As healthcare is increasingly delivered through advanced technology and increasingly in non-traditional settings, the skills and competencies that newly licensed RNs possess must also change. In many healthcare settings, newly licensed RNs are expected to function as critical members of the healthcare team to complete many tasks that were previously performed by other healthcare providers. These tasks include documentation of patient information in EHRs, communication with providers and other members of the patient’s care team through a variety of media, and the use of information from a variety of sources to make decisions about patient care.
As technology in the healthcare setting continues to advance, the new generation of nurses will require more than the average skills of previously graduating nursing classes. We are living in an era in which technology has the potential to support the vast needs of health care but also to become another obstacle when not used properly. These advances in technology, along with growing complexity in the health care environment, continue to change the nature of practice for the registered nurse. Skills that in the past would allow a registered nurse to be hired and grow within an institution are no longer sufficient for new graduates entering the workforce.
In today’s workplace, it is essential for a new graduate to have a solid grasp of technology and how to effectively utilize it in patient care as well as be able to render skillful, compassionate care to their patients and their families.
Technology Is Now Part of Everyday Nursing
Most new nurses find that technology is a big part of their daily work in the clinical setting. The most common technology tool that new nurses use on a daily basis is the Electronic Health Record (EHR), where they are able to view a patient’s current and past medical information. They can review a patient’s current and past medical information and use this information to update the patient’s care plan, document changes in the patient’s condition, and track whether medications have been given to the patient as directed. Other examples of health care technology include telehealth platforms, which allow patients to have virtual visits with health care providers, and health care communication platforms that allow health care providers to communicate with each other in regard to patient care. Because of the many different tools that health care technology has to offer, many new nurses find that technology is a major part of their job.
Accurate and timely documentation in EHRs plays a crucial role in patient care, especially when nurses must record changes in a patient’s condition, treatment response, medication history, or care plan. New nurses need to understand not only how to enter information correctly but also how to retrieve and interpret patient data when making care decisions. Clear documentation helps ensure that every member of the care team has access to current, reliable information, reducing the risk of miscommunication and supporting more coordinated treatment.
That level of clinical and technical readiness starts with a strong academic foundation. For students considering an accelerated path into nursing, reviewing required ABSN prerequisite courses can help clarify which science, math, and health-related subjects support the skills they will later use in clinical training. As healthcare continues to evolve, future nurses who prepare early will enter their programs with a stronger foundation for both patient care and modern healthcare technology.
Digital Documentation Requires Strong Clinical Thinking
New skills to treat patients. Accurate and complete documentation is possibly the most important new skill that the new nurse will master. The electronic health record is not just a computer program that contains the patient’s chart. The record is a tool that is used by all members of the health care team to provide treatment to the patient. The nurse records the patient’s vital signs, the patient’s symptoms, the patient’s responses to medications, the patient’s concerns, and the progress of the patient in relation to the treatment plan.
When documenting on the computer for the patient’s chart, the best nurses are able to know what information needs to be included in the record and to describe the patient’s situation clearly so that others who are viewing the chart are able to know what is going on with the patient as well. The new nurse should understand when the situation needs to be brought to the attention of other members of the patient’s health care team. This is where the best of clinical thinking and effective computer documentation meet.
Documentation can be very easy for the patient’s safety and for the other health care team members if the new nurses can understand both clinical care and the new technology to document.
Data Literacy Is Becoming a Nursing Skill
Using more and more technology in our healthcare and in our own practice means that there is a lot more information to look at when we are treating patients. All the information from their lab results, from their medication, from their previous medical conditions, and even things like their own imaging results and their own health history can all be put into the electronic health record (EHR). All of a patient’s vital signs and test results can be put into trends, and this can help nurses to look at data from previous tests in order to better understand a patient’s current status and to see if their current treatment is working.
A nurse with data literacy is able to identify patterns in patient data to utilize in his/her or their patient’s care. For example, a nurse may be reviewing a patient’s lab results from the previous day and notice that the patient’s blood pressure has been trending up throughout the day. With this information, the nurse can document the patient’s current blood pressure and inform the provider of the trends in the patient’s blood pressure. This information can then be used by the provider to make earlier changes to the patient’s care plan as needed.
Communication Now Happens Across Multiple Channels
A key skill that new nurses should have is digital communication skills. The way that nurses communicate with each other has dramatically changed over the years. In addition to the face-to-face communication that occurs at the bedside, new ways of communication include documentation in electronic health records, secure messages, patient portals, and many more tools that are used to coordinate care among health care providers and organizations. In addition, many health care organizations are now using telehealth technology that allows for remote communication with patients.
The ability to clearly and professionally communicate with patients, families, health care providers, and staff is crucial in today’s fast-paced health care environment. Many of these technologies allow for communication to occur in a timely manner and for many patients, this allows for greater access to health care and to health care information.
Technology Is Meant to Support the Health Caregiver & Patient
While technology can support the nursing care of patients and help complete tasks to support their care, technology is not a substitute for the nurse’s judgment, critical thinking, professional expertise and compassion for patients and families.
New nurses can be best prepared for the increasingly technology-driven health care system by being given the necessary clinical knowledge, excellent communication skills, and sufficient practice and experience with health care technology.
While healthcare technology is designed to improve patient care, people also interact with a variety of online self-assessment tools for personal reflection, such as the rice purity test, though these should not be confused with evidence-based clinical assessments.
Preparing Nurses for the Future of Care
A significant factor for the continued evolution of nursing in health care organizations with advanced technology platforms is the fundamental continued transformation of the very nature of patient care and the critical contributions that all healthcare organizations’ staff are in to make safe patient care possible as health care becomes increasingly ‘wired.’
However, using technology to deliver patient care is just one component of being a skilled healthcare provider. The new nurse will also require strong clinical reasoning, an ability to complete accurate and complete documentation, an understanding of data and how to use it to deliver better patient outcomes, and strong communication skills. The new nurse will need to work effectively in a team setting with many healthcare providers and utilize multiple modes of communication. As technology continues to evolve, the future generation of nurses must also evolve in their skills to deliver the best patient care in the most effective manner, utilizing the most up-to-date healthcare technology available.
