Date of Award

Summer 1995

Document Type

Thesis - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Simandl, Gladys

Second Advisor

Wilson, Sarah

Third Advisor

Steele, Beverly

Abstract

Nurses are experiencing and using numerous new technologies in their practice of nursing. The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of nurses concerning the impact of the technological environment on their practice . A sample of five Registered Nurses were included in this phenomonlogical [sic] description of how technology is impacting on nursing practice. The researcher's analysis revealed that participants attributed human qualities to technology and gave a unique persona to technology in their environment. Universally, the participants experienced the omnipotent and seductive power of technology, and were ambiguous in their feeling toward practicing with technology. These participants focused their experiences on the impact of technology toward their patients and were unable to perspicuously identify the impact of technology upon themselves. Through a process of extraction and synthesis, the researcher determined that technology had changed what nurses knew about their patients, and how nurses performed at the bedside. Comparing the data with a multidisciplinary review of philosophers, educators, social scientists, and feminists, the researcher determined that the participants had experienced the oppressive power of technology.

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