“Change is the only constant”. This particular proverb holds true meaning if we compare the current state of nursing with the past, especially with the mid 1980’s. With the rapid evolution of technology since 1990’s, many sectors have witnessed tremendous transformation. Nursing is also one of them. There was a time when one needed to keep the record of all patient details in manual directory, pump the heart manually to revive cardiac arrest patient, pump the fluid manually to patients and monitor patients’ progress continuously by being physically present at the clinical site. But speedy advancement in IT and other sectors has made nursing task easy and that too with increased efficiency, reduced cost and better patient recovery.
Nursing Informatics System: We are living in the digital age with increased evolution of newer IT technologies with each passing year. Even nursing has not been untouched by the evolution of IT. Nursing Informatics is one such IT solution that has become a buzzword in the healthcare field due to its capability to manage bulky patient information in a smooth and secure way than ever before. Its uniqueness is that it integrates nursing science with varied information management and analytical systems to identify, define, manage and communicate knowledge and wisdom that is required in the nursing practice. Storing, retrieving and manipulating patients’ data have also becomes an easy task with increased data redundancy and safety characteristics by using Nursing Informatics.
Remote Patient Monitoring & RFID: Remote Patient Monitoring technology enables monitoring of patients outside of the conventional clinical surroundings with flexible and increased access to care and that too with reduced healthcare delivery costs. RFID is another technology that is getting used in large scale in the healthcare sector. RFID enabled devices make monitoring of hospitals’ assets easier with enhanced safety and security at low long-term-cost.
The Portable Defibrillator: Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of deaths in adults over the age of 40. Unfortunately only 10% of the people survive this trauma. The portable defibrillator allows immediate resuscitative action, even few minutes after the heart failure. It is a lifesaving medical equipment that is used in the event of sudden cardiac arrest. It is one of the must have devices in any medical institution that promises quality health treatments to their patients.
Infusion Pumps: There was a time when nurses needed to continuously monitor the infusion of fluids, medications and nutrients into patient’s circulatory system to ensure a steady flow. Sometimes, based upon the patient’s condition, fluid movement slowed to a crawl and nurses were left with no option but to administer the whole tiresome process all around the clock. But with the advent of Electronic IV Monitors and Infusion Pumps, nurses are now free to initiate an IV and allow machines to regulate and monitor the process. Even if some errors occur on the process, the systems have been programmed in such a way that it either autonomously try to fix it or connects it to the aligned nurse via remote monitoring.
The Sphygmomanometer: Gone are those days when nurses needed to manually check the blood pressure of the patients. The arrival of Sphygmomanometer has altered the scene of how blood pressure gets recorded. Sphygmomanometer is a fancy term which also gets used to monitor heart rate as well in less time and with more accuracy. Depending upon the accuracy and convenience parameter, nurses always have the option to choose either between a manual or digital Sphygmomanometer.
Ultrasound and Sonogram
Ultra sound is one of the most revolutionary developments in the field of Women’s health and pregnancy. It allows nurses and doctors the ability to see inside the womb and identify the health and overall development of baby throughout the pregnancy period. Now, with the advent of 4-D ultrasound technique, an unprecedented detail also gets captured for diagnosing fetal well-being. Apart from Ultrasound, sonogram technique is also considered as a vital milestone in the field of healthcare due to its capability to easily identify cancer tumors in the bladder, and to tell whether the liver is enlarged or not.
All these revolutionary advancements in Science and technology have brought enough relief and great convenience as far as patient treatment is concerned. Along with these, it has also opened new opportunities in nursing as well. Genetic nursing, Stem cell nursing and holistic nursing are some of the emerging trends in nursing. Genetics and genomics are essential to healthcare because they provide information in the treatment, diagnosis and prevention of diseases and illness. Nurses with specialization in genetics will be in great demand as sequencing technology becomes more prevalent and it provides information in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases and illness. As we are moving forward, we are learning more about rare illnesses and devastating conditions through genome sequencing than from any other current area of research. Therefore, this transformational research will need backing from a growing number of clinicians with a specialty in genetics.
With all these positive developments, anyone can rightly assume that these technologies have altered the landscape of nursing forever, and that too for a good reason. And will continue to make strides for the betterment of patients in the coming time as well.
