We chatted with Barbara Olas, a telemetry nurse in Toronto, Ontario on the health care industry today and how technology plays a role in the medical field today.
How has technology helped advance our health care industry?
The health care industry wouldn’t be where it’s at today without technology – everything from contacting physicians to performing accurate diagnostic imaging relies on tech. Over the last few years especially, more and more in the health care industry has become electronic. For example, paper charting is a thing of the past in many hospitals – everything is documented electronically. This allows for quicker and more reliable documentation, ultimately improving patient satisfaction and outcomes.
Being a telemetry nurse, how has technology helped with accurately diagnosing and caring for your patients?
Several of my patients are on telemetry monitors. This means that we are constantly monitoring their heart rhythm and rate – as soon as there is a change, we are notified and can act accordingly. Situations like a drop in the heart rate or a heart attack are caught very early on which means that treatment is provided much earlier than it would’ve been without the technology. In the health care field we say “time is a muscle “meaning that every second counts when heart attacks occur. Technology advancements have improved outcomes in heart attack patients because the situation is now dealt with much quicker.
What inspired you to get into the medical field?
I have always been fascinated by the human body. It amazes me that we can do so much… repair ourselves, grow new life, and enter homeostasis. The science of it all is absolutely incredible. On top of the science, dealing with human life is so special. Before getting into the medical field I worked with a gentleman who had ALS. Assisting him with his daily care, interacting with him and his family, being a caring shoulder he could rely on, and seeing the difference a human connection makes is what really drove me into the medical field.
Do you have any advice for any aspiring nurses and doctors?
It won’t be easy. You will have to be your number one cheerleader – no one is going to want this as bad as you. No one is going to work as hard for this as you will. No one can push you to be your best self as much as you will. When things get tough, remind yourself of your WHY. My favourite quote works perfectly here: “if it were easy, everybody would do it. Hard is what makes it great” – Tom Hanks
