The use of handheld technology has proven time and again to be crucial to healthcare over the past two decades, and many developing countries are no exception. When a handheld device can carry books, notes, and even communication tools that link to other professionals, it is an essential part of planning for the future of any healthcare system.
In Leogane, Haiti, the Faculty of Science in Nursing school became a major medical center within minutes of the January 2010 earthquake. Immediately afterward, Skyscape, Inc. and Robert Morris University sent in handheld computers loaded with essential tools for practitioners at all levels. The nursing students who began using these tools quickly learned the power of a strategy that met the essential requirements: portable, rechargeable, up-to-date resources with connectivity options.
Since that devastating earthquake, many students have taken these tools into their communities. Shirley D. (RN) is married to a community physician in Leogane. Her handheld helps her manage the clients seen in their small apartment and curbside clinic. Because many patients pay only $3 US to be seen, there are very few resources for up-to-date tools and consults with others. They rely heavily on these resources.
Evens J. (RN) is a faculty member at the nursing school and often uses his tools when students are with him in remote villages. These faculty and students are rarely accompanied by physicians and often have to meet the needs of people in these remote areas as best they can. The resources on his handheld have helped them, on multiple occasions, identify problems and provide the best plan possible with limited resources.
Dr. Tim Bristol, a nurse educator at Walden University, visits the FSIL nursing school several times each year. As a nurse educator with expertise in informatics and e-learning, he has helped the school’s students and faculty integrate the Skyscape tools into their curriculum and clinical practice.
This past March (2012), Dr. Bristol worked with nursing faculty in Leogane to help them develop their teaching skills in the clinic and the classroom. They spent a good bit of time identifying ways to improve students’ critical thinking skills and empowering faculty to use active learning. This coming September, he will again work with FSIL faculty and students to improve their use of resources (paper and online) and further develop the curriculum.
For more information on FSIL and their work in Haiti, visit haitinursing.org.