Healthcare Technology and Nursing Leadership

 

Technology has become a critical part healthcare in improving patient safety and patient outcomes.  Nurse leaders must recognize that nursing staff are the actual users of the technology that has been implemented and must create a shared vision with their staff, ensure an environment of collaboration, and develop an ongoing process for problem solving that includes the input of staff (Vogelsmeier & Scott-Cawiezell, 2009).  Nurse leaders and staff work interdependently to achieve improvements in patient care and patient safety.

A nurse leader can enhance creativity by building an environment of trust and interpersonal relationships, along with promoting a willingness to listen and an environment of cooperation. Key strategies to enhancing creativity include providing time for educational offerings, providing time for creative work, and encouraging risk-taking and acceptance of personal responsibility (Longo, 2013).  By enhancing one's creativity and providing educational experiences allows individuals to feel more comfortable with the use of technology and they feel confident in using it to providegood patient care.

 

Nursing Informatics: Why Nurse Leaders Need to Stay Informed is an editorial in Nursing Economics that ensures nurse executives, managers, and faculty stay informed and knowledgeable about health information technology (IT) and the essential informatics competencies required to function within the patient-care environment.  This nursing informatics column will keep nurses connected and informed about meaningful, timely IT information for sound clinical decision making.

 

 

 

References

 

 Vogelsmeier, A. & Scott-Cawiezell, J.  (2013).  The role of nursing leadership in successful technology implementation.  Journal of Nursing Administration, 39(7/8), 313-314.

 

Longo, A. (2013). Change, complexity, and creativity. In L. Roussel (Ed.), Management and leadership for nurse administrators (6th ed., pp. 122–159). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.