Healthcare Blog

April 3, 2012 felt like the Los Angeles scene from the movie “The Day After Tomorrow” with tornados dropping out of the sky all over the Dallas-Ft. Worth and North Texas area—total of 12 with two causing most of the damage. As of today, there are no reported deaths and only 10 injuries—we were fortunate. My first tornado experience occurred when I was in second grade. My mother and her friend had left the kids at home while they went shopping…never knowing that storms were on their way. Once everything started happening, we had no way to communicate with our moms until they got home—I can only imagine their state of mind. But now…well, almost everyone knew the storm was coming and we had not only minute-by-minute updates on where the storms were from TV, internet and electronic messages of all sorts but the early warning sirens let everyone in hearing distance know that this was a serious situation and to take action. Within moments of the first tornado sighting, I was texting with family, friends and co-workers warning the ones to the east of what was coming, making sure everyone was alright (they were) and if anyone needed anything. But a text message did not replace the sound of my husband’s voice telling me that he was safe.

So what does this have to do with healthcare? We can take this lesson in communication to heart. The need for ongoing communication with patients and each other can be enhanced by the use the technology but we should never allow it to replace face-to-face or at least voice-to-voice communication. When I read studies that implementation of an EMR caused a decrease in communication between healthcare disciplines I want to cringe – technology should improve our communication not diminish the sharing of information, knowledge and wisdom.

How can we collaborate to take the best care of our patients as possible if we aren’t communicating in real-time? As a remote employee and online educator, I am used to asynchronous communication, but sometimes I just need to pick up the phone and brainstorm with a co-worker. And the times I get to interact with co-workers in person are a treat. This form of communication is critical in our work and in our lives.

I am confident that using telemedicine and telehealth technologies will have a significant impact in improving the quality of patient in many areas in part because it facilitates face-to-face communications. That’s why I am thrilled that RMS has entered this space so I get to participate in the next wave of communication in healthcare.

This day was a reminder that situations can change quickly and we need to maintain the lines of communication, using technology as a tool but never a replacement for the sound of someone’s voice and the ability to see their face in real-time!

Cheryl D. Parker, PhD, RN-BC, FHIMSS
Chief Nursing Informatics Officer
Rubbermaid Medical Solutions-Dallas Office

The NI Symposium this year was a definite treat for attendees, the focus on leadership was incredibly timely, the poster presentations were outstanding and the networking was the best. I was privileged to be the moderator for Ann Scott Blouin, PhD, RN, FACHE, the Executive Vice President-Accreditation and Certification Operations for The Joint Commission. Dr. Blouin gave an outstanding presentation on technology's role in promoting quality and safety. She is also discussed the "kinder, gentler" Joint Commission as the organization changes from enforcing to partnering for quality. Kelli Bigando's closing keynote on the role of technology in providing patient care at Mercy after the Joplin tornado was awe-inspiring.

Personally, there was a bit of sadness with this year's conference as I'll be rolling off the Nursing Informatics Committee this summer so this was my last F2F committee meeting. I have been so thankful to be a part of this dynamic group for the past two years and I look forward to what I'll be doing next to continue my involvement.

Unfortunately, what do you get when you put 35,000+ healthcare folks in close quarters then have them work way too many hours?? A bunch of sick people! So for all the folks who posted that "out-of-office sick" message the next week or two after HIMSS, I totally sympathize…I was one who was sick for two weeks…which is why this blog about HIMSS is so late!

Cheryl D. Parker, PhD, RN-BC, FHIMSS
Chief Nursing Informatics Officer
Rubbermaid Medical Solutions-Dallas Office

Even with the joys and stresses of my new position, I'm still teaching nursing informatics in Walden University's MSN program. Some of my colleagues and my husband have expressed concerns about my sanity trying to do both at the same time. While I admit I probably won't be teaching every term in 2012, it is very important to me to continue teaching – so much so that it was part of my negotiations with RMS when I took the position.

I normally teach the practicum which is the last 16 weeks of a student's studies at Walden and where they are working in the "real-world" with a preceptor. So my role is more of advisor than teacher but it's the ability to bring my real-world learnings to my students that is so important to me. Helping them to understand how the world of nursing informatics is really a small community, the value of networking and how to establish that network so that they can be as successful as possible brings much enjoyment. Helping them negotiate that first NI position or introducing them to others in the NI community is very satisfying. Ok, so I may not love grading papers that much but meeting my former students at a conference and hearing about their careers is the best part of any conference for me.

Besides, one day I might actually get to retire and I see teaching as the way to replace myself in the workforce. But don't hold your breath; my RMS position isn't going to be available anytime soon if I have anything to say about it!

Cheryl D. Parker, PhD, RN-BC, FHIMSS
Chief Nursing Informatics Officer
Rubbermaid Medical Solutions-Dallas Office

Here I am sitting in a plane going home to Dallas after another week at the RMS corporate offices in Huntersville, NC. This week I got to attend a Product Development Review (PDR) Meeting which is a 3 hour meeting to discuss…you guessed it…product development. Picture this, a very big table with a whole lot of engineers (electrical, mechanical, software), industrial designers, product managers, marketing folks….and me. And you might be asking yourself what would an informatics nurse have to bring to this discussion.

Well, this is where many of the functional areas defined by the ANA in the Scope and Standards for Nursing Informatics come into play. Let's look at a few: Analysis – bringing my understanding of the various workflows and how they would be impacted by product design; Compliance – any regulations or standards that need to be considered that haven’t been; Consultation – being the "voice of the nurse" and asking questions i.e. did this change impact anything that will affect our nurse users; and Coordination, Facilitation and Integration – serving as the liaison between our design teams and the nurses who will use our products.

This last is the most fun part as a large part of my role will be to visit facilities across the country to work with nurses who use our products – to learn from them what we need to be doing to continue to design products to best meet their needs and taking that knowledge back to our design teams. I'll be racking up the frequent flyer miles in 2012 but this is a critical part of my role. My nursing practice may no longer be about caring for individual patients but that my work will help provide quality products for those of you still at the bedside.

Cheryl D. Parker, PhD, RN-BC, FHIMSS
Chief Nursing Informatics Officer
Rubbermaid Medical Solutions-Dallas Office