EDITORIAL

Susan Dean-Baar, CRRNFAAN

Editor

Rehabilitation Nurses are Picking up Speed on the Web

It has taken a little longer than some thought but the Internet is becoming in- creasingly accepted as a resource for reha- bilitation nurses. Many nursing organiza- tions, including ARN, have for several years monitored their members’ interest in and access to computers and particularly the In- ternet. Nursing in gene& has beena slow- er adopter of computer technology and the Internet as resources than other sectors of

* society. In many fields, traditional printed journals have given way to full text online journals. Nursing continues to have only a handful of journals with full text of articles available online, and only one journal that is entirely online. This slower movement to an online environment for nursing journals has been the result of assessments indicat- ing that many nurses still do not have easy access to the Internet on a daily basis either at work or at home.

There are, however, clear signs that the number of nurses in general-and rehabil- itation nurses in particular-who are using the Internet as a resource is increasing and doing so at a quicker pace. Over the course of the last 2 years I have witnessed a steady increase in the number of participants on the rehabilitation nursing LISTSERVO. It is more common to see Internet and Web sites included as references in nursing arti- cles and books. ARN now sends a health policy update to members with an e-mail address. And, in many cases, our patients and their families are ahead of us and are using the Internet to learn more about treat- ment and management of their illnesses, disabilities, and symptoms.

Perhaps the most telling indicator of the speed of change is the rather dramatic in- crease in the number of articles submitted to Rehabilitation Nursing with a focus on the use of the Internet in various aspects of

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our practice. This issue of the journal fo- cuses on the positive impact the Internet is making on our practice. Neal & Guillett de- scribe the development of a Web site by an interdisciplinary group within a university setting for the general public, with infor- mation about chronic illness and the care of the chronically ill. They also discuss how they have involved students in the devel- opment of content for the site. Pierce’s ar- ticle discusses the quantity and quality of information available on the Internet in the area of stroke and provides valuable infor- mation on criteria that can be used in eval- uating Internet resources. Hauber, Ves- marovich, and Dufour describe the systematic evaluation undertaken by a com- prehensive rehabilitation center to identify the needs of people with disabilities related to brain and spinal cord injuries that might be addressed through the use of interactive health communication. Thompson provides an interesting look at the participants and topics found on the Rehabnurse-L LIST- SmV. Each of these authors provides a dif- ferent perspective on rehabilitation nurses’ use of the Web.

As is true with all new things, there are early adopters and late adopters. The early adopters can’t figure out why everyone isn’t right there with them embracing new tech- nology and surfing the Web on a daily ba- sis. Many of the later adopters can’t re- member why they had been so reluctant to try it after they experience the benefits. And no matter where each of us is in the process of adding yet another skill to our practice, we learn that this is a skill that bridges our professional and personal lives. I would n e w have dreamed as a new nurse 25 years ago that some day in the future I would be fighting with my kids for the only comput- er in the house with Internet access!

130 Rehabilitation Nursing Volume 27, Number 4 JulyIAugust 2002