How do you feel about hiring the "seasoned" nurse who has many years of experience but may not be as computer savvy or fast?

We need those nurses. Nurses much older than me taught me everything I needed to know to be a compassionate, thoughtful, experienced team member nurse. We can take classes to learn IT, but please do not disregard the experience and wisdom of seasoned nurses.

The fundamental CORE of the nursing profession is caring,compassion and the love of helping people,especially recovery from illness.
It is NOT computer work which has helped take the nurse away from the bedside interfering with human bonding with the patient,another core element of the profession.
AI is just waiting to replace the human contact that is Nursing.
Please keep the seasoned nurse around as long as possible.

I work with a lot of amazing nurses, many of whom are as smart or smarter than me, I am sure. If I or my child was in crisis, there’s no one I would rather have there than my mother, charge nurse if an ER for 30 years and nurse for 45 before returning last year. Her critical thinking skills are superior. Her experience and knowledge are vast. Her ability to teach and mentor a new nurse is top notch. SHE will save that life, with or without quick documentation. Also to add- she’s an associates RN.

At this point, nurses HAVE to be computer savvy, all documentation is in EMR's. I am as far from IT as you can get and still live on Earth BUT every job I've ever had (Case manager) is based on computer skills. Mostly Epic. IT and orientation will teach you how to use their particular program. Ask them to print out screen shots for you(they are easy to follow). Ask questions and your preceptor will work with you.

During the interview process, when you are asked what computer programs you have used: answer- "All the jobs use programming that is specific to the institution; they all vary somewhat. I have been able to use all of them. Some are user friendly, and some are not. "

Now? I can use 4 different computer programs at the same time and use 2 different screens! What are names of those programs? I don't know..

I am fine with the seasoned Nurse. Knowledge overrides computer savvy. I would want a Nurse that Gould recognize problems ahead of time while offering superior care. Instead of the Nurse at the desk the entire shift. In my opinion!

I think seasoned nurse will be fine with computer training. To become seasoned nurse you adapt to new needs and add to your skills. There continue new challenges in nursing.
I wouldn’t want to lose nurse because needs additional training, just provide training.

I’m 67, in shape , and work with a bunch of 20 year olds. I keep up. But the computer would be the thing to slow me down. Charting is paper

As an old Nurse, ''seasoned" I think you have to consider the tradeoff of taking the extra time to maybe teach those seasoned about the PC & notes and let them fly with the cart. We functioned when it was all paper. Is it different? Not really in my eyes. It's just a different way to enter documentation.

I would much rather be taken care of by a compassionate person rather than a computer any day

I was not trained on the computer. As far as using my time, I did not say that. I said it takes time for me to figure out what needs done. I’ve been a nurse for a long time. I have not practiced as a nurse for over 20 years and just recently went back to work. I work in a skilled facility that I don’t get breaks because I’m so busy. I do work on my lunch which I don’t get because I’m the only nurse taking care of 20-23 residents with various medical needs, I’m not allowed to do work at home so that’s out. I’m learning the system. Just FYI, it was a write up and it was the first time and final warning. So, no, it was a slap in my face for my so called DON to treat someone with as much knowledge and experience I have like that. I have stayed at my job because I’m a nurse it is my responsibility to make sure my patients are well taken care of.

I believe you can teach a season nurse computer skills but critical thinking comes with experience. For example, a patient was discharged from the hospital needing home oxygen. However, the case manager (new nurse with excellent computer still) alerted me (care manager) per note. a template was used and I could not determine the patient's need. I had difficulty reaching the patient and the case manager. As a result, the patient had to be re-hospitalize because of the lack of oxygen at home. In addition, the template said that she gave me a warm hand off but that was not true.

You’ll appreciate the experience, computer stuff can be taught. Soak up that experience as much as you can. We care for patients, not computers.

I’m a seasoned nurse, LPN, that have been retired and recently returned to nursing. Got wrote up for my 90 day evaluation because I hadn’t mastered the PCC part yet. I had been retired for 20 years, we didn’t use computers back then… I think it’s way more important for patients to have personal interaction with their nurses. We will learn the computer system!

Make a friend. They can teach me and I can help them with computer skills.

Everyone here needs to understand that patient care is only half of what we do. Nurses have always charted their findings in the patient chart. Otherwise, how do we monitor them? these comments seem like everyone is afraid of using the computer. Epic is a widely used, highly adaptable EMR program that most institutions are using. You will have classes to learn it and fyi; learning to chart in EMR IS MANDATORY!!!!! This is another skill you have no choice but to learn. It is part of orientation, just like taking infection control, diversity, hazmat modules. It is MANDATORY to do all of those and pass if you want to work as an RN. We've all taken infection control modules about a thousand times; it is a requirement. So is charting in EMR. Once you learn it, it is actually faster than manually writing. You can see trends in temperatures, stages of wound healing, respiratory settings etc. It's all to help monitor and achieve healing for the patient. THAT is what nurses are supposed to do. Part of our duty is patient charting and all nurses know you have to take time to do it.

When you are in the class: take screen shots and print them. IT always teaches these classes, so do the nurses who are experts at it. They encourage you to print them, ask questions and have hands on training.

If you can't master the computer, you will not be able to work as a nurse, keep that in mind because EVERYWHERE uses EMR.