Fortunately, that is changing. Sengstack is helping enhance an already collaborative culture at Vanderbilt, where nurses are encouraged to share ideas that can shape the use of existing tools as well as devices yet to be developed. The approach mirrors Sengstack’s core executive philosophy: Don’t make decisions without nurses at the table.
She recently spoke with HealthTech about that valuable connection.
HEALTHTECH: Overall, how often are nurses involved in making technology decisions?
My answer would be not nearly often enough. I remember one of my informatics teachers saying, “You need to have the people who are going to be using the system directly involved with decision-making regarding selection and design, or you’ll have a hard time being successful.”
I think places are starting to get better and developing forums of shared governance. I’ve been one of the leaders in developing that structure for nurses and technology at Vanderbilt. We went to a new electronic health record in 2017, for example, so when our analysts take any changes to the people that handle the configuration, they say, “Wait a minute — has this gone through the nursing committee?” I do a little fist pump and say, “Yes, OK. Very good.”