Advance Your Nursing Career: Creating a Nursing E-Portfolio is Easier Than You Think

Advance Your Nursing Career: Creating a Nursing E-Portfolio is Easier Than You Think

We all depend on technology to manage our daily responsibilities at home and work to make purchases, open doors, send messages, attend meetings virtually, and more, but did you know you can also use technology to advance your nursing career?

Technology for Career Advancement

You are likely already using technology to tackle tasks like grocery shopping and take-out orders, but are you also using it to help advance your career?

As registered nurses, we put a lot of time and effort into obtaining and organizing documents we must maintain. But we do much more than obtain required continuing education hours, maintain certifications, and renew licenses. Where are you documenting that?

We should all record our many accomplishments, such as presentations, publications, preceptor hours, acts of service, etc. We should highlight these accomplishments in job interviews, annual performance evaluations, and graduate school applications.

An e-portfolio is a quick and easy way to track this! And even if you are the exception and already have a binder full of accomplishments, read on. It’s time to ditch the paper copies and binders and create an e-portfolio.

E-Portfolio Tool

An e-portfolio is a digital version of a hard copy portfolio. Today many free and low-cost resources are available to assist you with creating one. Google Sites ™ is one of those resources. To get started in Google Sites™, you must create a free Gmail™ account if you don’t already have one. Your Gmail™ account also gives you access to Google Drive™. You can use Google Drive™ to upload documentation of your achievements in various forms (pictures, PDFs, Word docs, etc.) and link or embed them in your customized e-portfolio in Google Sites.

Design ideas are endless, so play around and find what designs suit your preferences. You will continue refining your e-portfolio’s look if you are like me. The great thing about creating your e-portfolio in Google Sites is that you will have a “published” version and a “draft” version. Before publishing any changes, you can repeatedly preview your “draft” version.

Your e-portfolio serves multiple purposes. It is a repository to store documentation, a tool to keep you organized, and a website that can be shared when you apply for jobs, graduate school, or promotions. And if you’re worried about privacy, not to worry. Google Sites allows you to set permissions regarding who can view your e-portfolio. You can share with specific individuals, those within your organization, or publicly.

My Experience with E-Portfolio Creation 

As a PhD nursing student, I created an e-portfolio to document my achievements throughout the program. While initially finding creating an e-portfolio intimidating, I soon realized it was well worth the time and effort required. There are thousands of free how-to videos online, so after watching a few, I got to work.

I created a folder in my Google Drive, uploaded copies of all my documents, and easily linked each of my records to my e-portfolio in Google Sites. As a result, I now have my very own e-portfolio that I can share with others to display my curriculum vitae, certifications, presentations, etc., in a digital format. And you can too.

The Promise and Peril of ChatGPT in Geriatric Nursing Education 

The Promise and Peril of ChatGPT in Geriatric Nursing Education 

Artificial intelligence (AI) integration in healthcare has become more prevalent through the advancements of ChatGPT, an OpenAI-developed AI language model based on deep learning that produces human-like text. 

ChatGPT has many questioning its role in healthcare, specifically its use in nursing education.

So Daily Nurse spoke with Bei Wu, PhD, FGSA, FAAN (Honorary), Vice Dean for Research, Dean’s Professor in Global Health, New York University, Rory Meyers College of Nursing , and Xiang Qi, BSN, RN, PhD candidate at New York University, Rory Meyers College of Nursing about ChatGPT’s potential use in geriatric nursing education.

promise-and-peril-of-chatgpt-in-geriatric-nursing-education

Bei Wu, PhD, FGSA, FAAN (Honorary), Vice Dean for Research, Dean’s Professor in Global Health, New York University, Rory Meyers College of Nursing, and Xiang Qi, BSN, RN, PhD candidate at New York University, Rory Meyers College of Nursing

What follows is our interview, edited for length and clarity.

How has AI integration become more prevalent with technological advancements in the healthcare field?

Xiang Qi: AI has become increasingly prevalent in the healthcare field due to several factors, including advancements in machine learning algorithms, increased computational power, and the availability of large datasets for training. These improvements have led to applications such as early disease detection, personalized medicine, patient monitoring, telehealth, and streamlining administrative tasks. For example, in geriatric nursing care, AI is used for monitoring patients with dementia, detecting falls, facilitating communication, and managing medications, enhancing the overall quality and efficiency of care for older adults.

Does ChatGPT provide students a convenient and accessible way to access information and practice their clinical skills?

Bei Wu: ChatGPT provides students a convenient and accessible way to access information and practice their clinical skills. As an AI language model, ChatGPT can offer instant feedback, answer questions, and engage in interactive conversations, making it a valuable resource for learning. However, it is important to note that ChatGPT should be used as a supplementary tool alongside traditional educational methods and guidance from qualified educators to ensure a comprehensive understanding of clinical skills and concepts.

Talk about the potential for ChatGPT-assisted learning in geriatric nursing education. 

Xiang Qi: ChatGPT-assisted learning has significant potential in geriatric nursing education. Key benefits include accessibility, personalized learning, scenario-based learning, and continuous updates. For example, ChatGPT allows students to access information and resources 24/7, accommodating diverse schedules and learning needs.

ChatGPT can simulate patient interactions, enabling students to practice communication, decision-making, and critical thinking skills in realistic geriatric care situations. In addition, AI can tailor the learning experience based on individual students’ needs, strengths, and weaknesses, ensuring effective learning outcomes. Furthermore, ChatGPT can integrate the latest research and best practices in geriatric care, keeping students current with evolving knowledge. However, it’s crucial to combine ChatGPT-assisted learning with guidance from experienced instructors and hands-on training to ensure the development of well-rounded geriatric nursing professionals.

What are the potential misuses of ChatGPT in geriatric nursing education?

Xiang Qi: Potential misuses of ChatGPT in geriatric nursing education include students’ overreliance, misinformation, limitations in empathy, and inadequate preparation. For instance, students may become overly dependent on ChatGPT, neglecting the need for hands-on experience, critical thinking, and guidance from a qualified educator. For the problem of misinformation, while ChatGPT is a powerful tool, it may occasionally provide inaccurate or outdated information, which could negatively impact students’ learning. As an AI, ChatGPT lacks genuine empathy, essential in geriatric nursing. Overemphasis on AI-based learning may hinder students’ interpersonal skills and compassion development. Furthermore, ChatGPT is now not well prepared for geriatric nursing education. It cannot replicate all aspects of real-world geriatric care, so students might not be fully prepared for the complexity and challenges of actual clinical situations.

What are some of the potential limitations and fallacies in the use of ChatGPT? 

Xiang Qi: Some potential limitations and fallacies in using ChatGPT include inaccurate information, ambiguity and context, verbose and overconfident answers, and dependence on user inputs. As noted in our article, ChatGPT may occasionally provide incorrect or outdated responses, as its knowledge is based on the data it was trained on and is limited to a specific cutoff date. We asked ChatGPT to provide literature on a particular topic, but all its outputs need to be more accurate, and all literature it provided is non-existent. ChatGPT may sometimes generate verbose responses or provide overly confident answers even when uncertain, which could mislead users. It should be mentioned that ChatGPT’s responses are guided by user input, which means that its effectiveness is partly dependent on the clarity and quality of the questions asked. ChatGPT may struggle with understanding ambiguous questions or context, potentially leading to irrelevant or unclear responses.

As AI continues to develop, will it replace educators in the future?

Bei Wu: While AI will likely play an increasingly significant role in education, it is unlikely to replace educators completely. Instead, AI will serve as a tool to complement and support our work. Faculty possess unique qualities, such as empathy, creativity, and adaptability, which are difficult for AI to replicate. The human element remains essential for fostering relationships, understanding individual needs, and providing tailored guidance. AI can, however, streamline administrative tasks, personalize learning experiences, and offer additional resources, allowing educators to focus on higher-level teaching and mentoring responsibilities.

If acquiring knowledge becomes increasingly accessible, what will the role of higher education become in an AI world?

Bei Wu: We may finally enter into an AI world. In an AI-driven world, higher education’s role will likely evolve to focus on skills development, interdisciplinary learning, ethical and social responsibility, and innovation. Higher education will emphasize the development of critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and emotional intelligence, which are difficult for AI to replicate and remain essential for professional success.

Higher education will encourage students to engage in interdisciplinary studies, fostering the ability to integrate knowledge from various fields and driving innovation and adaptability in a rapidly changing world. Furthermore, higher education will play a critical role in teaching students about ethical considerations, social responsibility, and the impact of AI on society, ensuring responsible AI development and application. By embracing these roles, higher education will maintain its relevance and importance in an AI-driven world, preparing students for a future that increasingly depends on human skills, adaptability, and ethical awareness.

What kind of education and training do we need to provide our students so they become highly qualified geriatric nursing professionals?

Bei Wu: Education should focus on theoretical knowledge, clinical skills, interprofessional collaboration, empathetic communication, ethical considerations, cultural competence, evidence-based practice, technological proficiency, and leadership development to train highly qualified geriatric nursing professionals. 

I emphasize cultural competence and leadership development as we now see a more diverse world than ever. Educators must equip students with the knowledge and skills to provide culturally sensitive care and respect students from diverse backgrounds with different cultural beliefs and values towards older adults. We also need to foster leadership skills and encourage students to advocate for the needs of older adults, both within the healthcare system and in the broader society. By combining these elements, educational programs can prepare students to become competent, compassionate, and well-rounded geriatric nursing professionals.

Does this mean that training critical thinking, rather than delivering the content of the class materials, becomes more important than ever?

Bei Wu: Yes, training critical thinking becomes increasingly important as it enables students to effectively analyze, interpret, and apply the content of class materials. This skill empowers them to adapt to new information, solve complex problems, and make informed decisions in their professional practice, which is essential in the dynamic field of geriatric nursing.

How should we evaluate students’ competency in acquiring knowledge in the classroom? For example, should we start implementing traditional paper and pencil formats for exams?

Bei Wu: Evaluating students’ competency in acquiring knowledge should involve various assessment methods to capture the breadth and depth of their understanding. While traditional paper-and-pencil exams can help assess theoretical knowledge, it is also essential to consider alternative methods, such as practical exams, which assess students’ clinical skills and abilities through simulations or hands-on clinical experiences; group projects to evaluate teamwork, collaboration, and problem-solving skills in real-life scenarios or case studies; presentations that allow students to demonstrate their understanding and communication skills by presenting on specific topics; and portfolios to track students’ progress and achievements over time with a collection of their work, including research papers, clinical evaluations, and other relevant documents. Educators can better evaluate students’ competency across various aspects of their geriatric nursing education by implementing a mix of assessment methods.

While we are making concerted efforts to address health disparities and promote equity globally, do you see the advancement of technology further widening the digital divide across populations with various socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., age, socioeconomic status, and geographic locations)?

Bei Wu: Advancements in AI technology do have the potential to widen the digital divide across populations with different socio-demographic characteristics. Some of the challenges include affordability, infrastructure, and digital literacy. For example, lower-income populations may need help to afford devices, internet connections, or services required to access digital health resources. Rural or underdeveloped areas may need more infrastructure for reliable internet connectivity or access to advanced healthcare technologies. Older adults or those with limited education may need help understanding and utilizing digital technologies effectively.

However, government, healthcare providers, technology companies, and researchers should make concerted efforts to minimize these disparities and promote digital equity. For example, investing in infrastructure to improve internet connectivity and access to digital resources in underserved areas, providing financial assistance or subsidized devices and services for low-income populations, and implementing digital literacy programs to enhance digital skills and understanding across all age groups and backgrounds. By addressing these challenges, the advancement of technology can be harnessed to promote health equity and reduce disparities across diverse populations.

Anything else to add?

Bei Wu: ChatGPT can transform practice and research in geriatric nursing and allied health. Its capabilities in generating natural language text, synthesizing vast data, and responding to specific inquiries render it a valuable asset for healthcare professionals. As geriatric nursing progresses, staying current with cutting-edge tools and methodologies, including AI, becomes crucial for healthcare practitioners.

El Camino Health is First to Use New Blood Flow Monitoring Technology

El Camino Health is First to Use New Blood Flow Monitoring Technology

El Camino Health is the first health system in the world to use FloPatch, a new blood flow monitoring technology that will help improve sepsis patient outcomes. Courtesy El Camino Health. 

“Timing is crucial when caring for patients with sepsis,” says Cheryl Reinking, Chief Nursing Officer at El Camino Health.  “Our nurses have seen firsthand how effective FloPatch is in monitoring the effectiveness of treatment in deteriorating patients, especially those with sepsis and low blood pressure.”

In partnership with Flosonics Medical, the developer of FloPatch, El Camino Health has been piloting the FloPatch technology for the past year at Fogarty Innovation, the medical technology and startup incubator that operates out of El Camino Hospital.

“Our nurses immediately loved it and helped decide where in the hospital the technology would be the best fit,” says Reinking.

FloPatch is a device approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It provides fast and consistent measurements to help clinicians track a patient’s heart function.

“Once placed on a patient’s neck, the FloPatch continuously assesses blood flow in the carotid arteries, which are the major blood vessels that supply blood to the brain, neck, and face,” says Reinking. “FloPatch then wirelessly transmits that data to a secure iOS mobile application, providing clinicians with actionable, real-time data at the bedside.”

When a patient with sepsis arrives at the hospital, the first critical step is to treat them with IV fluids, the El Camino announcement stated. But it can be challenging to administer the right amount of fluid, and too much can cause major complications for patients.

“While tools currently available can measure fluid response, they are cumbersome and time consuming to use,” says Reinking. “FloPatch’s advanced analytics engine quantifies and displays changing metrics over the course of an assessment and helps clinicians deliver more precise fluid treatment and, ultimately, better care to patients.”

El Camino Health cited a study that found four to five patients will avoid potentially dangerous fluid overload for every ten FloPatch uses.

The FloPatch is the latest technology to benefit from El Camino Health’s medical technology accelerator program out of Fogarty Innovation (FI). This six-month-long mentoring program helps early-stage companies grow.

With guidance from their lead FI mentors, Mike Regan, Chief Innovation Officer, and Dr. Zach Edmonds, Strategic Adviser, the Flosonics team worked directly with El Camino Health clinicians to better understand the patient journey and determine the best clinical use for their groundbreaking technology.

The Importance of Tech Literacy for Nurses

The Importance of Tech Literacy for Nurses

Medicine and technology have continuously operated hand-in-glove, and never has that been more true than today — and this is all the more reason for nurses to prioritize tech literacy if they want to be the best nurse they can be.

Nursing is the ultimate caring profession, but nursing is also a science. Making it through the rigors of nursing school proves you’ve got what it takes to manage the challenging academics and the more tender side of the profession.

If you are a nurse looking for an opportunity to boost the quality of care you provide your patients, then enhancing your tech literacy should be job one.

Tech Literacy Expands Patient Access to Quality Care

There’s no question that the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid ascendancy of telehealth have transformed nursing practice. It’s estimated, for example, that as much as 25% of patients had used telehealth services in 2022, with a significant proportion of those patients deriving from demographic groups historically marginalized within the national health system, including minorities and patients on Medicare and Medicaid.

This means that the ability to render care through telehealth platforms is increasingly important for nurses seeking to increase their access to and service traditionally at-risk patient populations.

Supporting Patient Engagement and Education

You’re not just a caregiver and comforter when you are a nurse. Every nurse knows that patient education is one of the most critical aspects of the job. As the patient’s primary advocate and point of contact, nurses are uniquely positioned to help educate patients on critical issues, such as disease prevention and management.

And technology is often one of a nurse’s most essential tools for increasing health literacy. For example, nurses may engage with patients one-on-one through email or private video conferencing, create digital documents on a clinic’s website to address common patient health concerns, or conduct remote seminars and online patient education events to help disseminate health and wellness information to the community at large.

This means that nurses, as educators, need to cultivate their expertise in an array of productivity and communication technologies, from secure video conferencing platforms to the creation of documents, images, videos, and infographics for online consumption.

In addition, tech literacy in nurses is also critical for supporting the digital health literacy of patients. Patients, for instance, may need to learn how to use telehealth services securely and effectively. They may also need help locating reliable health information online or may be subject to health misinformation due to their relative inexperience in assessing the credibility of online information.

However, a highly tech-literate nurse can play an invaluable role in helping patients learn to use telehealth and navigate the confusing sea of online medical information — the good, the bad, and the unproven.

Researchers have found, for instance, that 89% of health consumers look up medical information online before consulting with their doctors. However, without the aid of a technically proficient nurse to show them how to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to health claims found online, the consequences of a health-related online search may be dire.

Tech Literacy as a Conduit for Nursing Leadership

Nurses are caregivers and educators, but they’re also leaders, and the mastery of technology can be an important vehicle for ascending through the ranks of your profession. For instance, cultivating a broad leadership and technical skill set ensures your versatility within the field, enabling you to deliver the same superior level of care in the telehealth domain as you do in a physical clinical setting.

In addition, developing robust technical skills also helps you engage in advanced research that is valuable for nurse leaders. This might include, for example, the ability to use technology to compile and analyze massive quantities of Big Health Data and then transform this analysis into evidence-based nursing care practices that can significantly improve patient outcomes and experiences.

The Takeaway

Tech literacy isn’t tangential to the practice of nursing. More than ever, technical skills are critical to quality patient care. Tech literacy helps nurses increase access to and care for the most vulnerable patient populations. It supports the nurse’s efforts to bolster patient health literacy, including their digital health literacy, which can, in turn, protect them against potentially dangerous online health misinformation. Tech literacy is also a central component of nursing leadership, enabling aspiring nurses to rise to the top of their profession as skilled, versatile, and knowledgeable practitioners.

Researching Families of Children with Rare Diseases and Tech

Researching Families of Children with Rare Diseases and Tech

Sometimes, we get involved in facets of our career or volunteering because of something that has happened in our personal lives or the lives of people close to us, especially when it concerns children with rare diseases.

That’s exactly what happened with Adriana D Glenn, Ph.D., MA, MN, FNP-BC, CNE Assistant Professor, RN-BSN Program Director & Academic Coach at The George Washington University.

Daily Nurse spoke with Dr. Glenn about her research regarding how families of children with rare diseases use technology for communication.

How did you get interested in researching how families of children with rare diseases use the internet for communication? What drew you to it? How long have you been doing it? 

My interest in how families of children with rare diseases use the internet or e-health communication directly resulted from my personal experiences. My daughter, Avery, was diagnosed with Alagille syndrome, a rare genetic disorder affecting the liver, heart, and other parts of the body. One of the major issues resulting from the condition is liver damage caused by abnormalities in the bile ducts. However, because the condition is rare, many healthcare providers are unfamiliar with the disease, its trajectory, or how to manage some symptoms.

Out of desperation and the need for information, I sought knowledge about the disease. I felt incredibly lonely, scared, and vulnerable, and I had experience as a provider in the healthcare system! While searching for the answers to my questions, I constantly thought, “I have a healthcare background. I can read and understand the research. What are parents doing that have a child with this disease and do not have the background, connections, resources, or knowledge?”

The parents of children with rare diseases were underserved and understudied. We did not know how they accessed information, what type of information they were seeking, and how they decided to act or use what they found in searching the internet for answers and support. And thus, I began to explore the issue, which needed to be better described and defined in the research literature at the time.

My daughter died in 2012 at the age of 4 years due to complications of Alagille syndrome. While I no longer directly study how families of children with rare diseases use e-health communication, I have continued to explore the influence of e-health, telehealth, and the internet’s impact on underserved and marginalized populations.

I will always be connected to the Alagille community. They have my heart, as I have been in their shoes–scared, alone, and overwhelmed.

What’s the most difficult thing these families deal with? How does communication with other families via the internet help them? Do they tend to try to find families of children with the same disease or anyone?

The most challenging thing these families deal with is feeling helpless and lonely. Their child is diagnosed with something rare, and physicians often have limited information or sometimes even dated information (i.e., they learned or heard somewhat about the condition in medical school and have not had a reason to keep up with the diagnostics and treatments).

Furthermore, while they [the parent(s)] know intellectually that others have children with the condition, they likely do not know anyone personally (at least at first). So they feel very lonely and scared for their child and their future.

The amazing thing about my research is that I had the privilege of seeing the transition from message board posts at two in the morning and that parents waiting with bated breath for a response to the migration to social media platforms like Facebook, where they can post a question or concern and get an almost immediate and helpful reply. The fact that now parents can get immediate responses from parents from around the world in a matter of a few minutes has been huge and very rewarding to see the change.

This shift in communication speed and platform has helped parents feel not so alone. It has provided immediate and helpful information–ranging from managing a worrisome symptom to what one may expect at a procedure or even referrals for places to seek more information or health care providers. There have been many positives to the expansion of knowledge and access via the internet.

What do families get from this communication?  

Families can communicate with a community that ranges in age and experiences and come from around the world. The families get access to practical information. Much of what physicians and other healthcare providers share with parents/families are from a pathological, pharmacological, or therapeutic realm.

The information, of course, is important. However, families often crave how to deal with day-to-day struggles. What families need and get from communication from the internet is how to manage the day-to-day. For example, with Alagille syndrome, one of the major symptoms of the disease is the intense/severe itching (cholestatic pruritus) the child feels as a result of the excess bile in the blood (the exact mechanism of this itching is not well understood). The child will scratch their skin raw, and it is not uncommon for a parent to go into their child’s bedroom first thing in the morning and find bloody bedsheets somewhat akin to what one might expect at a crime scene. It is scary and traumatic for parents and the child.

In the Facebook parent group for Alagille, parents found out about things they could do to ease/reduce the itch. Furthermore, because of the wide availability of the internet and social media, when clinical trials became available for a medication called Livmarli™ (maralixibat), many children with Alagille were eligible to participate because the parents were connected and engaged with Facebook and the internet. As a result, Maralixbat, an oral solution for treating cholestatic pruritus in patients with Alagille syndrome one year of age and older, has since been approved for use in this population thanks to the efforts and information from these children and their families. This is an amazing and powerful example of the benefits of this type of communication.

I have also learned and observed in this research area that families fly and meet one another, and the families and children become really good friends.

What do you like most about conducting this type of research? 

I enjoy seeing how empowered people become when they have access to information. They become more engaged with their healthcare providers and can confidently ask questions and follow up on the information they obtain. We expect patients to be healthcare consumers, yet we need to teach people how or what this looks like. I also love seeing how technology and information evolve relatively quickly.

What are the biggest challenges for families of children with rare diseases? 

The biggest challenge for families of children with a rare disease is to garner interest in their cause. Because rare diseases are defined as a disease or conditions affecting less than 200,000 people in the United States (Orphan Disease Act, https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/about), funding for treatments and cures are not the priority–as, of course, it is not lucrative for pharmacological companies. This is a source of frustration and adds to feelings or a sense of helplessness. Also, there is still a lot of trying to understand the information they [parents] do find online and how to best use or act upon the information they uncover. This is especially true when you do not have a healthcare background.

What are the greatest rewards they get from this type of communication? 

The most significant rewards families of children with rare diseases get from accessing and using e-health communication are hope, encouragement, and a sense of community. Having a community of people who share similar experiences is very helpful to one’s emotional and mental health.

Social support–one of the concepts that came out of my research–is very important to many communities. There is ample research illustrating the importance of social support in managing many conditions. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, accessing information is hugely empowering. When you have a child with a rare disease, you are that child’s best and biggest advocate. Having internet access and communication helps to support effective and efficient advocacy for your child.

Social support–one of the concepts that came out of my research–is very important to many communities. There is ample research illustrating the importance of social support in managing many conditions. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, accessing information is hugely empowering. When you have a child with a rare disease, you are that child’s best and biggest advocate. Having internet access and communication helps to support effective and efficient advocacy for your child.

Is there anything important for our readers to know?

The internet has its positives and negatives, like everything in life. It is important to be aware that while online communication/e-health communication has been a blessing for many people, there can also be dark sides and misinformation. Therefore, your healthcare provider must address serious symptoms and concerns.

It is not in one’s best interest to rely on parents/strangers to tell you when to contact your physician/healthcare provider. If your gut is telling you to call, do not post pictures or ask the advice of laypeople–contact your provider.

Technology and Telehealth: Tools for the Traveling Nurse

Technology and Telehealth: Tools for the Traveling Nurse

Remote operations have become a familiar aspect of our contemporary society. The technology to digitally connect people across vast distances has been available for several years. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced popular uptake—companies shifted their employees to work from home, and various generations stayed connected through video conferencing. One of the areas that also saw a boost was the uptake of telehealth technology and services.

The public has started to recognize the convenience and stability of remote healthcare, and there is likely to be continued growth in the area. As a traveling nurse—a sector also seeing a surge in demand recently—you are increasingly likely to include the technology and practices here as part of their standard toolkit. It is important to take the time to understand how this impacts the level of care you can provide and the steps you can take to make the most of it.

Equipment Collaboration

The growth in demand for information technology (IT) in the healthcare sector is continuing to alter a lot of professionals’ relationships with their jobs. For instance, automated tools are increasingly being used to help care providers and patients to make sometimes life-changing decisions about diagnoses and treatment. This places a great deal of responsibility on skilled IT professionals to design and maintain reliable tools. But it also means doctors and travel nurses need to have specialized medical knowledge to collaborate with these tools in ways that maximize the effectiveness and accuracy for patients.

Mobile healthcare providers are already having to take this approach with remote physiological monitoring devices. There are certainly specialist pieces of technology involved in this process; blood pressure readers, blood glucose readers, and spirometers to measure pulmonary functioning. For the most part, there are clear training and operating procedures about how to effectively use this as part of a patient’s care. Where you’re likely to find more scope for uncertainty is when utilizing the patient’s own devices.

This is an increasingly common area of exploration. Smartphones and smartwatches have more nuanced sensors today. When paired with apps, they can monitor a patient’s cardiovascular system, sleep patterns, and respiratory health with a relatively good degree of accuracy. There is also software to track cognitive functioning and mental health. However, in these cases, it is vital to assess through experience and research whether these are appropriate for use and whether they can fit into the care plan you’re providing your patients. Consider, too, how securely these devices can transmit patient data, too—it may be the case that to maintain security you need to research their compatibility with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant telehealth cloud platforms.

Telehealth Education

Utilizing telehealth and technological tools is a learning curve for both you as a traveling nurse and your patients. Indeed, one of the reasons people have been initially slow on the uptake of this technology is a lack of confidence in the tools. Particularly if you’re practicing in rural areas of the country or far-flung destinations, you may find that while telehealth can be a vital lifeline to care, it also requires some attention to education. As such, you need to be prepared to be a guide to your patients.

Health education is likely already a significant part of your job. Heading out on the road to visit patients often means introducing them to concepts they’re unfamiliar or uncomfortable with. It’s therefore worth preparing some technological educational materials to help patients make the most of the methods and tools you’ll be utilizing. When you’re visiting them in person, go through a practical demonstration of the telehealth platforms, showing how to start calls, upload any information or monitoring data, and even ensure their setup is secure and comfortable.

This can also be a good time to assess how stable their broadband connection is and its suitability for remote appointments. The CDC recently recommended such assessments can improve uptake of mobile care. This is because it allows you to also ascertain whether more flexible forms of appointment—audio rather than video, asynchronous contact—may be effective.

Staying Ahead of the Curve

The telehealth tech space is constantly changing. Just when you’ve gotten used to a tool, it can seem like it is being superseded by something more efficient or better suited to the task. This can present challenges to you as a mobile nurse, particularly as you may not always have the same immediate access to educational resources as your colleagues in traditional establishments. As such, you need to place focus on staying ahead of the curve wherever possible.

Your best option here is developing and maintaining relationships beyond your immediate agency and coworkers. Make space in your schedule to attend industry conferences and seminars, as these are often opportunities to learn from those involved with developing technology and the protocols you’re likely to use in the future. There are new developments in telehealth—this aspect of the industry is expected to expand significantly between now and 2026—and engaging with these early can help you to apply them effectively. Some of the developments are strictly technological. Artificial intelligence (AI) has a presence in diagnostic software and maintaining medical records. Mobile health (mHealth) tech is expanding to encompass connected medical ID apps that alert care staff when there are emergencies.

Forging relationships here might also include the option to partner with technology developers in testing protocols for these devices. Rather than always playing catch-up in learning how to use technology, you can be instrumental in influencing how it is used in the field and introducing it to patients. This can even lead to opportunities for your professional progression.

Conclusion

Being a traveling nurse is rewarding, and it is increasingly becoming a focus for technological tools and telehealth. You can best use these by understanding how to effectively collaborate with the tools and being a source of support and education for your patients. However, as the field expands it is wise to stay ahead of the curve and be willing to engage in developing the protocols for important new tools.