I am a 31-year-old nurse, and I have worked for 9 years in forensic psychiatry. We use a patient information system as well as a human resource management system for shift planning and payroll. In addition, I use email, Word, and PowerPoint at work, and very occasionally Skype. In patient care, we now use a lot of technology, such as VR glasses, various phone applications, and YouTube. Nowadays, you can also find good materials online, such as pre-recorded relaxation exercises for patients. We have shared computers at work, which we log into with our own credentials, so installing different applications or programs on the work computer is not possible.

Skype

I have only used Skype a few times at work, so it is a fairly unfamiliar application to me. However, I understand that Skype is utilized in our hospital for various remote meetings, such as head nurse conferences. For this reason, I chose Skype as one of the tools to review. In my opinion, Skype is a smart system, and I believe it has a large user base. In the future, healthcare services will likely be delivered more remotely, and Skype is a great tool for this. Of course, a downside is that the humanity and real personal interaction are compromised during remote meetings. However, on the other hand, it makes life easier for those who live farther away, as healthcare services can be accessed directly from their own computer.

Evernote

I chose this tool because I have often needed a program at work where I could mark important dates, deadlines, and tasks on the computer, keeping them visible at all times. We have a shared department calendar in use, so it cannot be filled with personal events and tasks. However, such a program should be secure and able to transfer with my user account across different computers. Additionally, these reminders should not be visible to other users on the same computer. Nurses often store post-it notes in their pockets, so it would be convenient if they were directly on the computer and could easily be removed. One of the great features of Evernote is that the “sticky notes” can be edited and customized to fit my needs.

DeepL

Nowadays, language barriers are encountered more frequently than before. In our unit as well, it is evident that people speaking different languages come for treatment and are also hired as employees. In healthcare, and especially in forensic psychiatry, the patient should understand the information that’s given to them, as the law also requires this, particularly in decisions such as being ordered for treatment. This is why I decided to evaluate a translation app as well. We have the option to request an interpreter when there is no common language with the patient. In such cases, the law mandates the use of an interpreter, for example, when informing the patient about the continuation of treatment. However, I think it would be useful if we had some kind of translation app in daily use that was officially approved by the entire facility. This would make daily operations and routine matters flow more smoothly. However, one downside of this particular app was that it only translates written text, not spoken text. For this reason, I believe that this specific app would not be suitable for our unit, and we should consider using another app instead.

Todoist

I chose this app for a more detailed review because the manual calendar we currently use can sometimes be confusing and difficult to manage. I think it would be smart if the department had a system like this, where both personal and shared events, along with the responsible individuals, could be marked. At our department, we currently write the daily schedule by hand on a board, and it would be convenient if the shared calendar could simply be displayed, for example, through a television for everyone to see in the office. Additionally, it would be useful if personal appointments could be shared on the calendar, so everyone could see when someone is away from the department at a specific time. Of course, this raises the issue of data security since the calendar would include patient schedules and names. Therefore, the app should be one that can be used securely in the healthcare field.

Pi

I decided to try out the Pi application personally to see how it actually works. I had a conversation with the AI about an upcoming trip abroad and received good information about the destination and its attractions. The interaction with the AI felt quite authentic, and at times it seemed like a human was responding to my messages. Such an application could, in a well-defined scope, also function in healthcare, providing patients with information and advice in various situations. For instance, before calling emergency services, one could ask the AI whether a certain symptom is serious or if the situation can be monitored at home.

However, this raises the question of whether we can fully trust AI, or do these matters always require a human decision? Additionally, could AI be used in the future to help loneliness among elderly individuals? Robots for companionship have already been tested, but whether they will become widely used remains to be seen.

Positive and negative aspects of social media

Social media has both positive and negative sides. Above all, I think the positives include the ability to hear from distant relatives and friends through social media. Personally, I don’t like talking on the phone or handling matters via calls, so I find communicating through social media to be more natural for me. I think you just need to be careful with what kind of content you share. On the negative side, I see that people may become distanced from face-to-face meetings. Social media also makes it easy to influence people’s opinions, which can be either a positive or a negative trait. In recent years, I’ve also realized that it’s easy to hack people’s accounts through platforms like Facebook and impersonate them, seeking to obtain phone numbers or bank credentials. This happened to my mother, and we still haven’t been able to delete or transfer her account back to her. Social media and various online tools always require the right connections, devices, and tools, which can be problematic for individuals and families that don’t have that much money. However, I believe that social media has a lot to offer us and can positively impact people’s lives when used correctly and thoughtfully.

Self reflection

I learned about many new applications during this course, and I plan to continue using at least a few of them in the future. I also learned how important it is to market and present different applications and services. Some apps I immediately closed when they required me to log in before I even knew what the app was about. I hope that in the future, more apps and programs that facilitate work will be developed, and that they will become even more secure for use in the healthcare field.