Report: Nurses short on IT training

Healthcare IT is all the rage--from electronic medical records to ePrescribing, technology promises to save time, save money and reduce medical errors. Hospitals are pouring money into IT initiatives but a recent study published in eWeek finds that nurses are being overlooked when it comes to IT training. Of the 559 nurses surveyed, "one-quarter indicated they had received no IT training on the job over the last year, while another 56 percent said they had gotten only between one and eight hours of IT training." Over half of the nurses reported that receiving more IT training would help them better perform their duties. These numbers are troublesome considering that 44 percent of nurses reported using IT for three or more hours a day. And despite the fact that nurses and physicians are the ones using new technology on a day-to-day basis, the study found that both nurses and physicians are often excluded from selecting which IT system a hospital will use. There was one positive finding however: Although IT has hit a few bumps, an overwhelming majority of nurses say they believe IT promises to help them improve patient care.

For more on the study:
- check out this eWeek report