Getting eHealth into basic nursing education: report of the RCN information in nursing project

This paper reports the results of a project undertaken in 2008 by the Royal College of Nursing's Information in Nursing Forum. The project, undertaken by the RCN IN Forum in association with the RCN Education Forum and the RCN Association of Nursing Students, was in two parts. The first part consisted of an on-line survey of nursing students to discover their "readiness" for working in an electronic environment. The second part consisted of a workshop for invited stakeholders - organisations responsible for commissioning and providing basic nursing education, regulators, nurse teachers, and nursing students themselves - the objective of which was to consider the results of the survey and other information, in order to develop a consensus on how best to incorporate eHealth issues into basic nursing education. The survey was undertaken during April 2008 via the RCN website. Students were asked how well they felt their nursing education had prepared them for competencies set out in a previously published model curriculum. 1,120 students responded. 565 students who had used electronic patient records during their most recent clinical placement were asked about their experience. Students rated their basic computer skills much higher than their understanding of eHealth. While they felt competent to document assessments and care plans using paper records, few felt competent to do so using electronic records. Few know anything about telehealth (remote diagnosis and delivery of healthcare) or telecare (assistive technology in people's homes). Among those who had used computers in their most recent clinical placement there were clear breaches of the protocols designed to ensure security and confidentiality. Twenty seven invited participants attended the workshop held in October 2008, plus 12 members of the participating Forums and relevant RCN staff. Following presentation and discussion of the findings of the survey, participants worked in three groups to identify and discuss issues arising from the survey, and to identify barriers using a Force Field Analysis. All participants agreed eHealth should be an integral part of nursing education and not an "add-on", and that the responsibility for "Getting eHealth into basic nursing education" had to be shared by university based educators, placement supervisors, and regulators.