Painfully Slow Process

I am a MSN student hoping to start as a FNP what programs would work to store results and track patients for labs, PAP smears, mamograms, followup calls? Is there a program in windows that would work? I'm wondering if there is a calendar that you could enter data into and keep current?

Our primary care network has an office with electronic medical records. The software is from Practice Partners. The labs are entered in. xrays and other narrative are scanned in. There is potential for scanning EKG readings too.

It's obvious that nurses need to embrace Information technology and Nursing Informatics. What are the implication for new nurses entering practice regarding this topic?

Congratulations on finding your niche! I have been considering this field for a while now but love where I am at present (ICU). However, my aging body isn't going to last there until I am 60! I have always loved technology and even have some experience. I was the co-ordinator for implementing and maintaining a computer-based nursing workload measurement system. I trained them not only in the system but also how to use the computer. I am also on the team developing and implementing computerized charting (Meditech) in our hospital. These things are almost as fun as my regular job! Do you have any information on certifications available in Canada or any organizations up here? I need a starting point for my search for information on this career choice.

In my experience as a clinical analyst implementing an EMR in several hospital based clinics....
"nursing informaticists" need to remember they are still nurses. When teaching nurses (and doctors) who may have very limited technical backgrounds or even no computer experience, talking over their head about technology and futureshock does not go nearly as far as good old support and simple advice. I tell every nurse I know "if you don't have a computer at home, get one. Start going online, or writing letters or playing games, anything to learn basic skills in Windows-type programs" If you are not using a computer at work now, expect to be using one in the next few years. Resistance is futile!
I love the technology. I have had to learn six different programs in as many months because either I will be teaching others to use them or there are interfaces that affect the other programs. I don't expect every nurse I encounter to be thrilled about being told they now have to learn to use a computer. My "job well done" is when , after a couple of months they say "this is great" and "I don't know how we managed without computers".

Start with this organization:

Canadian Organisation for Advancement of Computers in Health (COACH)
http://www.coachorg.com/nisig/

Let me know if you need more info and GOOD LUCK!
Angela[/QB][/quote]

Thanks for all the information Angela. I'll check it out. Ellen

I would like to talk alittle about Computerised Patient Reords, because it's fully integrated advent is practically inevitable but I agree, it is going to be a laboured process, as we are talking about a social change here. Concepts of technology change the way we communicate. It is about using a unified language and opening a path to efficiency. It is part of history in the making. And for that we should feel privileged! But like all forms of acceptance, there has to be a willingness to respond to the need from all sides. Then we can pool resources for the best results of practice with an authentic multidisciplinary approach. Further research will be more instantaneous, giving scope for the ultimate in quality of care and teaching more relevant to todays practice. Once all health practioners concerned understand the logistics involved, concerns such as confidentilality and protection of patients rights to privacy of information can be adressed. I believe that this is all about the code of ethics that those part of a profession agree to uphold. If this system is given the integrity it deserves, the same way we trust the files clark in the basement that retrieves the screeds of paperwork that must be held for a legally designated length of time, we will trust expert systems designed to protect information from those not authorised to access it. We also need to trust that the systems set in place will stand the test of time, by being continually updated so that they do not become obscelete. Which begs the question, when will technology's developments stop? Probably never. As epidemiological data becomes more complex (making diagnoses more complex and more difficult to pinpoint as morbidities of cultures intertwine), populations increase and time management becomes more critical, CPRs become a neccesity if we want to give the type of holistic and accurate care that is expected by our vastly more educated and complicated patient load.
What I would like to know is: what kind of acceptance is there in reality amongst our collegues? Because I feel like I am theorising about something that is just around the corner, and I wonder if this profession is ready for it. I suspect that it will be as soon as next year that papers such as information systems in nursing become prequisites to a degree in nursing. But while we wait for a unified design, these courses can not equip their students with what they need to know.
Another question: Are we ready to afford it?
My GP uses a voice-activated documenting system (after all agreed that his penmanship left much to be desired!), but I am not sure all Doctors clinics can afford these systems. What would happen then. Would there be further disparity amongst communities of lower incomes, will it make the poverty gap wider as some less fortunate miss out on decent health care without adequate resources to cater for progression? Or will it be of huge cost to the country as it comes out of public funds. And is it worth it?
To convince the public that a computer system could improve their health may prove tricky to manouvre - but not impossible. It's all about social change.