I work as a registered nurse at the Kuopio University Hospital. I graduated in 2015 from Savonia University of Applied Sciences and ever since I’ve been working at the children’s ward. When I was still studying I worked as a nursing assistant at a assisted nursing home.
During these years digitalization has taken huge steps. When I started my studies in 2012 and had my first practical training at a local nursing home we didn’t use computers at all. All patient files were on paper and every resident had their own folders. Later the company got a electric patient record system but the start was rough. System wasn’t easy to use and the staff didn’t like the change. It took at least a year that the staff got used to the new system. Any larger health care institution wouldn’t work without a wellworking and customized patient record system. I think the system still has flaws and isn’t working as seamlessly as it should but i guess improvements are made all the time.
The use of robotics will increase in the future. At my work I don’t think we have robotics in use yet but I’m certain some robotic assistant devices will come. In pediatric nursing robots can not replace humans but maybe some kind of robots will be used in the future. Robotics are used e.g. in laboratories and operating rooms which are crucial part of my work. I think using robots and AI will increase in every field of health care.
Open digital society absolutely has possibilities and risks. Digitalization creates new innovative ways to communicate and take care of e.g. health issues. We have many systems that are working well (e.g. OmaKanta-services) and helping todays citizens errand running. Cyberattacks and information fishing are a true big threat which against we need to act and protect ourselves and our personal data. General data protection regulation (GDPR) released 2018 allows people to have better control of their own data and businesses to keep personal information safe. From my point of view the GDPR didn’t change my work a lot because at the hospital world the patient files and records were already kept safe and secret. In my personal life I want to keep my own personal and private data as much to myself as possible and GDPR has made me realize how much different platforms collect my data. I’ve become more alert of giving my information for new services.
Artificial intelligence is a growing field. My personal experiences were quite limited before these studies. I’ve used different AI-operated chats and been impressed how well they work nowadays. AI is definitely going to rise more and I think it could be used more in health care services, for example in chats and helping to create some care instructions. I asked ChatGPT what does a pediatric nurse do at a university hospital and how can a pediatric nurse use AI at work. According to ChatGPT pediatric nursing includes patient care, assessment, education, collaboration, advocacy, support, preventive care, documentation, research and continuing education. Pediatric nurse could use AI at work for decision support systems, predictive analytics, remote monitoring, natural language processing, medication management, virtual health assistants, automated documentations and personalized care plans. I think the ChatGPT’s answers were quite accurate. We have tools to help us treat kids and adolescents better and in a patient safe way but AI isn’t much used at field work. I think AI is still more used in chats provided by health care producers and in digitalized clinical pathways. It takes time to get AI used in larger scale in hospital environment but I think it’s coming in a few years. It is important to remember that AI has some weaknesses, for example ChatGPT can misunderstand your questions and the answers aren’t always correct. The answers aren’t always up-to-date so it’s important to check the needed information from a reliable source. I think a good use to AI is to use it as a supportive tool e.g. writing assistance or language assistance.
I started these studies this year and I find the field of digitalization very interesting. Through the courses I’ve had I’ve gained a ton of knowledge. Some things were familiar before and I’ve gotten to understand them deeper. AI and cyber security are very interesting topics and I am eager to learn more about these things. Using a blog as a learning and reporting tool is a nice option. I’ve used WordPress before and I find it easy to use.
I commented on these blogs:
As a nurse it was nice to read your thoughts. I agree with you, there is always something new to learn. It was interesting to read that you found the GDPR legislation effecting your work significantly because my experience is different. Of course GDPR has an effect on my job too but the change wasn’t huge. This just points out in how different environments we work in and what kind of challenges we can face in our work in health care.”
It was very interesting to read about your experiences of digitalization on a different field. I’m not very familiar with radiography but it seems that the leaps have been huge in these past years. The use of AI on diagnostics was all new information to me. As Tiina commented before me I also wondered how much can the AI and machines do without humans? Is there a “breaking point” where human intelligence isn’t needed anymore in imaging?”
While reading your blog, I found myself reflecting on the progress of digital development. I’ve often pondered the future of digital advancement, particularly in relation to work. It’s refreshing to occasionally look back and acknowledge the how much progress made in recent years. It was also interesting to read your thoughts on robotics.
Very interesting read, Hanna! I have no experiences from health care so it’s nice to hear other points of views as well.
Thank you for refreshing my memories. I honestly didn’t remember that also when I´ve started my career 20 years ago we wrote things down with paper and pen. Things have changed so much during the years and you get used to it, that you don’t even pay attention to changes. On other hand I don’t like the idea of robotics, and especially in my working field on social care, but I think if robots can help in some simple tasks on healthcare it could be anwer to chronical lack of nurses. It’s easier for me to think like this, because nursing is also quite much physical and practical, when in my working field, our way of working is based on interaction between customer and worker. The truth is, that I have no idea, how would it work in a real life, I thing nursing is so responsible task, that I’m not sure could i trust to machine.
Hi!
I am also a nurse by profession and graduated in 2010. I have worked in many different organizations, the last of which was the neurology department of the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS). I have experienced the leaps in digitalization in a very similar way to you, but the time was different. When I graduated, there were computers everywhere, but there was still some writing on paper. Nowadays, nothing is written on paper anymore, and the introduction of Apotti, for example, brought big challenges to the organization.
I agree with you that robotics will grow in our field, but it can and should not replace humans in any way. Humans are still the ones who are best at providing care and attention to patients.
Hi, I’m also a nurse and digital development will only grow. I have also begun to understand how big a deal digital development is in healthcare. I want to believe that with digital changes in healthcare, we can support healthcare services and in the future we can offer a better service to our patients than now. At the moment, we can only do the necessary patient guidance, there is no more time for follow-up treatment. Preventive health care work is bad, but if we can offer this remotely and people get used to it and know how to use information technology services, treatment would be much more reliable and more extensive. Digital service paths can offer the patient so much guidance, support, and understanding of their own illness that the treatment would be more comprehensive than it is now. I believe that we are on the right track, but these changes in health care take time. Good luck with your studies colleague 🙂
I agree, the open digital society offers numerous opportunities, but it also comes with significant risks, especially in sectors like healthcare. The Vastaamo case serves as a stark reminder of these risks. While digital platforms such as OmaKanta-services have greatly facilitated citizen services, the threat of cyberattacks and data breaches looms large. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), introduced in 2018, has been instrumental in empowering individuals to have more control over their personal data and ensuring that businesses prioritize data security. In the software industry, GDPR has led to increased awareness and efforts to enhance data protection measures. As someone working in the software industry, I understand the importance of data security and privacy, and GDPR has reinforced the need for robust data protection practices.
Hi Hanna, I was specifically looking for a blog posting that was far from my own area of expertise in Supply Chain, and healthcare industry is an interesting topic. While we tend to look for huge technological leaps in each industry with AI, we sometimes focus on differences instead of similarities and look too far to the future. I also asked AI about future digitalization and how to use AI in healthcare – but limited the time frame to next five years.
The results I got were mostly outcomes, explaining what could be achieved, such as:
– AI has the potential to revolutionize healthcare and help address some of the challenges such as aging population, rising costs, and workforce shortages.
– AI can lead to better care outcomes, improve the productivity and efficiency of care delivery.
– Leveraging data analytics and AI to strengthen clinical decision-making.
– The future of healthcare will focus on digital growth and the virtualization of care.
Then I improved the prompts, meaning more specific questions, asking for concrete examples of how these things could be achieved, but the results were equally high level and very technological solutions.
Then I decided to reflect my own field and the AI used in daily work. Here are some non-AI thoughts on how to aim for efficiency with current solutions available, while not jeopardizing privacy if the tools are used correctly and with good cyber security:
– utilizing voice recognition creating transcripts of care given and further summaries: instead of notes and typing, reading through and approving the outcome.
– meeting transcripts and summaries –> one person further checking the summary before release readable focused memos.
– patient and patient next of kin call lines which generates transcripts and summaries before callback shorter calls, knowing when to call (also people can be prompted to give right type of information) and being able to prepare for the call. AI could be also used to make call schedules.
– interactive instructions of how to in different systems, combined with instructions created by the nurses in collaboration with IT people, for relevance and in nurses’ language utilizing AI in output.
I have no idea if these are used yet, but I think not at least very commonly. Another common topic would likely be specialization. Everyone does not need to learn everything, and it isn’t even possible. I think this type of simple solutions as first steps would demonstrate the practical approach of collaboration of people and AI (or human-robot collaboration as in Maurice Conti’s TED speech in 2016). I also wonder if the education keeps up with the opportunities of AI in this respect, in any field.
Wow, no computers in 2012? Isn’t it hard to believe how fast things change? Unfortunately, systems aren’t always (or usually…) developed with users in mind. I have the impression that there are many information systems in the healthcare sector, and they don’t always work well or communicate with each other. Technology has its pros and cons.
As a customer, I like OmaKanta, but I’m a bit worried what happens if the system is hacked. It’s well protected, but everything is possible.
I read your blog with great interest, as my wife also works as a nurse. Browsing patient records does sound like a thing of the past nowadays. On the other hand, the security of electronic patient systems is a concern. And just when you’ve learned to use the previous system, a new one comes into use through competition. This, too, compromises security, as the system may not be familiar enough to all users.
Hi Hanna,
Thanks for sharing such interesting ideas in your blog. It was very interesting to read from your experiences, and how you could apply the usage of Chat GPT in some healthcare topics, since these are quite different from my industry of expertise, but its impressive to see how this versatile tool can help us all 🙂