« February 2008 | Main | May 2008 »
Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) last week introduced H.R. 5878, a House companion to the Troops to Nurse Teachers Act. Backed by the American Organization of Nurse Executives, the bill would ease the critical shortage of nursing school faculty by encouraging active and retired military nurses to become nurse educators. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Senate version (S. 2705) last month.
Nurses, policy-makers, and healthcare vendors are calling on health information technology (IT) to alleviate workforce shortages and improve patient safety. The American Academy of Nursing's (AAN) Workforce Commission, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, conducted a survey among nurses and healthcare providers at 25 sites across the country, evaluating their work environments and processes, and determining which IT tools would be most useful to them. The survey spotted a trend, with nurses' wish list including a desire for health IT to assist with care coordination and delivery, communications, discharge processes, documentation, medication administration, patient movement, and supplies and equipment management. Nurses specified a need for computerized order entry systems to thwart handwriting legibility issues, and touch-screen or voice-activated technology for documentation. They also wanted more hands-free tools to track people, supplies, and equipment, and even expressed an interest in the use of robotics for supply delivery. [ via Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ]
