Social workers and ipads
Comments
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I work for a local authority and a number of our staff use an iPad. I think most people here can see the advantages of using technology over a paper based solution but thats not really the discussion. The reason we use iPads is because the staff find them easier to use. Social workers aren't generally the most IT literate staff and Ipads are a more simple setup than a traditional laptop and therefore anything which helps them is a good thing in my opinion. They're also generally smaller than a laptop and therefore easier to slip into a bag and it isn't as obvious as a laptop bag.0
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They may work for some situations but if you are visiting a family and spend the whole visit fiddling with technology then you miss the eye-to-eye contact and body langauage needed to assess a situation as well as reducing your observation skills as your eyes are on the laptop/i-pad not your surroundings.
Very difficult to talk to children whilst you are typing.Mama read so much about the dangers of drinking alcohol and eating chocolate that she immediately gave up reading.0 -
I'm old fashioned enough to ask families if they mind if I sometimes take written notes whilst we speak.
Some Local Authorities are moving towards mobile working ie no allocated desk or computer or phone, no real work 'base'. This cuts costs but the technology is needed to support this way of working, including the means to access information and records on the move.
I'd be happy with a reliable mobile phone.......0 -
They may work for some situations but if you are visiting a family and spend the whole visit fiddling with technology then you miss the eye-to-eye contact and body langauage needed to assess a situation as well as reducing your observation skills as your eyes are on the laptop/i-pad not your surroundings.
Very difficult to talk to children whilst you are typing.
they're also good tools for youngsters to play with - drawing and colouring in (not with real crayons:eek:) and watching the 'talking tom' app, which allows social workers the opportunity to talk to parents whilst the children are occupied. They're cheaper than laptops, lighter, easier to use, can use dictation on them, and social workers can record visits much more easily. Saves time and money.Bern :j0 -
Presumably social workers don't spend all their time fiddling with a pen and paper, so I can't see why they would want to do that with an iPad.
Indeed, touch typing allows the typist to observe what's going on around them as they don't need to keep their eyes on what they're writing on - something that can't be done with paper and pen......................I'm smiling because I have no idea what's going on ...:)0 -
They may work for some situations but if you are visiting a family and spend the whole visit fiddling with technology then you miss the eye-to-eye contact and body langauage needed to assess a situation as well as reducing your observation skills as your eyes are on the laptop/i-pad not your surroundings.
Very difficult to talk to children whilst you are typing.
No more difficult than trying to talk to them whilst writing, surely.
If there's a need to record information in situ it makes not a jot of difference whether you're writing that information or 'fiddling with technology' to do so, the distraction from the child is the same.
If there's no need to record information in situ it makes not a jot of difference whether you sit in your car after the meeting and write on a note pad or type up your notes.Accept your past without regret, handle your present with confidence and face your future without fear0 -
I think its a great ideed - anything that cuts down on time having to update records can only be a good thing.
The main reason CAFs don't get taken up where I work is the resitance of staff to all the form filling and paperwork. Plus an ipad is cheaper than a laptop and cna be used with children creatively too wounds like a win win to mePeople seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.
Ralph Waldo Emerson0 -
the use of technology in these situations is a excellent thing, although tablet or laptop choice is a difficult choice as it will depend on the situation as to which is the most appropriate, as they both have advantages and disadvantages compared to each other.
but properly implimented and having properly programed programs could make a massive difference,
considering form filling, you can have them set up so that if a certain criteria is met it highlights other certain questions which would need to be asked/answered, or the simple fact that if you have missed something it will highlight that question before saving the file so that you can have a complete record, which with paper records its easy to have missing data and so a incomplete account of the situation.
other thoughts are 3g connection, so once a record is filled in and save, the file is transfered back to the 'office' automatically, and could include such things as automatically generating a code which is given to the customer/client/patient/whatever who can then log in and input the code to download a copy of the notes which have just been taken.
also very much think the use of tablets could be an improvment in a hospital environment, instead of the 'silly' clip boards in A&E or at the end of the bed with the patient records, this could be done on tablets with a automatic connection to the patient records on the hospital system, allowing instantanious updating of the records as and when the information is taken, no time delay waiting for someone to type them up, no best guessing when someone can not read the handwritting,
add into this the ability to 'bar code' scan things with the built in camera's and you can improve things such as giving the correct medication and even drug doesage and timings all able to be recorded and flagged on the system.
wow this is getting a bit long gonna stop nowDrop a brand challenge
on a £100 shop you might on average get 70 items save
10p per product = £7 a week ~ £28 a month
20p per product = £14 a week ~ £56 a month
30p per product = £21 a week ~ £84 a month (or in other words one weeks shoping at the new price)0 -
Sounds like a good idea to me, particularly if the tablet has 3G so that forms can be filled in and submitted all in one step - saves the poor sod having to type out the whole thing again once they get back to the office. Also, a tablet would probably be cheaper than a laptop, and can be carried more easily.0
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Depends - if they can actually use them quickly or not. I mean there's few things more frustrating than sitting there filling in a form with someone who can't type or navigate around their computer screen quickly... in those situations - stick to pen and paper please!
If they were playing Angry Birds in the middle of it all I might have some issues...Little miracle born April 2012, 33 weeks gestation and a little toughie!0
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