I graduated as a nurse from Satakunta University of Applied Sciences in February 1998. I continued my studies as an adult after working in nursing for 20 years. I am currently working as a department manager in the Pirkanmaa welfare area.
The development of digitalization has been soaring. Patient records have changed to patient management systems. Hospitals market themselves as paper free and more attention is paid to data protection. The law has followed the change and every effort is made to prevent data leaks. Nevertheless, identity theft, among other things, has increased. While digitalisation increases accessibility, brings savings and increases efficiency, it also causes insecurity in a certain way and risks change.
Apart from practical nursing, there have been changes in human resource management in the short term. HR systems are changing and mobile devices have been developed for work shift planning and work time management, and real-time access to view shifts, change them, etc. A person who works remotely can clock themselves in and out without physically being in the workplace.
I asked Chatgpt how a department manager can use AI in their work and got the following response:
ChatGPT
A department manager can utilize artificial intelligence in many ways in their work in health care. Here are some ways you can use AI:
Patient forecasting and follow-up: AI can help a ward nurse predict patients’ health status and risk of complications. Algorithms can analyze large amounts of patient data and identify potential risks, allowing medical staff to focus on preventive measures.
Optimization of treatment processes: AI can help the ward nurse to optimize treatment processes. Algorithms can analyze nursing practices and provide recommendations for more effective or cost-effective treatments.
Personnel Resource Management: AI can help a department manager manage human resources. Algorithms can analyze the flow of patients and predict future treatment needs, so that staff can be targeted correctly at different times and in different departments.
Medical Imaging: AI can help a ward nurse interpret medical images such as X-rays or magnetic images. Algorithms can identify anomalies and help prioritize images so that urgent cases can be dealt with first.
Improving patient communication: AI can help improve patient communication, for example through chatbots. Chatbots can answer patients’ questions and provide information about the treatment process or appointment times, which can reduce the burden on the ward nurse.
Information management and decision support: AI can help a department manager manage a large amount of information and provide decision support. Algorithms can analyze studies, treatment recommendations, and patient records to help the ward nurse make better decisions in patient care.
These are just a few examples of how AI can be used in a ward nurse’s work in healthcare. The use of AI can improve efficiency, patient safety and treatment outcomes.
Chatgpt’s answer is partly problematic because the AI does not recognize the department manager’s job description. It doesn’t know what the ward nurse is doing at work. The nurse in the ward and the ward nurse are different things. Of course, for example, information management and decision support, personnel resource management and process optimization are an important part of the department manager’s work. Various statistics and statistical programs can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the staff’s work and thereby reflect on processes to increase efficiency. In recent years, research has been carried out on what kind of time it takes to work as a nurse, how much immediate nursing care nurses do at Tampere University Hospital. The study was conducted during the summer and autumn of 2023. An article on the study was published in the Aamulehti on 3 May 2024. The article described how the nurse has had a mobile device at work with her, the patient has a wristband, and when the nurse has entered the patient room to do immediate nursing, the clock has started to measure the time the nurse spends near the patient. The study showed that computer work, with a variety of programs, takes up much of the nurse’s work time in the hospital ward. The range was a big 15-48%. Nursing is rapidly becoming digitalized. Remote receptions, digital clinics and digital platforms are taking over the industry. At Tampere University Hospital, digitalisation, work automation and artificial intelligence make the work of nurses easier.
I started my studies as a digitalization expert with the idea of understanding the development of digitalization in the field of health and social services. It is important to know what is happening in the world and to read recent research. Undeniably, AI has its place and in the growing labour shortage in all sectors in Finland, robotics frees up a resource for what cannot be replaced by AI or robotics as it develops. As a result of my studies, I have gained knowledge of what is going on on a concrete level in other parts of Finland. I have been given tools for my own work and it has been interesting to get acquainted with international materials as well.