Nursing Informatics
Introduction
There is growing need for integrating nursing informatics into the undergraduate nursing studies and into the curriculum provided for nursing students. The aim is to ensure that future students are prepared for the increasing electronic health care environment, a task that they really have to learn how to accomplish. The strategies adopted in attaining this goal should ensure that informatics outcomes are aligned with the various abilities of the nursing program. The field of nursing informatics is quite broad and couple with the lack of standardization of the various outcomes poses a problem to nursing educators who attempt to include the nursing informatics into the curriculum. There is therefore, the need to align the ability of the students with knowledge on nursing informatics and this is best done through the inclusion of education on nursing informatics competences into the learning curricula
TIGER-based measurement of nursing informatics Competencies: The development and implementation of an online tool for self-assessment
This article aim presents a description on developing an instrument that is valid and reliable in self-assessment of competencies in nursing informatics. It highlights that informatics are seen as an important aspect in the present healthcare delivery system that is technologically rich. Informatics to identify vital informatics skills started a short time after information technology was introduced into healthcare. There have been a lot of emphases on the need for nurses and nursing educators to teach or obtain competences that arise from using the technology and computer systems. The development of various competences for informatics has been advocated by both the public and private health organizations (Hunter, McGonigle & Hebda, 2013). Afterwards there have been establishment of nursing informatics competences by individual experts and professional organizations, which were deemed necessary at varying levels of nursing practice starting from the entry level to more advanced practice in this field. Such efforts includes Technology Informatics Guiding Educational Reform (TIGER) which was started as part of grassroots effort aimed at preparation of healthcare practitioners in the clinical field with capabilities of combining informatics and information technology in the improvement of healthcare delivery. Competency is depicted as an idea that can be applied in many situations and it basically means possessing the skills, knowledge and ability to carry out certain jobs or tasks (Hunter, McGonigle & Hebda, 2013).
The paper conducts various reviews which included examination on TIGER competencies, removal of duplicative terms and combination of those items having similar content; reviewing of items from the list of competences by experts and deciding of those items to be added or added; and rewording the resulting items to show various measurable behaviors and subjecting them another review by different experts to come up validity of content by use of a CVI (content validity index) methodology. The results of the reviews and the CVIs showed instrument’s moderate validity, and those items deemed irrelevant in relation to the instruments’ objective were removed and the number of items in such instruments was reduced. An online discussion was to done as a way of piloting the instrument and a weekend-long nursing informatics was done to for the same, with majority of the respondents being experts (Hunter, McGonigle & Hebda, 2013). The conclusion provided by the paper is that these competences by TIGER offer a basis that is useful for forming a viable online instrument for assessing ones competency level.
Preparing Students for an Electronic Workplace
The articles discusses a project that that highlighted the ways in which the integration of nursing informatics into a nursing curriculum of undergraduates in a certain Canadian University. To align informatics outcomes with various curricular abilities, an iterative approach involving two steps was used in the nursing program. Nursing informatics practice and science is represented as integrating nursing, related knowledge and information and their management with ICTs in order to enhance healthcare for all peoples (Stephens-Lee & Lu, 2013). The processes used in developing an integrated strategy for assisting educators as they combine and even level nursing informatics concepts in the curricula is described. The BN (Canadian Bachelor of Nursing) program adopted a change in their approach of the issue which saw them realign their curriculum with 5 learning outcomes based on abilities, and whose development involved iterative, collaborative and intentional process. These abilities comprised of knowledge and knowledge application, analysis skills, professional identity, communication and ethics and they are described as being beyond competences (Stephens-Lee & Lu, 2013).
The structure used in coming up with a strategy for integrating nursing competences includes DIKW (Data, Information, Knowledge and Wisdom) framework and information process related to nursing care were addressed by the framework. This involved the basic TIGER computer competences, information literacy, information management, nursing practice and especially how it is affected by NI and health, information access, using information and data and the coordination of information flow. A curriculum review suggested that part of nursing informatics was highlighted and examined the five outcomes were developed among the students in their undergraduate program. Further development of the nursing informatics concepts was seen as necessary in nursing minimum data sets and decision support so as to help students in acquiring skills needed for nursing practice (Stephens-Lee & Lu, 2013). The recommendation includes the need for more integration of nursing informatics into the undergraduate curriculum as provided under TIGER.
Preparing nursing graduates for future; adding informatics education into entry level programs
The article addresses the integration of education of nursing informatics into a learning program that is already shortened and accelerated. It calls to attention the passage of Affordable Health Care Act (ACA) that emphasized the need for using technology, especially electronic health records, in improving health care for all citizens. The article, therefore, addresses the education gap arising from ignoring the need for informatics education by coming up with nursing informatics education program that involves seamless transition to associate degree from practical nursing levels.
The vision for TIGER as highlighted in the latest report is addressed which includes allowing informatics principles , tools and theories to be applied by nurses in ensuring improved healthcare and transparently integrating technologies into nursing education and practice. Struggling to understand the idea of nursing informatics by students is depicted as a challenge in NI education, and integration of nursing informatics into the nursing curriculum is presented as being the way forward (Choi & De Martinis, 2013). Education on nursing informatics is presented as addressing this gap among the students and nursing practice with an overall effect of improving community health.
Nursing informatics competencies: assessment of undergraduate and
Graduate nursing students
This study reports students’ informatics competences in both graduate and undergraduate programs in nursing so as to determine any difference that may exist in relation to competences obtained ion both programmes. This is informed by the fact that both groups of students have varying educational backgrounds and practice experience and a difference is bound to be found between their preparations on nursing informatics. The study involved data collection from students using scale for informatics competences self-assessment through an email. Students in the two programs were found to be competent in three areas which include basic skills and knowledge in computer, attitude towards clinical informatics and skills on wireless device (Watts, 2016). Higher mean scores on competence were observed among graduate students than among undergraduate students.
The study’s conclusion is that according to these findings, there are certain topics to be considered by nurse educators when informatics curricula are being designed. These areas includes skills and knowledge in extraction of information from sets of clinical data , participation in systems designing , implementing and evaluating and looking for resources to assist in ethical computing decisions and using applications for educational material development(Watts, 2016). In addition, further studies are need for determining the various differences that may exist between the two groups of students.
This research shows the need to establish a learning program for nursing students that incorporate education on nursing informatics to equip them with skills, knowledge and competences for utilizing information technology in healthcare. The knowledge on nursing informatics will play a big role in impacting documentation of healthcare information which can later be used in expansion of nursing care quality. This will help in covering the gap that may exist as a result of ignoring education on nursing informatics and between the graduate and undergraduate nursing students. Electronic documentation of nursing information and patient record will benefit the patients in a big way since improved nursing knowledge and competence will lead to improved healthcare.
Change implementation
The implantation of these changes will involve the input of various players in nursing health education and the nursing practitioners. For the change to successful, there is a need to develop new undergraduate nursing informatics curricular that will include information on various skills and TIGER computer competences .The integration of this nursing informatics will require a strategy that addresses the need for using information communication technology in health care provision and thereby improving community health. The various individuals required for this change to be introduced include nursing educators, curriculum developers, students and experts in information communication technology.
References
Hunter, K. M., McGonigle, D. M., & Hebda, T. L. (2013). TIGER-based measurement of nursing informatics competencies: The development and implementation of an online tool for self-assessment. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 3(12), 70.
Stephens-Lee, C., & Lu, D. F. (2013). Preparing students for an electronic workplace. Online Journal of Nursing Informatics, 17(3).
Choi, J., & De Martinis, J. E. (2013). Nursing informatics competencies: assessment of undergraduate and graduate nursing students. Journal of clinical nursing, 22(13-14), 1970-1976.
Watts, C., (2016).Preparing Nursing Graduates for the Future: Adding Informatics Education To Entry Level Programs. Nursing Informatics Today
