Nurses Using the Internet as a Source

Nurses using the Internet as a Source

In today's society the internet is accessible almost anywhere and everywhere. It has been simplified so almost anyone can use it. Today most hospitals are run by computer as they are easy to access and are able to be linked to many wireless internet resources. "The internet has opened up a multitude or opportunities for communicating with people" (O'Connell 2003). The internet also helps the way nurses care for patients as internet access allows them to be connected if or when the patient is in need of care. In addition the internet also allows the nurse to reach a broader spectrum of people and enables the nurse to make patient teaching available to anyone and everyone who needs it. It can even be accessed for educational purposes.

The nursing shortage is extremely demanding on nurses. The internet allows nurses get resource for their patient needs without them going to libraries and medical books to look up the needed information. The internet has the ability to cut the time for researching information in half. The internet allows people to link to other medical pages to research different medical studies and medical journals. These have been published on the internet to make it easier to locate information. It is also a faster source to use compared to old fashioned methods of research. The only downfall to the internet is anyone can post information on web pages. This information can be incorrect and miss leading.

The internet has millions of different resources for many different topics. "A search on google.com can list over 113,000,000 sites providing medical information to consumers, in just half a minute" (Whitehead p. 18).That amount of information can lead to confusion. It also can be contradicting to the next web site source that is read. One of the most recommended web sources for health information is NetWellness. "NetWellness is one of the first, and still one of the best, consumer health information web sites on the internet" (Whitehead p. 18). "The site also provides links to more than 1000 expert approved web sites and covers 80 wide-range health topics" (Whitehead p. 18).

Many links like Cinal, Medline, and Infortrac, are reliable sources for nurses. These sites are also good sources of information for patients. The information that is posted on these reliable sites is posted by people who are experience in a specific field of medicine. It makes these web sites more reliable, and it's a countable resource. Many of these sites are up-links at hospital, for faster and easier access for nurses and doctors. Some of the links that are accessible in the hospital are on the hospital home page on the internet to allow ease of access.

Some of the sites are also "a personal web site where they could explain situations and provide updates" (Dahood p.62). One of the many internet programs that are quickly catching on in hospitals is "a company TLContact and build Carepages" (Dahood p.62). "They arrange for families to set up web sites and build internet kiosks at logical places throughout their facilities" (Dahood p. 63). The page that are built by people who sign up for Carepages can receive update information on situations and progress someone is making They also receive the information of the update through their e-mail account. "At the end of five years, 300 hospitals had signed on" (Dahood p.63).This website offers many things to visitors like thank you note for the staff. It also assists in recruiting for new nurses in the hospital. Many hospitals have even customized link to the web page,