Currently, I work as a theatre nurse in Kajaani Central Hospital. In addition to the work in the operation room, I also work regularly in the control room, so to speak. In our workplace, it means I’m the one who oversees everything going on in the unit at that time, arranging things if and when needed. It’s pretty common that in the morning someone calls in sick, an emergency operation is coming in or the recovery room staff needs assistance from the operation room staff, to name a few examples.
Whether I work in the operation or control room, there are many kinds of digital tools I need to use every day. In the operation room, theatre nurses use a program called Opera to fill in information about the progress of the procedure, detail about the type of scrub done to the patient, antibiotics and devices, for example. It’s also a useful tool for everyone in our unit to follow how the workday is progressing in all our operation rooms. Depending on the type of surgery, we might need to fill in information to an additional database, as well; this is the case with joint replacement surgery, for example. With each patient, we also use a tool called Rafaela to evaluate how ”laborious” they have been. The information from Rafaela is made into statistics for the hospital leaders. Addition to these, I use different digital statistical tools when I work in the control room.
From the social media tools, I chose Instagram, Skype, TikTok, Whatsapp and Youtube. I chose them because I have some experience of them and also because they are commonly known and a few of them are actually used in our unit already. Instagram is one of those. Our unit has a small social media team that produces videos and pictures about our daily work that are both interesting and funny. Our Instagram account has become quite popular and it has made our work more familiar with professionals and non-professionals. The downside with Instagram could be to make sure the updates include only those people and information that’s safe to share for the public; however, our team is very careful with that, since confidenciality is a key part of being a nurse.
Skype could be used as a handy tool for remote meetings and courses, for example. At out workplace, we usually use Teams for that. I think the negative side could be making sure the information shared there was absolutely safe, since it could be possible for outsiders to hear the conversations on Skype because the participants can’t see everything going on in the background.
The use of TikTok could be similar to Instagram’s, just emphasizing short videos. The purpose would be the same: to share easily understandable and amusing information about our work. I think this is generally important because people are often afraid when they’re coming to surgery, so getting some insight before the operation could be a way to ease their fears. The problem with TikTok is data confidentiality, as well; it’s possibly even more severe since TikTok has been connected with foreign data collection from its users.
Whatsapp is another tool that has become very useful in our unit. We’ve had a general workplace group in it for a longer period of time, but last year, our unit started another group meant for shift changes. It has worked very well, in my opinion; when someone who’s had a night or weekend shift calls in sick, their shift is offered for everyone in the Whatsapp group. There aren’t many shifts that haven’t gotten filled with this method. Whatsapp is also useful because its confidentiality is quite good, or so I have understood. The downside with it could still be the possibility of data collection via hackers, for example.
Youtube is used in our workplace e.g. when we want information about a certain product used in our unit; the firms often have guidance videos about their products. Similarly, Youtube could be used in our work as a channel for informational videos. For example, student nurses might produce an informational video as their thesis for their university of applied sciences; this could be used to produce videos for surgery patiens, as well. The negative side that comes to mind is, yet again, confidentiality of the service.
The elements of successful use of digital application can depend from the application itself, but there are also general ones that fit all. As mentioned, confidentiality and safe data processing are key parts of it, in my opinion. In this world, it is easy to get hooked on social media or some other digital platform or app, which ends up gathering way too much information about you and your habits than you would like. Not many people read the terms and conditions before use and even if they did, it could be difficult to fully understand them and how the application really functions. For that reason, I would try to make sure the app I wanted to use is reliable, although it can be difficult to know for sure. Another element, in my opinion, is linked to this, since I believe it’s very important to monitor what you share about yourself and your life in the digital world. Social media, in particular, is a platform where one should remember this. It may seem like a carefree place to tell about your things, believing the readers are your friends and acquaintances; but really you can’t know for sure who’s in your audience, especially with Instagram or other social media platforms where people can start following others without regulation.
Finally, my self evaluation. I hope I did well with this assignment; I put effort to it, at least. I think I managed to compare different social media tools from both positive and negative side, and include generic discussion about the use of digital tools, as well. My emphasis leaned on social media and it’s possible I covered it a bit too much; however, it’s a key part of the digital environment nowadays, so I dare say it’s justifiable.