A national education strategy to develop nursing informatics competencies.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Health Informatics
• Information Technology

Background:

• Information and communication technologies (ICT) offer nursing enhanced information management, documentation, and evidence-based practice support.
• A receptive nursing culture is essential for adopting technological advancements in practice.
• The evolution of Nursing Informatics (NI) suggests a move from specialist roles to integration across all nursing domains.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline the necessity for a national strategy in Nursing Informatics (NI) education.
• To identify foundational steps for developing a national NI plan, including defining NI and its competencies.
• To address the integration of NI into all nursing practice domains.

Main Methods:

• Summarizes key points from an initial discussion paper on Nursing Informatics.
• Highlights the need for a national-level approach to NI education and integration.
• References the ongoing work of a national committee on the National Nursing Informatics Project.

Main Results:

• Technological advancements present significant opportunities for nursing practice improvement.
• A cultural shift towards technology adoption is crucial for realizing these opportunities.
• A national-level educational strategy is required to manage the integration of NI.

Conclusions:

• Defining NI and its competencies are prerequisite steps for developing a national education plan.
• Adapting the educational infrastructure is necessary to support the widespread integration of NI.
• A collaborative, national effort is underway to address the challenges and opportunities in Nursing Informatics.