Still feeling the pressure...Module Two

This is the second week of classes and I still feel like I am just getting a handle on things.  With all of the due dates looming I am feeling a little anxious and that is working partly as a stimulus to get me moving and partly as a deterrent due to the amount of work I have.   Hopefully the former will win out.  I am learning a lot about information technology and why it is important in the hospital, classroom and community setting.

As I mentioned in a prior post, the last hospital I worked at had an awful computer charting system that was not made by nurses but was made by some computer whiz who didn't realize that you have to actually care for patients and not spend the entire day charting.  I would often spend two hours after my shift charting everything, as the computer system did not interface, so you had to double and triple chart.  After a while the proposed solution to the problem was to have the nurses chart on paper and in the computer (of course, decided by those who didn't have to do it).  It was one of the main instigators in my seeking employment elsewhere.

I now work for a law firm as a Legal Nurse Consultant.  I review medical records, research medical-legal issues, consult with experts and educate the attorneys on a variety of medical issues.  It is completely different from the patient care arena and I have enjoyed the challenge it presents.  I do a fair amount of research on-line, mostly on PubMed and on various university websites.  I dictate all of my memos and they are typed by legal secretaries, so I have gotten a little rusty with Word and APA format (that will have to change very quickly with my classes this semester).  I do miss patient care sometimes, but this job works for me and my family right now (and I do have to admit, I love not having to work on Christmas or Thanksgiving).

One way I could become involved in designing and implementing an information system in my current workplace would be to assist with the restructuring of our expert list.  It is very outdated and in need of updating.  It would also be helpful to the other nurses an attorneys if we were to add specific information unique to each one, so that we would have full access to credentials before making contact.  This is something we are currently working on updating and once it is complete it will be much more useful.