Prior to the lecture on Telehealth and telemedicine, I was very unaware of what each could do, as well as how versatile they both were. Before the lecture, my honest preconceived notions on telehealth and telemedicine were that they were both the same and neither worked. I did not realize there was a difference between the two. Throughout nursing school, we are taught that the only way you can treat and care for your patient was being able to be hands-on. In my mind, telehealth and telemedicine are not hands-on so they would not be effective in caring for patients. I also felt that from a patient’s viewpoint, the level of care they receive may feel lower due to the lack of presence. During COVID when school was shut down, I struggled to stay engaged in my learning due to the lack of in-person interactions. Due to this, I assumed that telehealth and telemedicine would not be beneficial because the patient would struggle to engage in their healing.

After the lecture, I was shocked to see how progressive and positive telehealth and telemedicine were in the hospital. Telehealth helps employees train and educate, have meetings, and other non-patient services. Telemedicine helps take care of patients and provides them services they need to heal. I was shocked to learn about Tele-ICU because the intensive care unit is one of the most critical units at the hospital. Due to this, I did not expect to learn that telemedicine has become a large part of patient care. Many companies are creating robots to aid in the care of patients to further progress the telemedicine world. These robots allow providers, who live far from the hospital, to provide care quickly to individuals. These new advances in the realm of telehealth and telemedicine were abundantly helpful in the past few years with COVID-19. This form of medicine and communication helps providers and hospital staff engage in patient care without further exposing themselves.

What I have learned in the Telehealth and Telemedicine discussion will greatly benefit me in the future of the nursing practice. Through this lecture, I was able to better understand the need for telehealth and understand what can be used to reach providers and create meetings. I also will use telehealth in my nursing practice through continuing my education and learning because medicine is a field that continues to evolve. I will use telemedicine to monitor my patients without having to see them in person, this will increase the discharges from the hospital and create an environment where nurses and providers can catch a deteriorating situation quicker. I am excited to be able to use this new and progressive form of healthcare in my future practice to provide the best care for my patients.