Role as a Telenurse

Telenursing is the use of various technological tools to deliver effective nursing care. The role of a telenurse is to use technological solutions to plan, assess, intervene and evaluate the outcomes of the care provided. While technology changes the medium of delivery of nursing care, the scope of practice and the nursing process remain the same. The difference is that the Telenurse requires the appropriate competencies to use the different technological tools and equipment. The application of technology in nursing care does not change the standard of care or the scope of practice which indicates that the role of the nurse does not change rather the role of the telenurse is to use technology to overcome some of the practice challenges such as patient adherence and compliance issues, lack of access to quality healthcare and shortage of nurses. While these challenges hinder the quality of care, the role of the Telenurse is to use technology to create solutions to challenges that hinder the provision of quality care.

Telehealth tools

There are several telehealth tools that I will be using. One of the major tools is telecommunications tools. These are tools used to communicate over a distance (Neville, 2018). For patient consultations, I will be using video conferencing or telephone calls. This is to ensure that patients who have aces to the internet and computer can video call, but also those without such access can just call. The use of emails and text messaging will also be employed. This indicates that I will also be using the internet to facilitate communication. There is also a mobile application that will be used to communicate and offer reminders to patients who need long term care, such as those suffering from diabetes and asthma. For diabetes patients, for example, the mobile application will be able to inform the patient about the quantity of insulin to take based on specific factors. The application will also send the data to the Telenurse for review. I will also be using other interactive tools such as the hospital website to rely significant information to the public as whole concerning the telenursing services.

Clinical and Nonclinical uses

In the use of telehealth, there will be both clinical and non-clinical uses. The clinical uses will include all procedures that are aimed for clinical support only. The major use will be communicating with patients for consultation on clinical issues. This can be done through video conferencing or phone calls. Another clinical use is advising patients on emergency cases when required. Another major use will be advising patients on the prevention of diseases as well as the promotion of good health through mentoring and effective follow-ups. Different tools will thus be used to monitor the patients to ensure adherence. Another clinical use is the exchange of clinical health services by groups or individuals using video conferencing or telehealth real-time. The non-clinical uses are those uses that are not directly clinical and will include research on telehealth, the management of overall healthcare, disseminating information online, administrative uses such as supervision, meetings and presentations, patient remote admission and distant education.

Types of patients will you be using telehealth for?

In general, I will be using Telehealth for outpatients. Specifically, I will use Telehealth for outpatients who require constant and continues evaluation and monitoring as well as those patients unable to visit the health facilities to valid reasons such as a disability or physical injury. A major challenge with patients who undergo continuous assessment and treatment is a failure to comply and adhere to medications. Patients who are responsible for their own healthcare at home can fail to adhere to the treatment plan. A diabetes patient, for example, can fail to administer insulin as required which will affect the outcome. I will thus use Telehealth to monitor patients to ensure they adhere to their treatment plans and management symptoms accurately. For all other patients unable to visit the health facilities due to valid reasons such as disability, Telehealth will ensure they have access to quality healthcare while at home. The essence of Telehealth is to ensure that the needs of all patients in the county are met disregarding their physical, emotional or social status. However, to avoid overcrowding, Telehealth will concentrate on patients at higher risk of non-adherence and those unable to visit the health facilities.

Legal, ethical, and regulatory issues

When telenursing, privacy, confidentiality, and informed consent are paramount similar to in-person care (Dart et al., 2016). Thus, I have to consider the privacy of the patients when conducting video conferencing as well as the confidentiality of data acquired through the tools used. The communications must be protected from any plying eyes and ears and data kept in a confidential manner. It is also important to ensure that patients consent first to the use of telenursing as a medium of healthcare provision, the patient must be aware of how the process is to be conducted to be able to make an informed decision and consent. Another major issue to consider is the applicability and safety of the different tools being used. The use of video conferencing and phone calls for patient consultations can raise issues due to their susceptibility to security threats. Video calls can be tapped which presents serious security threat. Another important consideration is the distance from the client due to the probability of emergencies. If an emergency occurred, would I as the nurse be able to get to the patient in time?

Apply the Foundation of Knowledge Model to your work as a telehealth.

The foundation of knowledge model proposes that human beings are systems which constantly acquire, process, generate, and disseminate knowledge. In the use of Telehealth, I will constantly acquire new knowledge and experiences. With the continuous use of the different tools of telehealth, I will be able to continuously build a foundation of knowledge. However, all the information acquired will be abstract and will need to be processed to generate new knowledge. Information once unprocessed cannot lead to knowledge; rather, it is just abstract information with no basis. However, information once processed becomes knowledge which can then be applied under a different context. For me, once I process the information and acquire new information, I will then share it with others and use the same to improve the services in the county telehealth department. However, in the process of sharing the new information and applying it in the department, more new information will be acquired the whole process of processing, generating and disseminating new knowledge and this continuous process will lead to a foundation of knowledge (Nelson, 2019).

References

Neville, C. W. (2018). Telehealth: A Balanced Look at Incorporating This Technology into Practice. SAGE Open Nursing, 4, 2377960818786504.

Dart, E., Whipple, H., Pasqua, J., & Furlow, C. (2016). Legal, Regulatory, and Ethical Issues in Telehealth Technology. Computer-Assisted and Web-Based Innovations In Psychology, Special Education, And Health, 339-363. Doi: 10.1016/b978-0-12-

Nelson, R. (2019). Informatics: Evolution of the Nelson Data, Information, Knowledge and Wisdom Model: Part 1. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(3).