Being able to combine my passions is an exciting proposition that I have only recently been able to full realize the potential of. When I choose nursing as my profession I did not even dream of the possibility to take my interests in technology and combine it with my desire to be a healthcare provider. It just wasn’t something I even realized may be a possibility.
However, through working in bedside care, pursuing further education, and wonderful experiences and contacts I have made through blogging and social media, a whole new world of possibilities in nursing have been brought to my attention. This excites me. Call me a geek at heart, but I really love the fact that I will be getting paid to do something I enjoy so much. Double win!
If you follow my blog, you may already know that I am an currently a registered nurse who practices bedside care. I am enrolled in an ADN-BSN program and have had a great experience so far. One of the nicest things about the program, and the difference I have noticed between an ADN program and BSN nursing program is the autonomy and independence I am given in the learning process. Since I am already licensed, there is less stress on repeating facts and knowing how to answer questions, the focus is more on critical thinking and real-life nursing issues. What a breath of fresh air to be able to focus on things that matter, verses things you just have to know for the sake of a standardized test.
Because of this autonomy I had the ability to choose where I did my clinical precepting. Being the nerd I am, I choose nursing informatics to focus on. I am fortunate to live with 2 hospitals nearby. One of these hospitals is a public, not-for-profit, facility who have recently transition from a paper chart to a total electronic medical record. Needless to say, the transition has been a learning experience and has presented its challenges. However, the nurses has embraced the change fairly well. Just based upon my experiences today, I really think that is because the hospital has had such a positive attitude about the change. They embrace suggestions and fix problems onsite.
Since a hospital is a business, I was quite nervous that they may not accept me as a student. I do work for a close competitor and I didn’t know if it may be considered a conflict of interest for either party. Luckily, they understood my desires to learn and grow as a nurse, and embraced having me come and see first hand exactly what their clinical applications team and their nurse informacists do.
Today was day 1.
I am so impressed with the problem solving and critical thinking that goes into the job of a clinical applications specialist on a daily basis. They are involved in so many diverse areas of healthcare and play such a huge role in how bedside nurses are able to provide and document care. I was inspired by the teamwork and effort they put forward to solve even the tiniest issues.
But what really impressed me was the fact that they are taking extra time for me as a student. I actually have days scheduled with the chief medical officer, chief nursing officer, director of Information technology, and various other important departmental and nursing leaders. I really feel like they are going out of their way to give me a well-rounded clinical experience, and I am so thankful for it. In the past, as a student, I have always felt like such a burden. Here I am being made to feel like a blessing.
Another day of clinical tomorrow. Another day of introductions and meetings and learning. I’m so excited to learn and feel blessed by their eagerness to have me there. Positive thinking yields positive outcomes.
That sounds awesome
Good luck!