Learn something new everyday

Now in my final semester of obtaining my RN or as I like to call it becoming a man nurse, I have begun a class covering the role of technology in the medical world. We are also discussing the role social networks play in today's world. To start with I would like to say that I had no idea of the immenseness of social media. We had a video to watch that covered the how many people are involved with different aspects of social media. It is amazing to me how many people are on these various sites. One good thing I see out of the proliferation of social media is that the world has shrunk once again. Up until this age has improvements in transportation brought people from great distances together, but still there was some difficulty at getting mass numbers together. The internet has allowed for people from all around the world to have conversation instantaneously. The next area we talked about was technology in the hospital. This was in the form of an electronic health record or EHR. At first glance and even using one at the facility I work at, I did not realize the depth that even a basic computer system must go into. A electronic record of a patients care is only one part of a system. The system must also be able to compile data in standard terms for research and trending. It also must be able to provide avenues for care. Above all the system must be SECURE! These records heavily protected and backed up.

With that being said it seems clear that informatics is important in today's medical world. I believe that having an electronic record is vital for many reasons. To start with I think it is a more accurate way to put in patient information. With so many things in nursing being subjective, placing standard phrases helps limit the way in which the same issue can be described. One of the greatest benefits I see about a universal EHR is the speed at which data can be analyzed and research. This could drastically reduce the time it takes for evidence based care to be improved; a constant goal of medicine.

For now I have only scratched the surface of the monstrosity and am looking forward to diving in and learning the pieces that make up this seemingly endless puzzle of networks. I shall prepare my TRON suit and prepare the enter the computer!

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