Computers and Compassion (Podcast)

Emerging technologies make medical care faster, smarter and safer for both patients and caregivers. Yet nurses sometimes grumble that technology tools are either too cumbersome or don’t do enough. Nelita Iuppa, DNP, MS, BSN, NEA-BC, RN-BC, Cleveland Clinic’s Associate Chief Nursing Officer of Informatics, suggests adopting a different mindset.

“You need to consult, incorporate and interact with technology as you would routinely or naturally with any other colleague,” she says. “Technology doesn’t have to be something that’s done to us that leads to stress or burnout. It really is fundamentally something that you should incorporate into your day and act as a partner alongside with.”

In a recent episode of Cleveland Clinic’s Nurse Essentials podcast, Iuppa discusses nursing and technology, including:

• The history and role of nursing informatics
• Advice for novice and seasoned nurses on making technology work for them
• Challenges for technology implementation within healthcare
• The importance of clinical nurses having a voice in solutions
• Healthcare technologies on the horizon

Click the podcast player above to listen to the episode now, or read on for a short edited excerpt. Check out more Nurse Essentials episodes at my.clevelandclinic.org/podcasts/nurse-essentials or wherever you get your podcasts.

Podcast excerpt

Podcast host Carol Pehotsky, DNP, RN, NEA-BC: What gets you excited about the future of new technology, specifically for nurses?

Iuppa: The horizon is so incredibly promising, Carol. I will tell you, I get excited. I get jazzed. And, yes, we could make a whole other podcast about this one. But really, we’re looking at a new resurgence in terms of healthcare technology now. So similar to Y2K, which brought a lot of promising new ideas and concepts, we are now on the precipice of something very, very new in healthcare.

There are many, many emerging technologies all over the place that really offer promise to transform care. Some examples that I think about often, we’ve spoken to a little bit here today, natural language processing – the ability not only to enter data through speech but to query for answers or to provide surveillance in a space that otherwise a caregiver would have to provide. Augmented intelligence in terms of our systems that will learn as they go and then offer, like a clinical care partner, some support and the ability to complete routine and predictable tasks on behalf of caregivers in the future.

I think that leans a lot into some of the spaces where we have automated care environments – lights and sound and temperature and that sort of thing – as well as robotics and real-time locating of not only people but equipment and supplies. So, really making us a more efficient and integrated set of tools in the future.

I think the key to all of this is really for those who’ll be interacting with technology to be present and engaged in the process. Every clinician, and most especially nurses, has to be front and center for designing this future.