Geek Nurses, Front and Center!

Well, I don't work in IT, but have strong computer skills and am fascinated by the interface of nursing and technology. I love patient care, but am involved slightly with informatics. I am on a committee for my hospital that beta tests new apps, and suggests changes etc...It is a nice way to combine different aspects of nursing that I love.

I too have lurked in the background of AllNurses for a long time. I am coming out also!
I worked as a staff OB RN for 25 years, until our department was going to implement Centricity Perinatal. I was asked to consider taking the plunge by my supervisor as the Clinical Perinatal Appilcation Specialist. I knew I was ready for an adventure and the delight of professional growth. So I studied up on Access and Excel. There were days I felt overwhelmed with the complexity of the build and implementation. But...I am very happy to report that the Staff on my unit have been documenting on the views I built for over a year now! I never have a boring day! What a delight this entire adventure was.
Now the OR is asking if I will take thier system (PICIS) under my belt and modify it for thier needs.

Sincerely,
Kelly Lynn

WELCOME Kelly Lynn,
Thanks for "coming out"

Hello KellyLynn,
I have used PICIS for a while now. If you need any help just ask.
Teri

Still a floor nurse, but definitely on the geeky side. I even have a tee shirt that says "I <3 nerdy boys"...hubby and sons qualify as geeky and nerdlets as well. Our 2 1/2 year old is already playing the Xbox, regularly plays online games at places like Nick Jr., and is "typing" up documents in Word. Unfortunately his etiquette skills are a little behind, he thinks when he's decided it's his turn to play on the computer that grabbing the mouse and screaming "my mouse!" at the top of his lungs is a good way to get mommy off of it.

And our ten year old's middle name is Robert after Robert Heinlein. Our two year old's middle name was almost Douglas after Douglas Adams, but we named him after family members instead. When my hubby and I first started dating as teenagers, we read the entirety of the Hitchhiker's Guide "trilogy" to each other out loud.

I took a science fiction as literature class in college for fun...I was one of only three women in the class, but probably tied with the prof and just two other students for the most well read. It was one of the most enjoyable classes I've ever taken, even if we did have to write a two to three page paper every week for the entire semester.

My family got our first computer when I was in kindergarden, way back in the early 80's. So I'm totally comfortable with them.

Our facility is getting ready to go live with EPIC and I was chosen to be a super user, and couldn't be more excited about it. I was apprehensive at first, but after just one class am a convert. My only questions have been "why did this take so long to get to?" and "why can't we do more with it...lets get apps to do XYZ as well as 123!" I just hope I'm able to maintain that level of enthusiam through the go live process.

Wooohoo! Geek nurse here!!

Im a Clinical Systems Analyst for a large healthcare organization here in Wisconsin. We work on Epic, and Im actually currently getitng my certification in EpicCare Ambulatory.

I am an RN/BSN, and worked as an oncology/chemotherapy nurse in the hospital, and then as an OB Triage nurse in the clinic, before switching to the Epic team. I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! Ive been doing this for about a year now, and can not imagine going back to patient care. As much as I loved the patients, the biggest thing that weighed on me was, 'what if I did something wrong that could harm the patient'. Ive worked with the Epic System for 4 years, before joining the team, so I have a lot of experience as an end user which has helped a lot.

Im going back to school to get my Masters in Healthcare Informatics. Was going to start this fall, but my husband just finished law school, and we are moving for his job then. Also we have a five year old little boy

I saw a tshirt at Walmart the other day that says "Talk Nerd to Me" and I thought it was perfect! I have a husband and son who are nerdy as heck! (which I love)

Glad to see other Nurses who work in this field. Somtimes its hard, because my other team members doing think clinically and that can be a big barrier when trying to do this job!

Rhonda