As technological innovations, AI and challenges in healthcare continue to grow, it’s imperative for healthcare leaders – especially clinical ones – to be digitally competent and step into the forefront of change with skills and expertise to support a better future. Not only do they need to be efficient in use of existing technology to streamline operations and support frontline workers, but they also need to be open to new technologies in their workplaces to advance the industry, to pressure test tools’ readiness and engage the right teams to mitigate risks.
Challenges in the adoption of new technologies often have less to do with organizational operations and more to do with individuals within the health system willingness to try new systems and change their typical workflows. Leaders must champion time back and improvements that show the rest of the team the opportunity of these technologies and how they will improve their workflows.
Keeping Up with Changes in Healthcare
In recent years, health technology innovations have taken off. As developments like AI and simulations are integrated into the healthcare delivery system, the clinicians must impact be prepared. Nursing is a growth area for many of these technologies, and to successfully implement them, nurses need to be a part of these discussions and combine their clinical expertise with digital competence to predict the impact and protect the clinician-to-patient experience. Some health systems, particularly rural or smaller hospitals, don’t have dedicated technology informatics leaders, but they do have nurse leaders, including Chief Nursing Officers (CNO), who use technology. There is an increasing need and expectation for healthcare leaders – including clinicians- to engage in tech decision-making moving beyond traditional informatics roles. As we consider new care models for nursing, including virtual nursing, telehealth, and home care, a forward-thinking role about technology is critical. The CNO needs to sit alongside informatics leaders to determine how they can meet nurses’ technology needs in a strategic way and avoid burnout. On an industry level, this theme has been discussed at various events, including the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) summit, which highlighted the need for nurse leaders to take a primary role and integrate technology into healthcare transformation.
The Impact of Digitally Savvy Clinical Leaders on Healthcare Organizations
Creating digitally competent leaders in healthcare, particularly nursing will help the industry advance more rapidly and support areas for clinician workflows to adapt to change without unknowingly putting a burden on frontline workers. This is still a work in progress. Being technologically proficient and keeping up to date with advances to help to more easily adopt new technologies on a system level rather than reactively when complaints arise post-implementation will be a game changer. Data literacy skills are critically important, as data often drives these innovations and serves as evidence of success in health systems. The ability for clinical leaders to discuss and inform digital innovation and serve as a thought leader in their communities to help unify the team toward a shared innovation goal and outcomes is a big step forward. The skills and confidence gained will help nurse leaders contribute to effective decision-making and operational improvements in the digital landscape as part of driving change.
These practices and collaborations with digitally savvy clinical leaders are already taking hold at health systems to improve patient care, support staff and drive operational efficiency. Technology can help nurses manage crises, which we saw in effect during the COVID-19 pandemic. As cases rose, nurses did not have as much time to devote to administrative tasks. Integrated workforce management platforms helped maintain compliance, schedules, and time tracking, alleviating some of the stress of administrative tasks from care providers and streamlining operations during a time of chaos and confusion across healthcare. These kinds of technology help healthcare workers maintain patient care during unexpected turning points and maintain a crisis-ready workforce.
Virtual nursing is another technology with promise being used to gain organizational efficiencies and support the nursing workforce through unprecedented care crises. As nurses continue to leave the field, new grads are left without leadership on the floor. While virtual nursing will never replace bedside nurses, it can provide value by having an experienced nurse (who may have otherwise quit) consult on cases and provide support and empowerment to nurses on the floor to provide the best care to patients. Virtual nurses can support through consultations, telehealth, and monitoring services providing a bridge in the shrinking workforce. They can also help alleviate some of the administrative and documentation that slows nurses down and takes time away from patient care. Health systems implementing virtual nursing have seen success, for example Advocate Health credits the implementation of virtual nursing at over 10 of their hospitals with improving their turnover rate by 60%, showing the impact on retention. Additionally, their RN vacancy rate has decreased by 46% as of December 2023. Having a digitally competent workforce, and one willing to implement technological changes, drives innovation and can give health systems a competitive edge in the industry.
Approaches and Recommendations for Developing Digitally Competent Leaders
Organizations must dedicate time and resources to an environment that supports digital transformation and builds digital skills among healthcare leaders. Organizations should foster an environment that encourages ongoing education and experimentation with new technologies. As technology continues to create pathways that address problems in care delivery, health systems must embrace digital transformation and continuously adapt to technological advancements on an organizational level. To better prepare nurses to handle these technologies in practice, training programs and resources must be continuously updated to include information and new technology, such as virtual nursing and AI. Incorporating virtual nursing into training programs helps leaders understand how telehealth and remote care technologies can empower care teams and enhance patient outcomes.
It’s also crucial to address inefficiencies in outdated systems. Organizations should invest in modern tools and training to improve operational efficiency and reduce the burden on healthcare workers. Many healthcare facilities continue to rely on outdated methods that can have detrimental effects. A lot of these outdated systems come on the administrative side, with scheduling and on-call systems. Without automation and updates, these systems can lead to unexpected and disorganized shift scheduling, inconsistencies and delays, and hindered communication, all of which negatively impact both patients and staff. Modernization can have a transformational impact on patient care quality and the well-being of healthcare workers.
As organizations work towards digital competency in their workforce, there are various ways they can nurture and develop digital leadership. Integrating digital competence into leadership development initiatives promotes a culture of innovation and encourages employees to develop these skills. Leveraging technology to enhance nursing operations and patient care supports the staff to feel less-burnt out, while addressing challenges related to outdated on-call scheduling systems and their impact on healthcare efficiency will support the workforce and patient populations alike.
Technological innovations have the power to transform the current healthcare landscape, improve clinician efficiency and give time-back to patient care. Digitally competent leaders can help support the implementation of tools that can help the workforce give better patient quality care. The workforce crisis won’t just be addressed with hiring initiatives. Healthcare organizations should prioritize the development of digitally skilled leaders to create a sense of comfortability of technology within the team and foster support for innovation within the organization. Integration of digital competence can shape the future of healthcare leadership, leading towards a workforce with more time for patients, and unafraid to seek better solutions to age-old industry problems.
As organizations work towards digital competency in their workforce, there are various ways they can nurture and develop digital leadership. Integrating digital competence into leadership development initiatives promotes a culture of innovation and encourages employees to develop these skills. Leveraging technology to enhance nursing operations and patient care supports the staff to feel less-burnt out, while addressing challenges related to outdated on-call scheduling systems and their impact on healthcare efficiency will support the workforce and patient populations alike.
Technological innovations have the power to transform the current healthcare landscape, improving clinician efficiency and giving them time-back to patient care. Digitally competent leaders can help support the implementation of tools that can help the workforce give better patient quality care. The workforce crisis won’t just be addressed with hiring initiatives. Healthcare organizations should prioritize the development of digitally skilled leaders to create a sense of comfortability of technology within the team and fostering support of innovation within the organization. Integrating digital competence can shape the future of healthcare leadership, leading towards a workforce with more time for patients, and unafraid to seek better solutions to age-old industry problems.
About Ali Morin
Ali Morin is the Vice President of Nursing Informatics at symplr where she leads and develops clinical programs to integrate the healthcare workforce including clinical communication and collaboration, staffing and scheduling, HR & Talent Management.
