My work and digital tools
I work as a midwife and sexual therapist at Kuopio University Hospital. I have been a midwife for 20 years. I am a clinical specialist nurse (mental health, trauma- and crisis work) also. I work with clients who have experienced sexual violence. My work is versatile and rewarding. The main content of my work is interaction, but I need digital skills also.
OMNI360
OMNI360 is a Finnish patient information system by CGI. It is a new system that was introduced in October 2022 at Kuopio University Hospital. The implementation has gone well. Health care professionals record almost everything there, for example treatment of pregnant- and gynecological patients.
MEDANETS
Medanets is a quite new application that transfers observation values and medicines to OMNI360. It also helps nurses to identify patients safely. You can document all the information next to the patient and check tasks from the application.
HAIKARA
Haikara is a birth information system that has been in use for a long time. All birth-related information is recorded there, for example pain relief, birth events, time of birth, bleeding, stitches and so on. The baby´s information is also recorded in Haikara, for example weight, height, apgar, astrup and so on.
MICROSOFT TEAMS
During the corona time we often used Microsoft Teams. I work in a large unit, so the meetings and appointments had to be organized in Teams. In my work as a sexual therapist, I meet some clients remotely.
Five tools I would choose
WhatApp is the most important application for me, I use it a lot. If I have something to say or ask, I do it using WhatsApp. At work, we could discuss changing shift, overtime duty or even ordering food. We could use WhatsApp to communicate between employees. Many people have good skills to use that application.
YOUTUBE
I use Youtube regularly. I watch music videos and it is a great platform to find solutions to problems. We don´t use it much at work. Sometimes I have found good and reliable videos that give practical instructions. For example, the ChloraPrep-video was helpful when we were practicing caesarean section disinfection.
I don´t use Twitter, but I have found out about it. All users can send and receive tweets using the Twitter website. It is a social networking and microblogging service. Tweets can usually be read by anyone, but senders can also keep messages private. Twitter offers you keep in tauch what is going on around the world, it is service for public conversation. You could meet midwives all over the world.
I don´t know Linkedin very well yet, but I have heard about it. I´m going to make my own profile there. It´s good way to make yourself and your skills visible. It would help expand job opportunities. I used to think that there was no place for nurses in Linkedin.
I don´t use Instagram, it is a new tool for me. You can see Instagram-photos and -videos from KYS Synnytykset (@kys_synnytykset). The page has about 4300 followers. Interesting Instagram-pages can attract pregnant women to give birth at Kuopio University Hospital.
Positive and negative sides of social media
Social media is part of everyday life, it is easy and free to download different applications. The age of the Internet has made it possible for the media, or any of us, to report events immediately. Now everyone can spread the word and soon everyone will be aware of current events in the world. In the past, people had to wait for the next newspaper or TV-news, it´s hard to think about. Today, there is no need to wait. Take a look at social media and get all the information you need instantly. You can do your food shopping, clothes shopping, banking and reservations anywhere.
One of the disadvantages of social media is how quickly its users can spread false information. The fake news, which has become very popular, aims to give people false information and harm them. It´s important to check information from many sources and learn how to identify, when the news you are reading is genuine and when it´s not.
There is a big risk for misunderstanding. It is easier for an adult to understand the rules related to communication. Children use social media a lot. It can be very useful, but the dark side of social media has also been seen. Bullying and drugs are things that parents should know more about.
Self evaluation
I have learned a lot again. I don´t use social media much, I only have WhatsApp. I´m careful about my privacy and I´m fine this way. There are a lot of social media tools, I didn´t know. It was interesting to think about social media through work and free time. Well-chosen applications make your work smoother and more efficient, but the user of application must know well how to use it.
I agree with you. Digitization is not my thing and I often feel old-fashioned. In my own work, interaction is also emphasized, which I consider important in my personal life as well. Social media takes too much space from genuine encounters, which is a shame. But when used correctly, digitalization is very helpful for us.