Electronics in Nursing Practice

Name:
Instructor:
Institution:
Date:
1. In what ways is the global problem of e-waste pollution a nursing issue or not?
The use of technology in health care facilities has been championed as a means of enhancing treatment. The expansion of healthcare facilities worldwide has increased the use of that technology in the form of X-ray machines, thermometers, defibrillators, and drug-releasing pumps. According to Allsopp (2017), electronic equipment contains many hazardous metallic contaminants such as beryllium, lead, and cadmium. Upon looking at the bigger picture, these wastes have an impact in one way or another, on the nurses. It is more of a cycle or a chain reaction whereby the people get affected by the wastes, then go to the hospital due to certain health complications as a result of the wastes. After that, they have to seek the intervention of the nurses for their issues to be addressed accordingly. Nurses, therefore, are at the epicenter of handling both the long-term and short-term health impacts of these e-wastes on the people who handle them. Thus, the global problem of e-waste pollution is also a nursing issue since hospitals not only contribute directly to this problem, but they also have to treat patients who have been affected by the waste.
2. In what ways is the use and disposal of electronics in nursing practice a nursing issue?
Although 80% of medical equipment in health care facilities is non-hazardous, the remaining 20% pose radioactive peril to human health and the environment (Peshin, 2015). Specialized medical equipment such as sphygmomanometers, microscopes, and electrocardiograms also contribute to the harmful effects. Since nurses use such material daily, they are continuously exposed to the detrimental effects of this equipment. If adequate measures are not taken when handling and disposing of this equi...