Nurses have the right to give and recieve information as a professional right?

[bluekermode]

Hello - I'm a fourth year nursing student

I'm doing a presentation on nurses and technology in an issues class. The way I see it nurses use all types of technology from computers, PDA's and the internet etc.. And I think this is an important part of nursing and to promote nurses as professionals and leaders.

I think not being able to use the internet for research or client teaching information at work sets nurses back. Doctors and other medical professionals use this knowledge base.

I am curious if the experienced nurses out there have had clients ask about useful websites, and if most nurses have internet access. I have seen some older posts regarding internet access but didn't see if nurses are being asked about internet information by patients, or if patients are bringing information in for nurses to look at to see if it's from reliable sites.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

[TazziRN, RN]

Nurses have the same rights as anyone else, but the pts also have the right to have 100% of the nurses' attention. Internet access is often abused by nursing staff, so facilities take the easy way out and limit access.

[JVanRN]

We have internet access at work. Often it's used for obtaining information related to work...but it's often abused. Online shopping, ect...there is NO WAY in hell I would shop on line at work. Just plain stupid

[Dolce, RN]

I used to work with nurses who would do online banking one the work computers. Talk about a dumb idea. That and all the ebaying just about drove me nuts!! Please people...don't you have the internet at home??

[mhr2133]

Oh that's just sad..

I read Tazzi's reply and thought, I can be trusted with the patient's life while injecting meds in their IV but the hospital can't trust me with internet access. Sad that sometimes the higher up treat all nurses like children because of the actions of a few.

I want to be treated as a professional always (ok maybe I picked the wrong job) Dr's have full internet access on their phones and PDA from the first day of med school. It is available everywhere, heck my 11yr has internet on his phone. Nurses should have it.

[elizabells, BSN, RN]

We have full internet access at work. I use it fairly frequently to look up diagnoses and surgeries I'm unfamiliar with. I admit, I sometimes check CNN.com when it's slow because I have sort of a pathological fear that something bad (9/11-ish) will happen and I won't know about it. But the folks who shop, watch TV episodes WITH SOUND ON, and check gossip sites like Perez Hilton drive me nuts.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

we have limited access in the matter of time while at work. The computers have access, but the individuals time may be monitored by IS. However, we also have a library so nurses can request a search on a topic then get emailed articles to their home computer or PDA or whatever.

[TRAMA1RN]

No, some people live in very rural areas they do not have high speed internet which is a must today. Other problem is some/few nurses do abuse as well as managers and physicians the use of the internet. Most IT programs block professional sites accidentally as well. I often used the internet at one of my previous places of employment, for personal as well as professional purposes. Often did research and printed off items for patients that could assist them in educating them further about their disease process. The internet is like everything else in this world it can be very useful as well as be abused.

[casi, ASN, RN]

We get 90 minutes of non-approved internet site slack off time. When I sign on a site such as ikea.com (which I will admit to surfing while at work and slow), I get a pop up asking if I want to use my time on this site. Then every 10 minutes after I get a pop up saying that I’m down to so many minutes and asks if I’d like to continue.

If a call light goes off I log out or if I have charting to do I do that first.

The internet is such a great resource for us all.

[Sunflowerinsc, ADN, RN]

We did have unlimited usage of internet until it was missed used. Shopping,games, time wasted while at work ect. Now we can access Web MD, American Heart or Cancer site. Also our state's board of nursing. There is another one that I can't think of the name right now(!) that has lots of information on diseases ,ect with good pt hand outs.

[abooker]

Nurses have the right to give and receive information as a professional right?[/Quote]

Do you think floor nurses, as a group, have the appropriate training to function effectively as information professionals? I think that's the first question, before we start discussing rights.

I do not think most nurses have received the proper training - and there is a huge "scope of practice" issue.

Please, please, please ... use the patient education handouts and the librarian; that's why they're there. Internet access should be available in the hospital library, with a trained information professional to help with navigation and knowledge issues. A nurse's job is hard enough already ... delegating is a good thing.

[KeyMaster]

The Chief Nursing Officer for our system addressed a group of nurses at a Lunch & Learn (we get lunch + a nursing oriented speaker/education opportunity once a month for those who can attend). She emphasized the importance of technology & correct internet information for nurses. Her bottom line statement was that the nurse of the future will not learn in school the drug information on every med given, or the norms for every lab test but will instead need to know the ways to access that information and the critical thinking skills to utilize the resources available to compile the information needed to safely care for a variety of patients. She wasn't looking away from the fundamental nursing skills that are the basis of care, but pointed out by the time you memorize a set of information it my be outdated quickly. Look at the number of new meds that come out each year; it's more valuable to know where to get thorough info on meds than to learn a med that will be replaced by something newer in two years.