Charting Challenges

A positive attitude is vital to the learning process. Don’t tell yourself you’ll never learn how to use a computer.

If you don’t have a personal computer, get one. Even playing games, such as solitaire, will show you how to navigate using a mouse and open and close programs.

Practice sending and receiving emails and photographs. Sign up with a social network, such as Facebook, to get used to clicking on icons and using keystrokes.

Take beginner computer courses at your local library, then learn how to use the Microsoft Word word-processing program and Excel spreadsheet program so you’ll know how to type, sort, send and save data.

In job interviews, don’t say you are uncomfortable using computers. Mention any personal computer use and past professional computer use, and stress that you’re willing to put in the extra time it takes to become proficient.

Your anxiety level will decline when you see an electronic chart is similar to a paper chart. The information input method is different, but the content is the same.

Ask questions. Be prepared to venture out of your comfort zone. Jackie Pichette, RNC, was apprehensive when her employer made the change from using paper charts to a computerized charting system. “I’d been a medical-surgical nurse for 25 years. Not being from a generation that grew up using personal computers, I was afraid I couldn’t keep up,” she said. “I knew this would be a daunting challenge for me, but I was determined to learn.”

In addition to attending computer training classes at the University Medical Center Brackenridge, Austin, Texas, Pichette volunteered to work with a team of IT company and in-house nurse experts to set up Cerner Corp.’s compass charting software.

“This experience helped me to get used to program details and system functions, and I found I was becoming more proficient in knowing more about computer technology and computer systems,” Pichette said. “I was barely computer literate five years ago when the system changed. Today, I’m a proctor who assists others to develop their computer skills.”

The average age of RNs is about 47, according to Katie Brewer, RN, MSN, an American Nurses Association senior policy analyst. The Health Resources and Services Administration in the 2004 National Sample of Registered Nurses, reported 41% of RNs were 51 and older.

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