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I am not reading educational publications online for a variety of reasons which I outline below (this is affecting my abilities to stay up to date with current trends):
- They have to be read on a laptop or desktop computer, which means that I have to find time to sit down and log in — I rarely have time to do this. When short on time, it is so much easier to leave a printed copy on the coffee table and pick it up when I have a few spare minutes; alternatively I can put it in my handbag and read it on the plane or when I am waiting somewhere.
- We are bombarded by so many emails, that digital copies are easily lost in the crowd.
- Issues with my eyesight mean it is better for me to read a hard copy than try and look at a screen (and I am sure that many people’s eyesight has been affected by having to spend so much time in front of screens).
- It is easier to flick through hard copies when trying to find an article that grabbed my interest — there is no way that this is an easy task online.
- I am unable to access online publications if I do not have easy access to the internet. I can do so in my own home, but I cannot access these when I am at a meeting, at other people’s houses, etc (if we were going to be referring to an article in the issue, I would take that copy with me).
- If I am interested in a particular article/s I have to print it out — which is a cost for me. Otherwise I cannot study and digest it (you can’t highlight sections on the computer screen, or make notes in a margin.)
I accept that we are moving into a more digital age. However when computers stop working, important saved documents can be lost.
What about the nurses that live and work in remote areas which have very limited access to the internet, if they have access at all? This decision penalises a group of nurses who rely on publications, like Kaitiaki, to keep up to date.
It is still nice to be able to sit outside on a nice sunny day to do some study/reading — it is impossible to read on a computer screen in the sunshine, assuming you have internet access.
I often take interesting articles to read if I am spending a day at the cricket — this will no longer be possible.
The generation who are the most comfortable accessing everything on the digital platform have also proven to be the group of nurses who rarely, if ever, attend study day conferences and other educational opportunities. Your decision to stop producing hard copies of Kaitiaki is penalising the very active group of nurses who remain keen to learn and network. This is unfair and discriminatory.
This decision also means that I will be unable to access Kaitiaki in the workplace because you cannot use the work internet for personal use — I have often taken copies of an issue to work if there was something of interest in it.
I presume that there will be a slight drop in membership fees now that a magazine is not being published?
Gayleen Watkins, RN,
Dunedin