Digital technology is changing the way that nurses learn their trade. These breakthroughs allow nursing students to replicate the pressures of the hospital setting in a low-stakes environment while also diversifying their instruction and providing them access to a wider range of preparatory materials.
The long-term impact of these developments has not yet been fully realized. We do know that, at the experiential level, today’s nursing students have many ways to learn and experience their profession. In this article, we take a look at what these developments are and how they might impact the future of nursing.
Simulation Labs
The equipment is highly realistic and the circumstances can be adjusted to simulate difficult scenarios that nursing students may not naturally come across during their clinical rotations. The benefits of these experiences are severalfold.
Simulation labs are flexible learning environments designed to simulate the conditions found in different hospital settings. For example, they might be designed to resemble a surgical theatre. An emergency room. A patient room.
Most obviously, simulation labs ensure that nursing students will have the most diverse possible learning experience. Naturally, it’s best when healthcare professionals can experience emergencies as students so that they will be ready to handle them as professionals.
Simulation labs also make sure that that experience is acquired in a safe, controlled setting. The patients are not real. The risk is non-existent.
While the pressure experienced in these labs may not completely reflect that of the hospital environment, it does give nursing students a taste of what they can expect on the job.
The Rise of Remote Learning
Remote learning is not completely new. Versions of learning from home have existed for decades but only in the last five years have online curriculums become as accessible and comprehensive as they currently are.
Nursing students can benefit from remote learning in the following ways:
- They can learn from anyone: Classroom learning requires everyone to be in the same room. But what if the best person to teach the class lives in Canada? This isn’t a problem in the world of remote learning. Guest lecturers can call in from anywhere around the world, creating enormous opportunities for people who want to learn from the comfort of their homes.
- They can learn in a flexible environment: Remote learning is also usually more flexible. The extent to which this is the case will depend on how the program is designed. Some are optimized around flexibility and consist of prerecorded lectures that the student can view at their convenience.
Others feature prescheduled lecture times that largely mimic the format of traditional classroom learning. Even in these cases, the student is spared time-consuming commutes.
- Online degrees are cheaper: On average, online degrees—particularly those earned at exclusively online colleges, are considerably more affordable than those earned from brick-and-mortar institutions. The extent to which this is true will vary from program to program. Some are as little as half the price of traditional degrees.
Remote learning is not for everyone. Some students will appreciate the resources that you can only get from physical learning environments. For example, those simulation labs mentioned earlier are only possible in the classroom setting.
Other people simply do not learn very well on the computer and require face-to-face instruction to get the most out of their lessons.
Still, if you are willing to give remote learning a try, it may be a great way to earn your degree—particularly if you are trying to balance other responsibilities. That said, it is important to carefully vet any program on your radar. Make sure that the school you choose is CCNE-certified.
This will ensure that the program meets certain educational standards established by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
Focus on Data and Digitalization
The world of healthcare has embraced digital technology over the last several decades. The first of these developments occurred when healthcare records went digital. While this development represented a major shift at the time, digital records, and the procedures surrounding them are now standard practice and commonly taught in nursing school.
The newer emphasis is on data. AI and other data processing technologies make it much easier for hospitals to analyze large swathes of information and leverage the findings in a way that accelerates operations and improves patient outcomes.
There are some nurses— called informatics nurses— who work primarily with data. However, even standard RNs are being taught how to interpret and implement basic data sets to improve their workflow.
Other New Technologies
Wearable healthcare devices, aided by IoT (Internet of Things) technology are increasingly common tools used by nurses to keep tabs on patients. In the hospital setting, wearable devices produce constant patient readings that nurses can review remotely from their workstations.
This way, if a patient declines very abruptly, the nurses will be notified in real time. These devices make it easy for nurses to prioritize tasks and provide excellent care for everyone on their floor, even when they are short-staffed.
Nursing students are introduced to these technologies early so that they will be prepared to leverage them on the job. That said, healthcare technology is constantly evolving. Hospitals routinely train their staff on how to make the most of new devices designed to improve patient care.
Cultural Shift
New technologies are great but it is also important to keep in mind that healthcare’s biggest problems are not tech-related. They are the product of policy. Nurses leave the profession in droves thanks to long, punishing hours and a stressful work culture that is influenced both by the difficult nature of the work, and stringent, unforgiving hospital policies.
Twelve-hour rotations. Nights. Weekends. Patient violence. Virtually all nurses will experience verbal or physical abuse on the job. Many of them experience it routinely. Hospitals, historically, have not done much to support healthcare workers who are worried about their safety or emotional well-being.
This is changing, slowly but surely, as the healthcare system experiences major shortages brought about at least in part by high turnover rates. Hospitals are more keen on listening to their employees and trying to find solutions to their complaints.
Many nursing schools are similarly focused not only on teaching future nurses the ways of the profession but also on helping them develop skills to cope with the stress of the work.
Healthcare is also prioritizing workplace diversity. Studies consistently show that majority-group healthcare providers often struggle to effectively communicate with and treat minority patients. Colleges are doing a lot to help reduce this problem, both through sensitivity training and by actively recruiting students from all walks of life.