurses at all levels is needed. As a result nurses could operationalize and measure the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to execute safe and effective nursing care in today's health care setting.