Sarah Hughes is a medical technologist living in Townsville.

Sarah has been in the nursing industry for 22 years. She has experience working for startups and helping to roll out general practice education programs. Now she works as the chief nursing information officer for a health-tech company. The service is a SaaS platform servicing more than 80 hospitals in Australia, focused on simplifying the workflow in the nursing environment.

Her role is as an ambassador in the nursing profession and to empower younger nurses with the right technology and tools, helping them streamline processes and improve patient outcomes.

The drivers are: What can we do better? What do we need?

Some of the disruptions coming to nursing are the funding for the tools.

Nursing involves computers on wheels, all connected to a central system.

Adopting the technology is a significant expense and the time factor to have the right staff to train everyone.

Nursing staff are busy, and carving out training time can be difficult.

Each state has a digital road map for technology use and adoption in the nursing profession: paging systems, digital medical records, and automated booking systems within hospitals.

There is a workforce shortfall and shifting budgets.

COVID has accelerated many changes, which have been positive from the pandemic.

Increasingly consultations between professionals and doctor/patient are via video.

Automating processes and end-to-end communication systems help speed decision making, increase the accuracy and consistency of care and improve the overall medical service.

The status quo around innovation needs to be challenged. Ask questions and challenge.

Stress in the nursing profession is related to the pandemic and increased absentee rate.

Leadership in the nursing profession has to be transparently embodied in an environment of psychological safety.

Senior leaders know a lot and need to impart more of their knowledge.

Every organisation is driven by culture. If the culture is right, people jump out of bed and are excited to go to work.

Psychological safety can be improved in the nursing profession if there is a mindset change and the confidence to implement the required changes.

For young people, nursing can give you many skills. The profession is adapting and changing. Many transferable skills are learned and form a foundation for various and exciting career paths.