By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
For quite some time, nurse leaders at the frontlines of care have been reporting that they often feel like the device police. Keeping staff away from their phones and without their AirPods has been challenging in many settings as the number of Generation Z nurses who grew up wearing these devices increases. Now, nurse leaders have another device to observe – Meta Glasses have arrived in clinical environments. Consider the story a nurse manager talked about in a session.
I did not know what they were at first, but some of my nurses informed me that a colleague was on the phone while providing care to a patient. She had no device in her hands or ears, but was wearing a pair of the new Meta Glasses, which, frankly, looked like regular glasses. They are not mentioned explicitly in our policies, but as I learned more, I realized that you can be on a phone call, listening to music, or engaged in a live Facebook session. You can also take pictures wearing these glasses, which worried me as I thought about some of the patients’ families. What are others doing? You can now get prescription lenses, which, I suppose, you might argue you need if you wear glasses. The only way to know if they are in use is to move close to the person and look for the blinking light.
As we discussed this further in the session, I realized that this trend is relatively new. It is the first time it has emerged in a session with nurse managers, but it will undoubtedly not be the last. Many nurse managers have told me that discussions with their young staff about safety and liability regarding the use of such devices while on duty are often met with a shrug of the shoulders. Professional liability does not seem to intimidate this newer generation of nurses in the same way as it did previous generations.
The managers also worry about the patient experience when they see staff wearing these devices and engaging in personal activities while caring for them. On the other hand, patient care and staff activities can be easily recorded by family members using these devices without being easily detected.
At this point, nurse leaders would be wise to proactively address this trend in policies before it becomes more widespread. Banning use completely could be tricky because they do offer a prescription option for those with vision issues. At some point, the glasses probably could even be linked to the EHR. The Meta site outlines how the glasses can be used and notes that additional features and apps are in development.
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