title: Technology and the issues facing nursing assessment.
abstract: This article describes an investigation into the use of technology and the issues nurses face undertaking nursing assessment. It reports qualitative, descriptive research involving interviews with ten ward nurses from three hospitals in New Zealand. Thematic analysis of the data revealed three key issues: the impact of technology, the influence of early warning systems and nurse autonomy. Results show how clinical decision making around nursing assessment is influenced by technology and the Early Warning Score. These clinical decisions may not always be informed by critical thinking in complex healthcare environments. The article concludes that nurse autonomy, while supported and endorsed in theory, is frequently in conflict with hospital risk-management policies and the use of prescriptive algorithms.
authors.affiliation: Nurse Educator, Hawke's Bay District Health Board, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ansell
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Alannah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: Research Fellow, School of Nursing, Eastern Institute of Technology, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Shona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation*; D009520:New Zealand; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D036301:Qualitative Research; D056152:Respiratory Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D012308:Risk Management; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical
keywords: Early warning systems; Nurse autonomy; Technology