tablet computers for charge nurses

hello,

i work in a large teaching hospital with electronic health care records, with wow's at each patient bedside and outside of their room. i find this helpful for looking up values and entering data when i am scheduled with a patient assignment.

however, when i am charge i must utilize a paper clipboard to cover 56 icu beds and sometimes keeping track of everything can be daunting. i must find an unused nearby computer to look up new patients, patient data when staff nurses call for help, or reference several other paper trails for creating assignments.

i think you know where i am going with this. anyways, does anyone have experience working in a hospital as a charge nurse with access to a tablet computer and the hospital's electronic health record system? do you find it more helpful than carrying around a paper clipboard and notes shoved into your pockets?

does anyone know where i can find any additional information on this, ie research articles, etc? that maybe i can bring to my manager to show the efficacy of implementing such devices?

i envision having charge nurses with tablet computers, will really help out with work throughput and patient safety.

thank you.
julie