The patient and medical technology

- The patient and Medical TechnologyStudy Unit 9.4

- The Nursing PersonnelStudy Unit 9.5

By C. Settley

The interaction between the patientand Medical Technology• Formal hospital admission means exposure to medical

technology• Rapid advancement in medical equipment• Influenced hospital care costs and quality of care• Every department has increased where medical

technology is concerned• Examples: Scans, tumor detection, tomography (x-rays

and ultrasounds)• Scans: mainly done to asses the function of organs• Ultrasounds: a wide variety of diseases or

complaints can be investigated

The interaction between the patientand Medical Technology• Most sophisticated equipment usually found

in intensive units• Medical technology influences the intimacy of human

contact• Increases social distance between medical staff and the

patient• Beneficial to both the patient and nursing professional

therefore the nurse must humanize it to preserve the patient’s dignity

• Even when dying- patient should be treated with dignity

The interaction between the patientand Medical Technology• Difficult to ensure patient safety in a medical

technological intensive environment • Benefit from our customized approach that analyzes

your current culture, infrastructure, practices, and technology

• Improve patient safety and minimize human error

The interaction between the patientand Medical Technology- Thousands of mistakes every year can be attributed to

human error, which is why the adoption of barcode technology has become so critical.

- According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 50% of all countries do not implement basic policies to promote rational use of medicines and in developing countries, less than 40% of patients in the public sector and 30% in the private sector are treated according to clinical guidelines

The interaction between the patientand Medical Technology- Barcode benefits- Simply put, barcode technology eliminates the need for

traditional keyboard data entry. It requires conversion of an identifier to a symbolic representation namely, the barcode.

- The barcode can then be printed on or affixed to an item and subsequently read by a light source and fed into a computer. 

- Barcode solutions can be used in a variety of healthcare applications, including producing hospital wristbands and labelling for pharmaceutical unit-dose medications, IV mixtures, lab and pathology specimens, blood products, asset tags, file labels and more. 

The interaction between the patientand Medical Technology- Pharmaceutical companies can locate and track each dose of

medication produced in vast batches; hospitals can monitor and utilise equipment with greater efficiency; and healthcare staff can create and maintain healthcare records more efficiently.

- The rate of accuracy at which information can be captured is exceptional.

- Barcode scanning equipment is much faster than the human eye and notably more accurate.

- They eliminate the chance for errors in recording data with the added benefit of doing so in a fraction of the time required for manual entry 

- They are easy to use. Unskilled operators can learn and operate the

equipment in a fairly short time.

The interaction between the patientand Medical Technology• Importantly, hospitals are expected to avoid litigation associated with

preventable adverse events reducing malpractice liability insurance premiums, and increase receipts from more accurate billing procedures

• Hospitals also benefit from the marketing and patient preference benefits associated with quality care and industry leadership in the adoption of new technologies and clinical processes.

• Less obvious, but of equal importance, are the collateral benefits of barcoding to nursing and pharmacist productivity, charge capture, inventory management, asset utilisation, commodity tracing and tracking, and the market value of patient safety leadership.

The interaction between the patientand Medical Technology• Alarm Coverage Review—A hospital had several near

misses related to delayed responses to telemetry alarms. The hospital was very concerned about missed alarms, nurse desensitization to alarms due to alarm overload, the high number of nuisance alarms (e.g., caused by artifact), and alarm audibility at the ends of long hallways in the telemetry area.

The interaction between the patientand Medical Technology• Ultimately, the factor that emerges as most important is,

of course, the vast improvement in the quality of patient care and improved efficiency that leads to delivering better service and reducing costs.

The Nursing Personnel• Heterogenous in hospital• According to statistics, about 70% of nurses are married

STUDENT NURSES AS ADOLESCENTS

• Majority of nurses are adolescents. Therefore at a difficult time in their lives

• Professional education takes place at the same time that transition from adolescents to adulthood takes place

• Uncertain position in the hierarchy of the organisation

• - help and support adult patients

• - force them to take medicine

• - support the dying: can be traumatic.

• Self confidence in this period of adolescence

• Stress full conditions may tend to engage in activities/psychological to compensate

• Diets, tired and listlessness

STUDENT NURSES AS ADOLESCENTS

• The self image of students changes constantly

• Rapid professional socialization. Incorporation of new norms and values

• Emotional instability of adolescents occurs. Refers to mood swings- it becomes stable later in career. Traumatic experiences exacerbate this phenomenon.

• Adaption of new environment, residence, responsibilities, being away from home. The student needs to adapt to hospital routine, irregular working hours, class, having to work over weekends. The nursing student is required to do the ‘dirty work’ until competent skills have been developed

STUDENT NURSES AS ADOLESCENTS

• Powerful student cultures develop• Difficult adjustments• Homesickness, poor study habits and personal problems

THE NURSE AS A WORKING MOTHER

• Working married nurses constitute the largest group in the profession

• This group of nurses experience the same problems as any other woman, with the burden of physical and emotional aspects

• This includes husband-wife relationships, working irregular hours, night shift, children

• The responsibility of managing a home• Spiritual

THE STUDENT NURSE AS A SINGLE PARENT

• From an employers point of view- the issue of the working mother having to stay home when child is sick

• Shifts• Parental duties

THE NURSING PROFESSIONAL AND STRESS

• Nursing is a stressful profession• No need to be working in an intensive unit to experience

this• Due to tremendous responsibilities• Coping with occurrences such as death, pain and

suffering- emotionally exhausting• Contributes to personnel stress• Trauma units• Support systems and the manner in which they are being

used

THE NURSING PROFESSIONAL AND STRESS

• Support systems vary according to the situation• Peer groups, friends, referral• Direct support- expressions of loyalty, information

sharing, advise, encouragement, positive/negative feedback

• Emotional involvement can be exhausting• Without losing warmth and humanity; ‘distance’ should

be maintained• Too much emotional involvement influences objectivity

THE MALE STUDENT NURSE INA PREDOMINANTLY FEMALE PROFESSION

- Stigma- Female role as carer- Adaptation in predominantly female career

NURSING CARE- A DEVELOPING ART. Page 215• During training, the student nursing professional must

begin to form his/her own ideas on how to establish a correct, unique nursing-professional-patient relationship

• To benefit both of these role players• Committed presence• Supporting a patient when he/she admits to pain• Render proper assistance• Emotional support• Holistically and comprehensive nursing care

NURSING CARE- A DEVELOPING ART• Touch • Instrumental behavior• Eg full wash /assisting in washing a patient, massaging• Bonding and support• Committed presence initiates this usually• Touch is the physical presence• Touch can never be overemphasized• Starts during infancy• The empathetic touch as a nonverbal action alleviates a

patients pain and anxiety

NURSING CARE- A DEVELOPING ART• Obviously touch is an invasive and intrusive action• Eg if a patient cries- no harm in giving a spontaneous

hug or hold hand• Sincerity• Pediatric nurses should know that touch is even more

important when nursing children• Touch aids in the recovery process• Nursing professional should have insight in when to

exhibit this action

NURSING CARE- A DEVELOPING ART• Attentive therapeutic listening• Acquired skill to listen attentively• Remember that patients do not open up easily• Gain trust• Take note on what patient says• Some patients prefer to disclose their needs and

anxieties in religious ways• Confidence should be gained by patients to disclose

information

NURSING CARE- A DEVELOPING ART

• Tone of voice

• Approach

• Encourage the patient to verbalise any worries and fears

• Exchange thoughts in a professional manner

• Communication skills

• Essential

• Make patient feel and sense that he/she is important

• Attitude

• When conveying information that is important

• When unable to provide adequate relief from stressors/pain

NURSING CARE- A DEVELOPING ART

• Communicational strategies:• 1) pretentiousness on prognosis• 2) small portion of information is communicated• 3) bad news is conveyed to family rather than the patient

self• 4) activities of no value are being carried out- false

impressions• Above is in contrary on what has been discussed

NURSING CARE- A DEVELOPING ART

• Paralinguistic communication• Kinesic communication• Proximic communication

• Humour• Approach with sensitivity• Appropriate/inappropriate

• Encouraging environmental beauty• Pleasant environment= positive effect on process of recovery• Colors of walls, curtains, floors, ceiling, basins, toilets, plants, music,

books

NURSING CARE- A DEVELOPING ART

• Encouraging hope• Difficult task to encourage a patient and to give a sick patient hope• Important task• Not encouraging a patient to be hopeful but in terms of encouraging

a paralyzed patient to go for physiotherapy, etc.

• Prayer• Personal matter• Allow for space and time• Common sense depending ward situation• Request for spiritual leaders

References

• Du Toit, D. & le Roux, E. (2014). Nursing sociology. 5th ed. Pretoria: Van Schaik.