"Technology is something we need to embrace,” stated Nigel Keep, RN, BSN, chairperson of the ENA ED Technology Special Interest Group (SIG). As a technological specialist for Cerner Corporation, Keep’s job entails staying on top of the latest advances in technology, and assessing how they can best be applied to the ED. As there is vast opportunity for technology to enhance patient care in the emergency department (ED), every emergency nurse should stay
current on the latest technological devices and systems, he noted.
ENA should lead by example, Keep asserted, and one of
the most significant steps the organization can take is to set the
standards for ED technology. “Look at what we’ve done with TNCC
(Trauma Nursing Core Course),” he said. “ENA is recognized as
the standard for how to educate our members, create a certification, and
prepare EDs for being trauma centers. We’ve done so many things with
issues such as geriatrics and injury prevention, yet we have not as an
organization tapped into the great opportunities offered by technology. We
need to get to the point where we are setting and dictating the standards
for technology in emergency care.”
ENA’s role in creating standards for ED
technology was certain to be among the topics of discussion at the ED
TEchnology SIG’s meeting at the 2004 ENA Scientific Assembly, held
September 30 through October 2 in San Diego, California. The Scientific
Assembly itself offered several opportunities for enhancement through
technology, Keep suggested. “As an organization, we could get to the
point where we can put sessions on streaming video,” he said. Other
suggestions included creatng an electronic version of the ENA Candidates
Forum, which is traditionally held at the ENA Leadership Challenge in
winter; or enabling ENA State Councils to hold virtual meetings. Virtual
State Council meetings would eliminate the travel problems experienced by
members in large states, and would certainly boost meeting attendance.
There is a wealth of opportunity for technology to
improve ED practices, Keep advised: mobile and hand-held devices can help
staff with documentation, reducing paperwork; medication administration
(positive patient identification) that can reduce medical errors; and
improved access to electronic health records, allowing immediate access to
patient medical histories. While these technologies exist, there is no set
of standards which tells vendors what is most desirable in a system from a
clinical perspective. That is where ENA should step in and create standards
for ED technology, Keep stated. “We have electronic documentation
systems, but no one is telling the vendors. ‘These are the data
pieces that should be included,’” he explained. “As an
organization, ENA should be setting the standards.”
The ED Technology SIG plans to tap the expertise of
emergency nurses who have gone outside of the ED setting to focus on
technology careers, as well as publish articles related to ED technology.
The ultimate goal of incorporating the most appropriate technology in the
ED is to improve patient care, Keep noted. “As the technology grows
and the interest grows, we will obviously have better care. ENA members
will have better opportunities to not only grow professionally, but to make
sure we are providing the best type of patient care that we can.”
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