Rhonda Collins, RN, DNP, FAAN, cares passionately about the wellbeing of nurses and the nursing profession and believes that technology can improve nursing work by removing unnecessary cognitive burden from workflows. Her doctoral and professional work focuses on how to use clinical communication tools to ensure that nurses can provide the best possible coordinated clinical care to patients without the avoidable stress of chasing down care team members and information.
In this episode, Dr. Collins talks about how responses to the COVID-19 crisis put stress on nurses in a way that will have long-term implications for individuals and the profession. She delves into the challenges that arise when seasoned professionals must shift from situations in which they can draw on ingrained expertise to ones in which they are relatively inexperienced – in other words, moving from novice to expert and back. She also explores ways nurse leaders can apply technologies and process improvements to minimize the cognitive burden on nurses, allowing them to limit stress and achieve professional well-being. Finally, Dr. Collins outlines a new study she is launching that uses the NASA Task Load Index to gauge the burden of clinical communication on nurses in high-stress environments with the aim of driving improvements across the industry.
Links Related to Dr. Collins’s Podcast
- 2021 CNO Report: Protect the Nurse, Protect the Practice
- Share your story of a Healthcare Hero
- Nursing Times article: Reducing Cognitive Load on Nursing Staff
