How Technology Has Affected Nursing

How Technology Has Affected Nursing

It's safe to say that without technology, our world would come to a standstill. Lives and livelihoods would be paralyzed, and there would be chaos and panic all over the globe. Technology has revolutionized the way we do everything. It has made life much more convenient and made possible may new things. The field of nursing too is no different – technology has brought about many changes, and while some of them may not find universal appeal, most of them are for the better. Technology in nursing has served to:

• Make the jobs of nurses easier: With automated medical monitoring instruments being used more and more at hospitals, nurses find that it is now easier for them to do their job. No longer do they have to keep watching patients to see if their IV solutions have to be replaced or take their blood pressure at regular intervals. No longer do they have to stay glued to one patient's bedside and worry about the rest. They can provide care of increased quality simply because most of their routine jobs have been automated.
  
• Open up more opportunities for nurses: Some nurses prefer to switch career paths at some point of time, and if they want to stay on in nursing yet not want to involve themselves in the day to day care of patients and in other clinical aspects of nursing, they can choose to go into the field of information and technology. Nursing informatics is a much-sought after career choice for nurses who are tech savvy and who know that their expertise in nursing will come in handy in this field.
  
• Allow remote care and monitoring: This aspect of medicine is becoming more and more important, especially because of the shortage in the nursing industry. The increasing use of RFID devices to monitor the elderly and ensure that drugs are taken on time and correctly, the increasing dependence on telemedicine to provide diagnosis and follow-up consultations for people in remote locations, and the use of other forms of technology that allow medicine to be practiced offline and off-location have reduced the nursing shortage crisis and allowed the healthcare industry to continue providing quality care for patients.
  
• Facilitate communication on the go: Technology such as Bluetooth has allowed nurses and other medical professionals to communicate with their peers and superiors even as they are involved in other tasks. This allows for multi tasking and efficient use of time. When nurses are able to use their time more efficiently, they can provide patient care of better quality.
  

Technology has ensured that the nursing industry is a far cry today from what it was even a few decades ago, and even though the change may not be all good, it has made nursing much more relevant and provided more opportunities than ever before.

By-line:

This guest post is contributed by Maryanne Osberg, who writes on the topic of RN to MSN Online Degrees. She can be reached at mary.anne579(AT)gmail(DOT)com.

Local Author To Speak

Local author Theresa Brown discussing and signing her new book.

Critical Care: A new Nurse Faces Death, Life and Everything in Between


Tuesday, July 6 at 7:00 pm
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
Southside Works
510 South 27th St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
41-381-3600

An oncology nurse writes powerfully and honestly about her experiences during her first year on the job, shedding light on issues of mortality and meaning in our lives.

Maple Syrup and Diabetes

Little Known Ways to Prevent Diabetes with Maple Syrup

Are you looking for a natural solution to reduce the risk of diabetes and slow down the growth of cancer cells?

Your search is probably over because recent studies have shown that maple syrup holds the key to these problems.US researchers have found that maple syrup has the ability to substantially decrease the risk of diabetes. The syrup also showed great potential in slowing down the growth of cancerous cells. Maple syrup has thirteen active antioxidant substances.

These antioxidants were previously unknown but were discovered only recently. Because of these antioxidants, researchers have firmed up that maple syrup has a great potential in fighting cancer growth, diabetes, and infections.

Maple Syrup as an Anti Diabetic Food

Considerable amounts of the phytohormone, abscisic acid, are found in maple syrup. This acid is a powerful defense against diabetes and metabolic syndrome, because it encourages the release of insulin through pancreatic cells and enhances fat cells’ sensitivity to insulin. Seeram revealed the results of his tests on Canadian maple syrup during the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco.

Maple Syrup as Your Best Chance against Cancer

A recent study by researchers in Quebec showed that maple syrup has the ability to slow down the growth of cancerous cells. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Medicinal Food. The study was an attempt to test the capability of maple syrup in inhibiting the growth of cancer cells.

The researchers proved that maple syrup is effective against cancer. More specifically, the syrup can significantly slow down cancer growth in the brain, lungs, and prostate. However, the effect of maple syrup on breast cancer cells was less significant.

Better Than Other Anti Cancer Foods

Maple syrup can serve as your tasty alternative in fighting cancer and diabetes. There are many anti cancer foods today like blueberries, tomatoes, broccoli, and carrots. However, recent studies have shown that maple syrup is more effective against cancer compared to other anti cancer foods. Laboratory testing results also show that the syrup is more potent compared to the maple sap.

It is also ideal to use the pure dark syrup rather than the lighter syrup. Dark syrup has high color oxidation.This is the reason why darker maple syrup should be preferred. So if you want a better alternative to fight cancer and diabetes, then your favorite maple syrup is a good option.

Reference: Journal of medicinal food. 01/02/2010; ISSN: 1557-7600, OI: 10.1089/jmf.2009.0029

About the Author - Sandy Harris writes for the diabetic appetizer recipes blog , her personal hobby blog focused on tips to prevent, cure and manage diabetes using healthy snacks and recipes.

The information was provided by a guest writer & not necessarily supported by Pittsburgh Nurse.

Memorable Moments in Nursing

What is your most memorable as a nurse or even as a nursing student?

Pittsburgh Nurse would love to hear from you. It's your memory, whether it is positive or negative. Leave your memory in the comment section or email.

I remember being a new nurse & getting ready to go out after work. I changed in the bathroom in the back hall of the floor. I walked passed one of my patients room & heyelled as I walked past. "Hey Dana, you got nice legs." Keep in mind I was a pediatric nurse. The patient was 8 at the time.

Five Tips to Prevent Disease at Home

5 Tips to Prevent Disease at Home

Protecting our health and that of our children is becoming even more important these days, what with the fear of swine flu and other illnesses disrupting and even taking lives. Good health begins at home; it depends on our lifestyles and our sense of hygiene. And if you don’t realize this, your family could be prone to various ailments, all of which could have easily been prevented. Help your loved ones maintain their health by:

• Adhering to hygiene: The most important part of maintaining hygiene is to wash your hands as often as you can. Our hands are magnets for germs, and when we fail to wash them before we cook, eat or touch our children, we pass on the risk of infection to them and also fall prey to it ourselves. When we emphasize cleanliness at home and make our children realize its value, we are doing all we can to keep disease at bay.
  



• Realizing the value of exercise: Regular exercise is a boon to those who are prone to diseases because it not only helps you reduce weight but also boosts your immune system and makes you stronger and fitter. So set an example for your children by working out at least four times a week. Get them to play a sport too as they need to be active and alert instead of spending all their free time in front of the television or with their video and computer games.
  



• Emphasizing on fresh air: Very often, we tend to keep all our doors and windows closed because the thermostat is on and because we don’t want our homes to become dusty. But when we do this, we lose out on the fresh air that Mother Nature provides us with every morning. If you cannot throw open the windows to your home, take a walk in the fresh air every morning to inhale the breath of health and energy.
  



• Cooking healthy food: When you pay attention to the nutrition value of food, you know you’re giving your children good health as a gift. We eat to live, and live healthily we must. So plan your meals and reduce the amount of processed food, snacks and junk food allowed at home. Emphasize on fresh fruits and lots of vegetables in every meal and steer clear of aerated sodas that have tons of sugar and only serve to increase your weight.
  



• Knowing basic first aid: If you are prepared to administer basic first aid at home, you could save yourself the trouble of an extended visit to the ER. Small cuts, burns and other minor injuries don’t become serious if you’re able to stop the flow of blood or minimize the symptoms before you’re able to get your loved one to the hospital. Also, if you know how to provide basic first aid when someone is choking or experiencing a heart attack, you could end up saving their lives.

By-line:
This guest article was written by Jennifer Johnson, who regularly writes on the topic of nurse practitioner schools . Jennifer welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: jennifer.johnson1@rediffmail.com

H1N1

Schools in session & that means one thing, cold & flu season.

This new virus was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009. H1N1, also know as the Swine flu, is a respiratory infection caused by the influenza A virus. The Swine flu is spread from person-to-person much like the any seasonal flu. The influenza viruses infect the lining of the nose, throat and lungs. The virus enters your body when you inhale contaminated droplets or transfer live virus from a contaminated surface. The virus is then transferred to your eyes, nose or mouth hand via hand contact.

The Swine flu is a new strain with a genetic make up of the combination of the swine, avian & human influenza viruses.

Swine flu symptoms in humans are similar to those of infection with other flu strains:

Fever
Cough
Sore throat
Body aches
Headache
Chills
Fatigue
Diarrhea
Vomiting

Swine flu symptoms develop three to five days after you're exposed to the virus and continue for about eight days, starting one day before you get sick and continuing until you've recovered.

Usually there is no need for treatment other than the symptoms. However, in some cases a physician may prescribe medication to reduce sever symptoms.

Common sense play a VERY important role in prevention of any flu.

Wash your hands thoroughly and frequently with soap & water. A good 20-30 second of hand washing with warm water is best. School aged children are often taught to sing the ABC song or Happy Birthday, to know how long to wash. If facilities are unavailable to wash, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Flu viruses can survive for two hours or longer on surfaces, such as doorknobs and countertops.

Avoid contact. Stay away from crowds if possible.

Stay home if you're sick. If you do have swine flu, you can give it to others starting about 24 hours before you develop symptoms and ending about seven days later.

Resources: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/swine-flu/ds01144

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/qa.htm

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/090504-swine-flu-picture.html