Nursing has been widely accepted as one of the most-trusted and honourable professions for many decades, and rightfully so. Today, we at The Pioneer speak to Samir Bhattacharjee, business head of the Institute of Occupational Training Service, about how the profession has evolved over the years.
Shikha Duggal
Nursing is the largest, the most diverse, and one of the most respected of all the health care professions. The demand for nursing remains high, and projections suggest that such demand will substantively increase.
The history of professional nursing traditionally begins with Florence Nightingale. Nightingale, the well-educated daughter of wealthy British parents, defied social conventions and decided to become a nurse! Previously, nursing strangers was not considered a respectable career for well-bred ladies; today, the game has completely changed.
But tackling stereotypes and assumptions that deter men from nursing is essential to meet the growing shortage of nurses and improve diversity. Samir Bhattacharjee, Business Head-India and Overseas-Institute of Occupational Training Service, says, “The quick advancements in technology, information, and communication in the disciplines of medicine are what are driving the digitization of healthcare systems.” Nurses have a vast number of day-to-day responsibilities, including collaborating with doctors and other healthcare team members, procuring medications or supplies, operating medical equipment, and analysing diagnostic exam results—all on top of caring for patients!
In order to enhance the quality of clinical practise and offer remote health assistance to people living in locations where healthcare facilities may not be accessible, nursing jobs have increased digitally. “Technology can assist nurses by making daily tasks easier and more effective, or in some situations, by completely completing a task.”
At the same time, one must acknowledge that men have made and will continue to make significant contributions to nursing. Men enter the profession for the same reason as women—to care for people!
Nightingale believed that well-educated women, using informed education about healthy lifestyles, could dramatically improve the care of sick patients.That’s why she stepped up to this profession. And look at us today; she was right. The digital technology has led to the growth of the industry. The use of telehealth has become more prevalent as a result of healthcare digitization, which includes robotic technology and artificial intelligence.
Additionally, COVID has heightened this specific response of dependence on more inclusive healthcare services due to issues with technology and nursing care. Small improvements made now will have a big impact later. For example, with the help of portable monitors, nursing staff can check on patients whether they are on the go or taking care of someone else. Portable devices feed data back to a central monitor while monitoring vital indicators such as the ECG, respiration rates, and oxygen saturations. This means that if there is an emergency, nurses will receive an alarm warning! In most hospitals, nurses check the levels every hour.
Nursing provided an ideal independent calling full of intellectual and social freedom for women when this profession just began and who, at that time, had few other career options. And at the same time, by the mid-1800s, as men fought and died during the wars, more women became nurses. Men were increasingly excluded from formal nurse education in the years following the epochal Nightingale reforms, and were eventually barred from the English general register only!It was then that caring became devalued, and more men were forced to find occupations with better pay so they could provide for their families, and they also entered the nursing fields.
“Older paper filing techniques are being replaced by electronic health records. So, nursing professionals can record patient care in electronic health records and access data that can help them prioritise treatment. Registered nurses can use digital health records to determine whether there are further steps they need to do for a patient, monitor minute changes in condition, and receive information quickly as alerts or reminders. Although RNs pick up computer skills on the job, their education and training will enable them to promptly comprehend the meaning of various symptoms on medical records and the best course of action to guarantee better patient outcomes.
Nurses can alter the drip rates and drug dosages without having to wait for the patients. Nutritional IV pumps deliver meals at the correct times.Self-pumps are another option that lets patients raise their own, controlled dosage of painkillers. An automated approach for changing medications also eliminates potential human error hazards for clinical patients and hospitals. “Instead of having to measure and administer medication or meals, automated IV kits allow nurses to concentrate on other aspects of their jobs,” adds the business head.
Nightingale’s achievements overshadowed other ways to nurse the sick. For centuries, most nursing of the sick had taken place at home and been the responsibility of families, friends, and respected community members with reputations as effective healers.
As urbanisation spread, those without families to care for them found themselves in hospitals, where the quality of nursing care varied enormously. And we’re continuing it here as well.
“You can discover how to prepare yourself for upcoming breakthroughs and innovations as a nurse by continuing your education in addition to helping you become more comfortable managing the technical needs of the developing healthcare business. Nurses can adapt along with the healthcare business as it develops with the aid of new technologies, improving patient care in the process,” he concluded.
