Cargando…

Baseline evaluation of nursing students’ informatics competency for digital health practice: A descriptive exploratory study

INTRODUCTION: The healthcare system is increasingly technology-dependent and proficiency in informatics skills is essential for health professionals to efficiently operate in the contemporary clinical environment. Nurses are major users of digital health technologies and graduates need to be well-pr...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Raghunathan, Kalpana, McKenna, Lisa, Peddle, Monica
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: SAGE Publications 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10236246/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37274371
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20552076231179051
_version_ 1785052875127259136
author Raghunathan, Kalpana
McKenna, Lisa
Peddle, Monica
author_facet Raghunathan, Kalpana
McKenna, Lisa
Peddle, Monica
author_sort Raghunathan, Kalpana
collection PubMed
description INTRODUCTION: The healthcare system is increasingly technology-dependent and proficiency in informatics skills is essential for health professionals to efficiently operate in the contemporary clinical environment. Nurses are major users of digital health technologies and graduates need to be well-prepared and confident to use the different available clinical systems competently as they transition from education to practice. AIM: To explore undergraduate nursing students’ self-perceptions of informatics competence, set within a larger research project. METHOD: Descriptive, exploratory cross-sectional research design, with online self-assessment survey of undergraduate nursing students (n  =  142). Data were analysed with descriptive, correlation and comparative statistics. RESULTS: Participants’ perceived overall mean informatics competency was at the level of somewhat competent, with only 40.84% (n  =  58) at the level of competent. The highest mean value was in foundational information and communication skills and the lowest in information and knowledge management. Formal informatics education within curriculum was limited and lacked uniformity, as was prior exposure to important simulated informatics tools in preparation for practice. Factors including academic year level, computer experience and previous experience using clinical systems had a significant impact on participants’ perceived informatics competency. CONCLUSION: Even though informatics competence is vital for clinical practice, with technology becoming pervasive within healthcare, nursing students’ preparedness for digital health was sub-optimal. There were gaps in students’ critical informatics practice knowledge with implications for work readiness of future graduates and nurse education practice.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-10236246
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2023
publisher SAGE Publications
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-102362462023-06-03 Baseline evaluation of nursing students’ informatics competency for digital health practice: A descriptive exploratory study Raghunathan, Kalpana McKenna, Lisa Peddle, Monica Digit Health Original Research INTRODUCTION: The healthcare system is increasingly technology-dependent and proficiency in informatics skills is essential for health professionals to efficiently operate in the contemporary clinical environment. Nurses are major users of digital health technologies and graduates need to be well-prepared and confident to use the different available clinical systems competently as they transition from education to practice. AIM: To explore undergraduate nursing students’ self-perceptions of informatics competence, set within a larger research project. METHOD: Descriptive, exploratory cross-sectional research design, with online self-assessment survey of undergraduate nursing students (n  =  142). Data were analysed with descriptive, correlation and comparative statistics. RESULTS: Participants’ perceived overall mean informatics competency was at the level of somewhat competent, with only 40.84% (n  =  58) at the level of competent. The highest mean value was in foundational information and communication skills and the lowest in information and knowledge management. Formal informatics education within curriculum was limited and lacked uniformity, as was prior exposure to important simulated informatics tools in preparation for practice. Factors including academic year level, computer experience and previous experience using clinical systems had a significant impact on participants’ perceived informatics competency. CONCLUSION: Even though informatics competence is vital for clinical practice, with technology becoming pervasive within healthcare, nursing students’ preparedness for digital health was sub-optimal. There were gaps in students’ critical informatics practice knowledge with implications for work readiness of future graduates and nurse education practice. SAGE Publications 2023-05-30 /pmc/articles/PMC10236246/ /pubmed/37274371 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20552076231179051 Text en © The Author(s) 2023 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
spellingShingle Original Research
Raghunathan, Kalpana
McKenna, Lisa
Peddle, Monica
Baseline evaluation of nursing students’ informatics competency for digital health practice: A descriptive exploratory study
title Baseline evaluation of nursing students’ informatics competency for digital health practice: A descriptive exploratory study
title_full Baseline evaluation of nursing students’ informatics competency for digital health practice: A descriptive exploratory study
title_fullStr Baseline evaluation of nursing students’ informatics competency for digital health practice: A descriptive exploratory study
title_full_unstemmed Baseline evaluation of nursing students’ informatics competency for digital health practice: A descriptive exploratory study
title_short Baseline evaluation of nursing students’ informatics competency for digital health practice: A descriptive exploratory study
title_sort baseline evaluation of nursing students’ informatics competency for digital health practice: a descriptive exploratory study
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10236246/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37274371
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20552076231179051
work_keys_str_mv AT raghunathankalpana baselineevaluationofnursingstudentsinformaticscompetencyfordigitalhealthpracticeadescriptiveexploratorystudy
AT mckennalisa baselineevaluationofnursingstudentsinformaticscompetencyfordigitalhealthpracticeadescriptiveexploratorystudy
AT peddlemonica baselineevaluationofnursingstudentsinformaticscompetencyfordigitalhealthpracticeadescriptiveexploratorystudy