Breaking through the Technology Barrier as Nurses

First.... Cheers to Nurses Week 2025!

I am writing this on May 6th, 2025, the very first day of Nurses Week each year. Nurses Week is a special time of year where the work and efforts of nurses are highlighted in a variety of ways. 

I remember being in nursing school and the Professors would use an overhead projector to write on the screen for us to take notes in our seats. They used markers that would wipe off with a wet paper towel and continue throughout the entire lecture with these transparencies (that is what they were called - if you know, you know (IYKYK :) ). We used microscopes in Anatomy and Physiology and Microbiology Exams. Health Assessment taught us how to use a stethoscope. We had calculators in our pockets to help with medication calculations on our clinical rotations.

The overhead projector, microscope, stethoscope and calculator may not have been thought of technology tools in nursing care delivery. However, they are technological solutions, that once were not available, and at that time were the best available to assist in the nursing school experience. 

As time progressed, Powerpoint became the replacement for the overhead projector. Microscopes and stethoscopes evolve, and calculators were built into smart devices. 

We thought nothing of these changes or our dependencies on these tools to assist our abilities to be competent and proficient nurses. 

Yet, the introduction of electronic health records (EHRs) was different from other technologies that had been in use thus far. 

The EHR moved the paper based medical record to a digitally oriented medical record. While this may seem simple in concept, the transformational challenges and cultural shifts that occurred for practice continue to linger on for nurses and healthcare professionals. While still not the ideal situation, there is more that can be done in a digital format than what we could do in a paper based format. 

Now today, we are faced with further advancements as artificial intelligence (e.g., AI). Technology can no longer be avoided or put aside for someone else to manage or figure out. We must break through this artificial barrier that has been there for far too long. 

Nursing care has depended on technology for far longer than the introduction of EHRs and AI. Take a look around the next time you are in your nursing role. How long does it take for you to identify 3 tools that you would be lost without for your day? 

Which technological tool could you not do without? 

More to come this week. Enjoy Nurses Week!

Sincerely, 

~ Tiffany Kelley