Nursing students' preparedness for the digitalised clinical environment in Australia: An integrative review

AIM

The aim of this integtrative review is to examine the literature on nursing students preparedness for the digitalised clinical setting.

BACKGROUND

Digital literacy skills ensure nursing students can provide quality and safe care to patients in a digitalised clinical setting.

DESIGN

Integrative review of the literature.

METHODS

The integrative review of the literature incorporated Whittemore and Knafl's (2005) framework and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2021 statement. A review of the literature comprised of a search of the following databases: ERIC, Scopus, CINAHL, Medline, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar from 2010-2022. Data were critically appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP), the Mixed Method Tool (MMAT) and Joanna Biggs Institute (JBI).

RESULTS

The literature reported on nine studies from 2010 to 2022. The four themes identified using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis were curriculum design, education and training, digital literacy level and professional digital literacy competency standard framework. Major findings include the need for the development and integration of a professional digital literacy competency standard framework embedded into nursing curricula to equip nursing students with appropriate digital literacy skills to navigate digitalised healthcare settings.

CONCLUSION

Current registered nurses and preregistration nurses are required to be upskilled with the understanding and knowledge of health informatics and its role in the clinical setting. This will enable future registered nurses to keep up with the rapidly evolving technological clinical environment.

Developing nursing students' informatics competencies - A Canadian faculty perspective

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to explore nursing faculty experiences in integrating digital tools to support undergraduate students' learning and development of nursing informatics competencies.

METHODS

This focused ethnography study used a combination of semi-structured interviews, document reviews, and field visits. Convenience and snowball sampling were applied to recruit participants. Data were analyzed concurrently with data collection, using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Twenty-one faculty members from nine undergraduate nursing programs in Western Canada participated. Themes discussed include: 1) meaning of the term nursing informatics, 2) faculty perceived nursing informatics competence, 3) developing students' nursing informatics competencies, 4) facilitators, and 5) challenges.

CONCLUSIONS

Nursing faculty are relatively engaged in developing students' informatics competencies. However, challenges must be addressed and faculty need more support to improve their own informatics capacity. Implications for Practice and Research: This study has implications for faculty, nursing program administrators, and nursing organizations.

Approaches for defining and assessing nursing informatics competencies: a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this scoping review was to examine and map the literature on defining and assessing nursing informatics competencies for nurses and nursing students.

INTRODUCTION

Over the past three decades, nursing informatics competency research has evolved markedly within countries and nursing roles. It is important to examine the available literature on defining and assessing nursing informatics competencies to inform education, clinical practice, policy, and future research.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

We considered literature that defined or assessed the concept of nursing informatics competency as a combination of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. This included nursing informatics competencies of nurses and nursing students in a variety of health care or academic settings.

METHODS

An extensive search was conducted in Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus with Full Text via EBSCO, Ovid Embase, Ovid PsycINFO, ProQuest ERIC, Health and Psychosocial Instruments, ProQuest Australian Education Index, ProQuest Education Databases, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, OCLC PapersFirst, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, Wiley Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports. The initial search was conducted in May 2017 and updated several times. Nursing informatics websites were searched for gray literature, including unpublished research and organizational documents. Additional papers were identified based on a search of reference lists of all the included papers. Neither language nor date restrictions were applied. Two reviewers assessed each of the included papers independently. Data extraction was undertaken using an extraction tool developed specifically for the scoping review objectives.

RESULTS

Fifty-two papers were included. Thirty-four papers identified nursing informatics competencies, grouped into four categories: i) nursing informatics competencies for students, entry-level nurses, or generalist nurses; ii) nursing informatics competencies for a specific nursing role; iii) recommendations for consensus on defining core nursing informatics competencies at the international level; and iv) forecasting future nursing informatics competencies as per evolving nursing roles. Eighteen papers reported on nursing informatics competency assessment tools. Results were discussed in a narrative format supported by tables.

CONCLUSIONS

This review provided insights to the state of the science on defining and assessing nursing informatics competencies for nurses and nursing students. Several nursing informatics competency lists are available, and despite some variations in domains of nursing informatics competency and indicator statements, they mostly share common themes. This literature demonstrates a heightened awareness of the importance of nursing informatics competency; however, the availability of many lists may be challenging for frontline nursing staff, nursing educators, administrators, researchers, and students to assimilate. Further research is needed to reach a consensus on core domains of nursing informatics competency and associated indicators, preferably per nursing roles, with international involvement and consensus. Additionally, while many nursing informatics competency assessment tools exist, further research is needed to examine psychometric properties of some of these tools.

Factors Associated With Canadian Nurses' Informatics Competency

As digital innovations continue to transform health systems in Canada, it is important to examine registered nurses' preparedness in informatics, and factors associated with informatics competency. An exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional survey was used to determine self-perceived informatics competencies, and factors associated with competency, among practicing nurses in Alberta. Results from 2844 completed surveys showed that nurses' self-perceived informatics competency was slightly above the mark of competent. Perceptions of competency were highest on foundational computer literacy skills and lowest on information and knowledge management competencies. However, overall informatics competency mean scores varied significantly in relation to age, educational qualification, years of experience, and work setting. The quality of informatics training and support offered by employers contributed the most to variance in mean scores of total and subdomains of informatics competency. Other factors, such as age, educational qualification, work setting, previous informatics education, access to the Internet, use of health technology, access to supporting resources, informatics training, an informatics role, and continuing education in informatics, also contributed to mean scores variance in differing degrees. Findings from this study provide a basis for actionable policies to address informatics educational needs and support requirements among nurses practicing now and in the future.