Nursing and Informatics for the 21st Century: An ... - Nice Computing

Miscellany
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Tech Talk Nugget
First and foremost, be very aware that your knowledge of tech talk differs greatly
from the public’s knowledge. The earnest nurse manager of the ICU was trying to
be helpful by putting up a colorful sign in the unit, with encouraging words to the
anxious staff. The sign had a picture of a cartoon computer and proclaimed, “Let’s
Go-Live!” The next day, a distressed visitor approached one of the nurses, indicated
the sign and remarked, “That’s an awful thing to be hanging up in a hospital,
especially in an intensive care unit.” The perplexed nurse didn’t know how to
respond, until the visitor said with disdain, “Let’s go live!” pronouncing ‘live’ with
a short ‘I’. The sign was removed without ceremony.
Nutty Nugget
Next, make sure you have well-trained super users, with sharp eyes and minds,
who are able to carefully review the electronic record. In Meditech CS, the
frequency text on the nurse’s worklist can be customized as long as it is preceded
by a ‘dot’ or period. The first week of the ICU go-live, a patient who was rather
difficult to handle and was having hallucinations had an unusual ‘dot’ frequency on
his worklist. Instead of the frequency ‘.NUR’, the frequency for his activity order
said, ‘.NUT’. The improper, though accurate, error was quickly corrected.
I have taken these lessons to heart, as I hope you will. In my life, experience
remains the best teacher.
Be a Bookworm in a New Sense
By Debra Derickson
I have been commuting to work using public transportation or driving for many
years, and have often tried to make good use of my time by trying to read journals
and newspapers, or by listening to news radio. At home, I always had some excuse
for not reading very much. I would read perhaps a short article or two, but rarely
would I attempt reading a long book for pleasure. Over the years, I have felt
somewhat guilty about my neglect of reading books and of my ignorance of new
bestsellers or the classics.
Recently, my teenage daughter got an iPod MP3 player to listen to her favorite
tunes, and I learned how to use one to help her figure it out. In the process of
exploring this relatively new technology, I found out about audio books that I could
play on the iPod as well. I promptly got my own MP3 player, subscribed to an
online audio book service, and have been faithfully downloading book after book,
from novels for young adults, to classic or self-improvement books, to the latest
best seller. To my great surprise, I have “found” new time for books with this new
tool. I listen to books during my commute to and from work, while doing household
chores, while shopping for groceries or while waiting in lines or in a waiting room.
Because the player is only a few inches long and weighs only a few ounces, it is so
convenient to take with me wherever I go, and I find that consuming each book can
go very quickly.”
I don’t want to sound like a paid advertisement, but I always recommend to
others to consider using one of these new audio file players for listening to audio
books to enhance their enjoyment while making efficient use of time, being a
bookworm using the sense of hearing. My next adventure will be downloading
some podcasts to listen to news, stories, or music that I find of interest on the web.
It’s a brand new world for me, and I encourage you explore this time saving
technology for yourself. Happy listening!
Page 7 • 3rd Quarter 2006
continued on page 8
More Member News
Sandra M. Trakowski, Falls Church,
VA, was quoted in CAP Today
[College of American Pathologists],
August 13, 2006. Pushing for nursing
to be in on IT decisions. See
http://www.cap.org/apps/docs/cap_
today/surveys/0706PatSvy.pdf
Sue Thomson, Frederick, MD., and Ruth
MacCallum, Cary, IL, were quoted in
Health Data Management, August
2006.
Michael Sutter, Champaign, IL, was
interviewed for an article in Healthcare
IT news and in the EMR Advisor on
Carle Clinic’s EMR implementation.
Research Grant Awarded:
Lieutenant Colonel Caterina Lasome,
Tricare Management Activity, Falls
Church, VA; Colonel (retired) Nancy
Staggers, PhD, RN, FAAN, University
of Utah College of Nursing; and
Colonel (retired) Bonnie Jennings,
DNSc, RN, FAAN, Health Care
Consultant, Alexandria, VA are Co-
Principal Investigators for a recently
awarded $3.011M, two-year research
grant from the Telemedicine and
Advanced Technology Research Center
(TATRC). The study will evaluate the
usability of automated clinical practice
guidelines in AHLTA, the military’s
global, longitudinal computerized
ambulatory health record for military
service members and Department of
Defense beneficiaries. Clinicians will
participate in hands-on performance
testing, leading to development of a
prototype application and further testing.
The goals of the research are to
improve clinician efficiency as well as
patient care outcomes.
Neat Stuff:
Christen Burkeen, Occoquan, VA, and
Diane Struck Shelkin, Alexandria, VA,
volunteered for Habitat for Humanity
in Biloxi, MS, last summer.
Nancy Sharp, Bethesda, MD, is cofounder
of the Nightingale Policy
Group, a virtual organization to help
nurses involved in public policy.
Please send items for future newsletters
to: Susan K. Newbold,
snewbold@umaryland.edu