Imperfect Technology

We use many objects of technology to make our jobs much easier. They help by allowing us to be more efficient when completing tasks. We appreciate technology and sometimes rely on it a little too much. In many cases I have noticed that relying on technology excessively can sometimes be detrimental to nurses. Some nurses tend to rely on monitors and readings from machines that may be reading incorrectly due to flawed use or faulty equipment. This provides an incorrect assessment of the patient and with the nurse relying on that assessment; the patient may be placed in danger.
We have vital sign machines that take blood pressure, heart rate and oxygenation readings. If the readings are out of normal range we are to retake these measurements manually if possible. Many times the readings are close to the same but we have had a machine or two that had given us low readings which resulted in nurses holding blood pressure medications when they were actually needed. When the next shift would come on, they would use a different machine and get elevated readings. Needless to say we eventually realized we had old faulty equipment that was giving us incorrect readings as much of a difference of 40 or more compared to working machines and manual readings. We cannot entirely rely on medical equipment to do what a nurse has been trained to do and that is assessing a patient.
Faulty equipment can cause serious injuries, misdiagnosis and even death. The error can be caused by those using the equipment or the actual object itself. Damage can occur to equipment via misuse or incorrect maintenance or eventually the item just being worn out. The point being is regardless of the cause for equipment not functioning properly, the fact is no technology is completely reliable. We must rely on ourselves to use our skills to properly care for patients and not rely on a machine to tell us whether a patient is stable or not. Relying on technology to do a nurses job becomes abuse by that person and those believing that technology is always dependable do not fully understand its use.

Ugly Side of Technology

I keep praising how great technology is, especially technology as objects because these are the things that make my job so much easier. I am able to care for my patients in a safer more efficient way by the use of equipment and medications. I am able to document faster with electronic charting and pass medications safely with a barcode system that minimizes the chance of committing medication errors. Patients make faster recoveries with fewer complications which allows for shorter hospital stays. I have looked at many positive sides to technology but have not yet entered into the disadvantages. In this blog I wanted to elaborate on the ugly side of the technology that affects my job.
With the good there is the bad. Just yesterday maintenance at the hospital I work at decided to shut down the electricity throughout the whole place and run it on generators. They needed to do a test run on the generators in case for some reason the hospital electricity ever went out. It was close to midnight, had already had a crazy day and I was trying to finish charting when my computer along with all the electricity went out. The generators kicked back on seconds later but my computer did not. About three computers turned back on and needless to say I lost the charting I was working on at the time, plus had to wait until one of the working computers became available, (greedy co-workers). I was so disappointed that I lost my charting and after having such a hectic day I just wanted to be done. We even had patient family members complain about not being able to watch television because the important equipment was plugged into the generator-supplied plugs. It is obvious that not all technology is reliable and sometimes we cannot count on it.
Besides equipment being faulty at times, we get medications that are made to prevent complications or treat medical problems but instead create greater issues like allergies, severe adverse reactions, and further or worse complications. According to the article Medication Complications & Side Effects from the website drugcomplications.com it is estimated that every year approximately 200,000 Americans die from prescription drug adverse reactions and side effects. The website goes on and states that it is widely believed that more Americans die as a result of prescription drug interactions or side effects than from using illegal drugs.
Technology has provided my field of work with many necessary items that have enhanced the medical field as well as caused problems for it. Even then, for the improvement and efficiency of healthcare, we will continue to use computers, medications, and equipment taking in the chances of failing even if it is the only way to get closer to excellence.
MEDICATION COMPLICATIONS & SIDE EFFECTS. Accessed October 4, 2009 from
http://drugcomplications.com