From paper to computer

[HeartsOpenWide, RN]

For those of you that have been around for the change from paper charting to computer charting, what was it like? We had our first day and it was horrible!! People had break downs, some have threatened to quit, and we are all trying not to let the stress lead us to attacking each other.

There are not enough tablets/computers for everyone, we only got 4 hrs of training that everyone felt was a waste of time because none really applied to our department, we are having to work through system errors as they come up! We feel totally lost as we get farther and farther behind in our charting because we dont know what we are doing. We have to wait over 30 mins for admitting to get out pts in the system, labs ate hours behind; all because the entire hospital switched at the same time.

Ware getting no extra help, they still won't give us a ward clerk! I have talked with nurses at other hospitals that say they had way more trading and that travelers were hired during the transition.

[dah doh, BSN, RN]

Yes we went computer charting a few years ago. They originally launched but it didn't work as planned so they had to stop parts and do it again in phases. They sent us to classes and had "expert" helpers, but the learning curve is steep! They usually have server problems, connection bog downs, data transfer issues, etc. There was a lot over overtime and overstaffing and high stress for a while. Eventually, you get used to it and charting and order entry goes faster. Some of the "older" staff threaten to quit. Usually the "younger" more computer savvy staff get the hang of it sooner. No one actually quit because of it. We'll see how it goes next time because we're planning to change computer systems again soon.