Email An Everyday Tool in the School of Nursing
Four years ago, faculty members of the top-ranked UW School of Nursing recognized the growing importance information technology would have on the nursing profession. For example, electronic mail--a basic tool for information exchange--could be used extensively for research, education, and administration. They suggested to their dean that they start using it.
"I didn't have as much foresight as the faculty and the computer steering committee," says Dr. Sue Hegyvary, the dean of the School of Nursing. "I had never used email, but technology has always been important at the School of Nursing, partly because of its strong research tradition. It is not in our nature to reject technology, and email is just another use of it."
Dean Hegyvary gave the faculty a choice about how to spend the school's limited financial resources: should they use available funds to maintain the facility--for example, to paint the "downright dreary, ugly rooms"--or to provide every faculty member with a desktop computer and a campus network connection? "There was a widespread feeling that the money should be invested in computers," recalls Dean Hegyvary. "The faculty agreed to forego improving their surroundings and to invest in information systems."
Today, most of the School of Nursing's 280 faculty and staff have their own networked desktop computer or easy access to one, and email has become the school's official mode of communication.
"It's not difficult to convince people about the benefits of email," says Tom Bennett, the manager of the school's information systems. "Also, when people realize they are not getting messages if they are not using email, nearly everyone begins to use it." Bennett and his group help new users get started with email by teaching classes and distributing lists of email addresses. In everyday business, faculty, staff, and students are discovering new ways to use email to enhance communication and to strengthen the school community.
Tom Bennett talks with a student in the computer lab in the Health Sciences library: "It's not difficult to convince people about the benefits of email."As a result, the use of paper mail has decreased drastically. For example, a school-wide newsletter and the minutes of most meetings are distributed by email. Committees communicate via email, unless confidentiality must be guaranteed. "We are an email organization." says Dean Hegyvary. "It's not acceptable for faculty to ask staff to print their email for them to read in hard copy." Email also greatly reduces the number of phone calls. " Most of us intensely dislike talking to each other via voice mail, and we don't even bother with the phone unless something warrants direct interaction and confidentiality." Finally, people who have a home computer and modem can take advantage of the flexibility that email provides to extend or vary their working hours.
Email is not without its problems. Dean Hegyvary cites the difficulties arising from the lack of nonverbal cues and innuendo, the issue of ensuring confidentiality, and an abundance of junk mail. In addition, since they have virtually eliminated paper in their internal correspondence, when email is not working properly, the effects are significant. Despite these drawbacks, Dean Hegyvary says "Our best access to information is by email. I'm extraordinarily pleased. We didn't anticipate that so many people would be using it every day of the week."
Similar feelings are shared by those on the receiving end of the Dean's email. "I've received more information from Sue Hegyvary in the past six months than I would have under ordinary circumstances," says Dr. Carol Landis, an assistant professor in Physiological Nursing. "She keeps us very much aware of what's happening at different administrative levels."
"I viewed using email as one way to encourage students to interact with the computer," says Landis. "Since the University provides computing services for faculty and students, I also wanted them to become familiar with those resources early on in their education. I wanted them to learn how to retrieve information--to gain some familiarity with the online databases for accessing information from research articles--since they would be writing research proposals in this class."
Dr. Carol Landis does not feel the human element gets lost when communicating by email. In fact, she thinks using email is a way to increase an organization's sense of well being.Landis used email to announce upcoming class requirements and exams, inform students when papers were graded and in their mailboxes, comment on class performance, and arrange appointments. On the other side of the lectern, students sent email to Landis to ask for clarification on points made during class or to request additional information on specific references. "I found email a good way to send out information without having to take time in class to make announcements," says Landis. "It allowed us to go about the business of learning."
One student sent Landis a spontaneous evaluation of the course by email. It was a "pat on the back" for the entire department, and Landis quickly forwarded it to everyone who should share the compliment. "Some people have the notion that the human element gets lost if you are communicating with email, that you are communicating with a machine," says Landis. "That's not necessarily true. The human element is very much present, and email can be a way for any organization to increase its sense of well being."
However, by means of a home computer and modem, Cuaron keeps in touch using email and UWIN. (UWIN is the UW Information Navigator. See "Window to Worlds of Information" article.) "I can use the computer to find out what is happening. The information I need is consolidated, and I can check it out when I want. It more than fills a need for me." She also imagines new applications. "I use the computer now as a work horse--for email or to do searches in UWIN--but I would also like to use it as a creative tool for teaching, to demonstrate things visually. I keep that in the back of my mind when I'm in classes."
Although she is a full-time nurse at University Hospital, Linda Cuaron can use her computer at home to keep up on things happening at the School of Nursing.Cuaron used email to develop her research proposal when her advisor was on sabbatical in Norway. "We talked in advance about a topic and a direction, but we did not discuss details. However, through email I could ask questions such as, 'Should I ask this faculty member to be on my committee?, Do you think I'm getting too involved in this particular aspect?, Should I continue in the same direction?' There was no way I could have called her by phone."
Cuaron particularly values her ability to use the computer--at her convenience--to gather information. "I work an evening shift, from 2:00 until midnight. At home, after work, I can do literature searches at a continuous pace, rather than in a marathon session at the library when it is crowded. I have time to look in new directions. This is important. There is too much information! We need to know it, and how to get to it. Every time you learn something, and you are successful with it, it just helps you move to that next step. I want to learn to use a computer--not to its full capabilities--but in ways that are going to help me with the things I need to do."
Cuaron's knowledge of information systems is already an asset in her job as a nurse. "If somebody asks me a question, and I want to find out if there is any research done in the area, I can look when I get home from work. It's a fast turnaround."
A mailing list allows email sent to one address to be automatically forwarded to a list of addresses. The School of Nursing has mailing lists for school-wide groups of faculty and staff, lists for each of the four departments, and lists for interdisciplinary groups. "Faculty members must be able to communicate with one another," says Tom Bennett. "It's unreasonable to ask them to remember everyone's email address or to know who is on every committee." Although maintaining mailing lists takes more time than he bargained for, Bennett feels the effort is worthwhile. "Not only are we saving a tremendous amount of time and money, but people are communicating more."
The School of Nursing pushed hard to develop the information systems that allowed email to flourish. Since the school's financial situation is tighter now, Dean Hegyvary says their timing was good. "In a way we got lucky, in a way we were insightful. I'm just glad we did it."