Nursing information systems - applying usability testing to assess the training needs for nursing students

Area of Science:

• Nursing Informatics
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Educational Technology

Background:

• Successful implementation of nursing information systems (NIS) depends on adequate user training.
• Identifying specific training needs of nursing students is crucial for effective NIS adoption.
• Traditional training needs analysis methods like surveys may not fully capture user challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the training needs of nursing students by pinpointing their usage problems with a specific NIS.
• To assess the effectiveness of usability testing as a method for analyzing training requirements.
• To evaluate the usability of the Care Planning Assessment Tool (CPAT) for novice nursing students.

Main Methods:

• Usability testing was employed with eight novice undergraduate nursing students unfamiliar with the CPAT.
• Participants learned the software through task-based exploration.
• Screen capture and audio recording of participants' think-aloud process were used to document interactions and identify problems.

Main Results:

• Analysis of usability testing data revealed ten common usage problems encountered by novice users.
• Three distinct areas of knowledge gaps were identified among the nursing students.
• The study highlights specific challenges faced by students when learning to use the CPAT.

Conclusions:

• A conceptual model for nursing student training needs was developed, encompassing computer skills, NIS knowledge, and nursing documentation procedures.
• Addressing identified knowledge gaps is essential for optimizing NIS training effectiveness.
• Usability testing provides valuable insights into user challenges for targeted educational interventions.