There is no doubt in anyone's mind that there is a severe nursing shortage, not only in the United States, but worldwide (Bower and McCullough, 2004, 200-203). The Labor Secretary for the US, Lynn Martin has stated that the shortage will not be a short-term one, and it has been estimated that it will last for at least another 10 or even 20 years (Bower and McCullough, 2004, 200; Girard, 2004, 753). While nursing school enrollments are up due to vigorous campaigning and incentives for those taking up the profession, it is felt by many that the resources available to nurses today because of advances in technology are not being utilized as fully as they could be to help ease the problem.
For instance, Bower and McCullough (2004, 201) wonder why nurses don't use palm pilots to record patient data at the bedside and to order supplies? Why aren't electronic readers used to scan supplies instead of having to record their usage manually? While some hospitals use computerized documentation, communications, medication management and access information technology, many more do not take advantage of these devices which could save much precious time when staffing is in short supply.
SMART cards containing all relevant demographics and information about a person have been available in the military and in universities and colleges for many years, but are new to healthcare, yet could save endless work (Bowers and McCullough, 2004, 202). They could hold all the relevant data needed to be known about a patient, saving the patient having to repeat it over and over to admitting personnel and various healthcare professionals, and saving the nurses time too. There is no need to pull charts, or rely on the memories of others when SMART cards are used. Wireless technology could also be used to keep a nurse in touch with patients and physicians, updating everyone with the latest data available. With so much new techno
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