{"id":11758,"date":"2020-05-29T19:43:35","date_gmt":"2020-05-29T23:43:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advertise.nurse.com\/?p=11758"},"modified":"2025-08-18T13:13:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T17:13:12","slug":"nursing-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nurse.com\/solutions\/blog\/nursing-technology","title":{"rendered":"Nursing Technology: A\u00a0New Place\u00a0for RNs To\u00a0Share Their Expertise\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nurses expanding from bedside to corporate, even to nursing technology<\/h3>\n

Nurses are known for their compassionate bedside manner and ability to advocate for patients.\u00a0 While some nurses enjoy the clinical responsibilities, others like the idea of leadership roles where they manage people and projects.\u00a0 The expanse of nursing jobs has taken some nurses out of the hospital and into the corporate sector, some into nursing technology.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Nurse\u2019s Journey \u2013 From Clinical to Corporate<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Take\u00a0Molly K. McCarthy,\u00a0MBA, RN-BC,\u00a0National Director, Provider Industry & CNO\u00a0with Microsoft US Health and Life Sciences.\u00a0McCarthy is responsible for business\u00a0development\u00a0and strategy with clients\u00a0that include heath system providers, health plans and life science companies<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, how did she get here?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"technology<\/a><\/p>\n

Prior to working for\u00a0Microsoft, McCarthy\u00a0spent her clinical years in a neonatal\u00a0intensive care\u00a0unit.\u00a0Eventually she left her scrubs behind\u00a0to pursue a medical device company that manufactured hearing screening devices\u00a0and jaundice management devices\u00a0for newborns.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>McCarthy\u00a0sees more of these doors\u00a0opening up\u00a0in the nursing profession.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cBecause\u00a0of technology,\u00a0there are\u00a0many\u00a0[corporate]\u00a0job\u00a0opportunities<\/a>\u00a0for nurses. It just depends where you want to work\u00a0and what your passions are.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nurses interested in tech-savvy nursing jobs can specialize in their chosen interest, whether it\u2019s a role in pediatrics or transplant nursing technology, McCarthy said. \u00a0<\/span>That\u2019s because\u00a0more health-tech companies\u00a0realize they can\u00a0leverage\u00a0the\u00a0clinical skillset\u00a0of nurses.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s becoming more common\u00a0to hire\u00a0nurses,\u201d\u00a0McCarthy said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Recruiters could take this golden opportunity to diversify their client list, since it\u2019s not just\u00a0hospitals\u00a0and skilled nursing facilities that hire nurses.\u00a0 According to McCarthy, nurses\u00a0understand the\u00a0clinical and operational challenges of\u00a0healthcare\u00a0arena, something that uniquely\u00a0positions\u00a0nurses interested in\u00a0pursuing\u00a0high-tech companies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTechnology and medical device companies benefit from employing nurses and clinicians as subject matter experts.\u202f Nurses can contribute\u00a0to\u00a0many different areas including product development<\/a>, clinical education\u00a0and product deployment.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Current State of Affairs<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

McCarthy\u00a0has her hands\u00a0in\u00a0several\u00a0COVID–<\/u>19\u00a0projects\u00a0that use\u00a0technology\u00a0to\u00a0extrapolate data\u00a0in ways that helps healthcare facilities improve processes or\u00a0facilitate the procurement of necessary equipment and supplies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMicrosoft is working to implement several solutions\u00a0for\u00a0the\u00a0COVID-19 response,\u00a0like the patient and family virtual connection. And\u00a0we just launched an initiative with American Hospital Association and Kaiser around securing more PPE<\/a> for healthcare workers.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, Microsoft developed a health bot\u00a0for\u00a0hospitals\u00a0to share on their Homepage,\u00a0said McCarthy. The bot works like a virtual assistant that patients\u00a0can use 24\/7 whether\u00a0they exhibit symptoms\u00a0from\u00a0the common cold\u00a0to\u00a0a cardiac event.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a self-checker for hospitals\u00a0to post\u00a0on their website. It\u2019s designed to\u00a0go through questions with patients by using\u00a0artificial intelligence (AI)\u00a0generated\u00a0questions.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Based on how patients\u00a0respond,\u00a0the bot then prioritizes symptoms to determine whether patients are at risk and need to visit the hospital for a hands-on\u00a0assessment to determine their current state of health.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the\u00a0initial\u00a0time\u00a0of release,\u00a0the\u00a0health\u00a0bot was not getting much traction.\u00a0\u00a0That is, until now.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWe released a health bot a year ago in preview mode. And with a lot of these tools, organizations were not hard pressed to adopt, but during COVID-19, they moved quickly to adopt, which includes the CDC using our bot.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Today, over 1200 organizations use Microsoft\u00a0Healthbot.<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As\u00a0new technology\u00a0is rolled out, the challenge for companies like Microsoft,\u00a0and\u00a0any company\u00a0moving into a clinical healthcare space,\u00a0requires\u00a0educating the end user\u2014whether it\u2019s the patient or clinician\u00a0who\u00a0uses it.\u00a0 Bottom line, the benefits must be\u00a0tangible\u00a0before true adoption can\u00a0take place.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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