It is essential for the perioperative nurse to be educated not only in nursing but also in information technology (Sweeney, 2010). Information technology is highly integrated into the health care system and perioperative nurses encounter many facets of information technology while working in the operating room. Nurses are required to document in the patients electronic medical record, be proficient in the use of equipment for laparoscopic and robotic procedures, have knowledge and skills to use electronic equipment such as monitors and cameras, and continually update their IT skills to remain current (Sweeney, 2010). Perioperative nurses can pursue continuing education to expand perioperative nursing roles in relation to information technology. Nurses with continuing education can advance their career in roles in the perioperative setting, such as operating room manager, perioperative advanced practice nurse, perioperative educator, perioperative informatics specialist or perioperative robotics nurse specialist (Sweeney, 2010). Nurse’s knowledge and understanding of the electronic health record is essential, nurses will be able to develop best practices for patient care and support research for evidence based …show more content…
Sweeney (2010) discussed that some nurses were struggling with the change to electronic documentation, the nurses who are only accustomed to paper documentation had difficulty adapting to physical and psychological changes that come from using the computer. Staff nurses also believe that they lack necessary training which limits their judgment on computer technology, they had limited access to computers for learning intentions, and believed the current IT systems being utilized did not address their everyday nursing practice (Sweeney, 2010). Chao (2011) reported that “although strong resistance to change and initial buy-in of users is always a challenge when a fundamental workflow update is proposed, surprisingly we encountered very little resistance” (p. 16). Chao (2011) discussed that enough support staff were trained first, then one-on-one training with the nurses occurred, this allowed nurses to ask questions and get an immediate clarification. Chao (2011) stated that this training eased the resistance due to the individualized instruction to ensure the understanding of the new