Paper
Saturday, November 12, 2005
The Legalities of Students' Use of Technology in Clinical Settings
Pegge Bell, PhD, ARNP-BC, School of Nursing, Barry University, Miami Shores, FL, USA, Patricia E. Thompson, EdD, RN, FAAN, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, College of Nursing, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, College of Nursing, Little Rock, AR, USA, and Linda Calhoun, RN, MNSc, College of Nursing, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA.
| Learning Objective #1: Discuss contemporary legal issues related to students' use of technology in clinical settings |
| Learning Objective #2: Evaluate selected clinical scenarios and suggest legally appropriate responses |
A recent survey by The Chronicles of Higher Education of legal counsels projects that over the course of the next five years, one of the most pressing legal issues will be the use of technology. With increased technological competence, students now find it useful to take their personal technology tools to the clinical setting. However, students' clinical actions put them in positions of having access to confidential information and their inappropriate use of modern technology can violate patients' confidentiality rights, and possibly the rights of faculty and other students.
The current generation of nursing students is comfortable with technology and may be, in many cases, more technologically savvy than their faculty members. Without proper supervision, nursing students may inappropriately use cell phones to send visual images; palm pilots to access, store, and retrieve data; and small recorders to make audiotapes. With the goal of preparing safe, competent nurses who are accountable for their own actions, the clinical supervision of students must include attention to technology. Faculty need to understand the legal ramifications of using technology in the clinical setting so they can better educate and supervise their students.