What does it mean to be a nurse in the 21st century who builds bridges and serves as a liaison between technology and patient care? How can nurses gain a seat at the table by leveraging their skills, knowledge, and natural ability as expert problem-solvers? There is much to learn about the intersection of healthcare and technology, and nurses willing to take a deep dive may find great rewards.

Lifting the Veil of Tech

When it comes to being a 21st-century nurse, there is much to learn, communicate, and build. Technology is a tool, and nurses have the opportunity to embrace the rapid expansion of the tech paradigm in the interest of their own careers and the improvement of healthcare as a whole.

Diane Cannon, DNP, MHA, BSN, BS, RN

, is an educator, nurse entrepreneur, and consultant who encourages nurses to see the opportunities in the intersection of technology and nursing. As the Director of Clinical Education and Innovation at Xapimed, a clinical competency management platform for nursing professional development, Cannon understands the importance of bridging the gaps between nurses and their relationship with tech.

Cannon states, “Being a nurse in the 21st century means being an advocate, a communicator, an innovator, and a visionary. I work to honor nursing’s history, understand our present situation, and envision a future where our profession can be improved to make a difference in patient care and our healthcare system.” She continues, “I try to articulate that vision to others to advocate for change through collaborative partnerships. Within these relationships between the people working in healthcare and the people working in technology, I see the greatest opportunities for change.”

Dr. Cannon insists that nurses need to improve their connection with health tech in the interest of patient care and professional development.

“If we nurses, as end users, don’t understand the back end of health tech, how can we utilize it to its fullest potential? How can we troubleshoot problems and find solutions that work for us?”

Cannon is adamant that nurses have what it takes. “We all had to take anatomy & physiology, microbiology, and other sciences. Without that foundation, we couldn’t fully understand how the human body works, and we couldn’t practice with authority and autonomy — our practice would suffer, and patient care would suffer.”

Cannon continues, “This goes for health tech, too. If we don’t understand how things work, we lose that power to someone else who does. This goes for finance, economics, politics, etc. If we don’t ‘lift the veil’ on how the things that impact us directly work, we’re beholden to those with that knowledge. As they say, knowledge is power!”

Nurses on the Learning Curve

If a nurse wants to understand the tech world but isn’t ready to commit to a degree program, there are ways to get involved and dip their toes in the tech waters. And if it interests them, there are plenty of ways to dive deeper.

“Nurses can volunteer to work on a tech pilot project at their organizations,” Cannon advises. “They can do their reading and research on topics they’re passionate about and find out how technology can help their units or departments.”

Cannon has some ideas for nurses who feel intimidated and don’t know where to begin. “Reach out to your organization’s nurse informaticist, have a conversation with someone in the field, message someone on LinkedIn, set up a virtual conversation, or visit the website of an organization like the Society of Nurse Scientists, Innovators, Entrepreneurs, and Leaders (SONSIEL), or the American Nursing Informatics Association.”

And Cannon believes there are always more ways to learn and grow. “You can watch a live or recorded webinar, listen to a podcast, read a journal article, and then contact those nurses for mentorship. The ANA has a wonderful mentorship program that puts nurses with leaders in their chosen fields for advice and guidance. I’m part of that and mentor nurses outside the ANA’s program; people can reach out to me because I’m happy to support my fellow nurses.”

There are plenty of ways for nurses with a facility interested in technology to learn on a more formal level.

“There are many different ways to go down this path [of learning],” states Cannon. “There are certificates, virtual courses, and courses through organizations like Microsoft and Google.”

Cannon is also an advocate of degree programs when they make sense for the individual. There are formal degrees that include nursing informatics and tech courses, like an MSN or DNP, but wonderful degrees outside of nursing are extremely valuable.

Cannon continues with her own story. “My master’s degree is in Healthcare Administration, and it included courses on informatics, finance, marketing, and much more. I have colleagues with degrees in informatics, medical informatics technology, educational technology, and cyber security. And the cool thing is that so many of these educational offerings are virtual, making them easily accessible and completely doable while working full-time.”

When it comes to combining tech and nursing degrees, she shares, “Many of the careers that come with combining a nursing degree with these cutting-edge degrees are also virtual and highly valued.”

Nursing Identity in the Tech Space

For nurses who are concerned about maintaining their identity as a nurse if they no longer provide direct patient care, Cannon has a simple response.

“To answer the question [of nursing identity], one must first answer the question, ‘What is a nurse?’ We currently don’t have one overarching definition of what nursing is,” Cannon states. “We don’t have a clear and concise statement of the meaning of the word nurse or what a nurse does or looks like. For me, I think a nurse is exactly what I said previously: a nurse is an advocate, a communicator, an innovator, and a visionary who works in healthcare.”

Cannon adds, “Because this is how I define nursing, I’ve never lost my identity as a nurse. Providing direct patient care is just one of a myriad of skills and competencies that nurses do, but it is certainly not who we are.”

“MacGyvering” the Future

Cannon shares what interests her most in these days of rapid technological advancement: “I’m most excited to see the evolution of nursing as a driving force within health tech. Nurses are inherently problem-solvers; we are the ‘MacGyvers‘ of finding workarounds for issues that come up because for so long we’ve been forced to make jetpacks out of seatbelts and a power washer because that’s all we had.”

Nurse are indeed innovative problem-solvers who know how to make do with what they have on hand. Many nurses can likely relate to Cannon’s metaphor about making jetpacks out of whatever happens in the supply closet.

Cannon sees nurses as having accomplished so much in this regard. “Look at what we did during the pandemic,” she concludes. “To me, that’s the most exciting part about the future of nursing and health tech, and I can’t wait to see what we’ll ‘MacGyver‘ next!

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