The rising demand for healthcare calls for systematic improvements and process enhancements across the medical sector, including nursing. Since the medical field has grown significantly, changing trends have also taken over nursing.

Additionally, the demand for technological advancements and innovative treatments has increased nearly tenfold due to the emergence of new diseases and novel viruses. The COVID-19 pandemic serves as a critical example of the need for continuous improvements in the healthcare sector.Healthcare organizations worldwide should leverage advanced technology in their routine operations, expand their research and innovation initiatives, and focus on efficient patient service delivery. Such advancements enhance productivity, security, and efficiency while improving quality and accessibility.

With digital transformations penetrating every industry, the nursing field is also witnessing various changes. Nursing education, as well as work settings, have digitally transformed to adopt the changing trends of today’s time.

Consequently, we can expect drastic changes in the nursing domain with quicker tests and diagnostics, instant patient care plans, and expanding roles and responsibilities of nurses – leading to optimal quality care.

Let us look into similar advancements leading to changes in the nursing field.

1.  Telemedicine and the Evolution of Remote Care

Since the coronavirus engulfed the world, telehealth has seen heightened demand. And this demand continues to grow. Telehealth is a crucial healthcare tool for providing immediate healthcare services to senior patients and serving as a quick solution for busy individuals. For those seeking to enter the adult-gerontology nursing profession, learning how to make the most of telehealth is crucial.

Suppose you want to pursue nursing in adult primary care. In that case, check out AGNP online programs by La Salle University that provide training in private practice, public health, clinical settings, and outpatient specialty clinics. By enrolling in such online programs, you’ll hone essential nursing skills alongside learning to leverage advanced tech solutions such as telehealth.

What’s best is that telehealth enables nurses to focus on more critical tasks by lessening their work burden.

2.  Sequencing and Stem Cell Technology

Whether it’s DNA research or population data, sequencing technology assists tremendously in making sense of it. Nurses studying genetics will enjoy higher demand once sequencing technology becomes more prevalent in the coming future. The study of genetics and extensive research conducted by nurse researchers enables them to discover novel diseases/illnesses that could potentially affect the masses.

Nurses are equally qualified to leverage sequencing technology, examining patient reports based on DNA sequencing. They learn more about rare conditions through genome sequencing than any other system. So, focusing on such transformative technological advancements is crucial for nurses looking to succeed in their careers.

Likewise, stem cell technology is another trend impacting the nursing domain. Stem cell technology lets nurses discover treatments for serious illnesses, including cancer. Soon, nurses specializing in stem cell technology will be in higher demand in clinics and hospitals.

3.  Holistic Nursing

Holistic nursing focuses on addressing the mind, body, and spirit in its entirety to provide care to patients. The New York National Institute of Health first published a study on holistic care in 2017. It suggested that nurses specializing in traditional allopathic approaches should be aware of holistic care. When a patient falls sick, their mind, spirit, and body need healing simultaneously to eliminate the negative effects of the illness.

Today, many nurses are integrating holistic care with other methodologies to provide optimal care to patients. Besides, psychological and physical health are interlinked – when one deteriorates, the other suffers. So, nurses must address patient issues as a whole instead of focusing on the prevalent problem.

More importantly, holistic care considers a patient’s environmental, socio-cultural, and emotional variables to ensure a quick recovery.

4.  Robotic Automation to Supplement Nursing Workforce

Nurses carry more workload than other healthcare providers across clinics, hospitals, outpatient care, and medical centers. That’s precisely why AI-integrated robotics automation is prevalent across several healthcare organizations to automate nurses’routine tasks. It allows nurses to focus more on direct patient care rather than repetitive tasks.

Global research projects have led Belgium, Japan, and Singapore to adopt and integrate multiple applications and functions with robot interfaces geared toward healthcare settings. GPS tracking in case of elderly care, wireless patient monitoring, and intelligent alarms to alert immediate patient care are some of the examples of day-to-day functionalities of healthcare facilities that adopt AI robotic automation. And nurses are, fortunately, making the most of robotic automation.

5.  IoT in Nursing

The internet of things in Medicare, including wearables, smart pills, VR and AR, allow nurses to monitor patients 24/7 wirelessly and know what happens to them.

In the old days, nurses used the best of their abilities to diagnose patients – but not anymore. Medical technologies like the Internet of Things allow nurses to monitor and document patients’ conditions automatically and digitally. It not only lessens their work burden but also boosts work productivity and efficiency.

A program in Singapore called the Acute Medical Ward (AMW) lets patients receive tests, medications, and diagnostics virtually. The process is as efficient as it was physically but is proving much faster in the Emergency Medical Department (EMD). It eases nurses’work by eliminating manual handing out of reports or communicating with patients.

6.  National Electronic Health Record (NEHR)

A NEHR holds a single electronic record per patient. It enables nurses to access patients’ healthcare history and previous care plans to devise new treatments and diagnoses. Nurses are the first to contact patients, even before doctors. They’re the ones who understand patient sufferings, underlying issues, and plausible course of action. Therefore, nurses must utilize EHRs to ensure smooth workflow and timely healthcare service delivery.

The National Electronic Health Record stores patient records in a single server accessible by all hospitals. Healthcare providers can easily access a central patient healthcare database from one hospital to another, ultimately boosting care delivery.

Conclusion

Advancements in healthcare are essential to boost the quality of care practices and treatments. Nursing plays a vital role in overall caregiving, which is why advancements in healthcare directly trickle down to the nursing domain. Whatever developments occur in the medical field, it undeniably affects the nursing field.

Telemedicine, stem cell technology, holistic nursing, and robotic automation supplementing the nursing workforce are examples of how the nursing domain transformed globally. Other examples include home healthcare nursing, IoT, and the NEHR, which minimizes care delivery times while ensuring quality. Such advancements will only supersede in the coming future. Therefore, adopting and integrating them with existing systems sooner rather than later is viable.