A career in nursing is a safe bet for many reasons including things like job security, option for flexibility of placement, fulfillment on-the-job, and high-paying careers. With the demand for nurses being as high as it is, and the fact that those demands are steadily rising, means that nurses will be in great demand for the next few decades.
Being that as it is, those people who spend the time working just a little bit harder to hone and develop a broader skillset are likely to garner higher wages, more options for transfers, and increased job security. While there are plenty of skills that are necessary to the basics of the position, the continuously evolving technology industry is causing many changes within the medical community that need to be kept up with.
For any nurse that is looking to stand apart from the crowd, here are some technical skills that can help to maximize earning potential as a nurse.
Valuable Tech Skills for Nurses -
Technical Proficiencies
There is hardly any part of the medical world that has not been touched by the radical technological advancements that have occurred steadily over the last few decades. Being that so many of the day-to-day tasks that nurses can be involved in are now supported by digital integrations, there are many ways in which even the most basic technical skills can come in handy while working as a medical professional.
It may sound trite to point out such things as being well versed in word processors, emailing, and data transfers, but those skills are basic for a reason: they are unnecessary to most daily tasks. Nurses are required to interact with many different forms of equipment that all run, in some form or another, on computer-based systems. Being that as it is, there is a high likelihood that most of the tasks required of those systems require an ability to navigate those integrated systems.
The recordance of patient data, writing up a report, recording the results of tests, and just basic communication interdepartmentally all require such basic technical proficiencies.
Data Backups
Most people have likely gone through the anxiety flushed experience at least once were some important digital information like a mid-term paper or PowerPoint presentation was suddenly and inexplicably lost forever. That is just one of the risks that people have to take when dealing with technology because these systems are not perfect and the complexity of the hardware and software means that even a little malfunction can become a serious problem.
Luckily, there has been a slew of innovations that have sought to greatly lessen the chances of data loss occurring. At this point though, even USB drives are almost obsolete, especially when considering that in light of Cloud technology. Working for major businesses means that a nurse will likely not have to worry about backup systems, but knowing the importance of when and how to store that data properly is essential to working with digital documents and information nowadays.
So much of what nurses have to keep track of are what make up patient records, and all of that is eventually transferred to digital copies. This makes data sharing much easier and accessible.
Wearable Devices
Wearable devices and the mobile app technology that they incorporate have become very popular and commonplace. These apps' abilities to track things like sleep patterns, heart rates, and step counts for the day are all valuable bits of information that medical professionals can use to help diagnose, prescribe, and treat any number of symptoms that arise.
The ease, affordability, and accessibility of these devices has been met with wide integration in the public and private fields. The data that is collected from them makes up large samples of information that can be used not just on an individual place but in larger sample sizes for research purposes. As such, a familiarity with the various types of devices, their features, and the benefits that they can bring to a patient's health means that this tech is important to understand.
Telehealth Technologies
Telehealth has become a major factor in modern healthcare provision. Almost every healthcare provider now offers some form of virtual communication abilities because it can save time and money all while making processes more efficient for both patient and healthcare provider. Understanding how to interact with telehealth technologies as a nurse or even working towards a degree in medical humanities brings value to any organization.
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