But despite being the largest group of frontline caregivers — outnumbering doctors by 3 to 1 — nurses are often left out of the process when it comes to testing, purchasing and deploying technologies they’ll ultimately use to deliver critical services.
That’s a big missed opportunity. A disconnect between nurses and IT teams is considered the No. 1 barrier to success, according to results published in the HIMSS 2020 Nursing Informatics Workforce Survey, and there is plenty of value in building a partnership to support digital transformation together.
Doing so starts with dialogue. “IT staff must ask questions to uncover what nurses are thinking about: What data do they collect and analyze in their minds? What decisions are they making?” says consultant Linda Harrington, who edits a technology column for a quarterly journal published by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.
Gaining this buy-in has benefits beyond strong patient care. It will be key for efficiency and staff retention as 1 million U.S. nurses enter retirement by 2030, according to projections cited by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
