How do future nursing educators perceive informatics? Advancing the nursing informatics agenda through dialogue

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Informatics is increasingly prevalent but often misunderstood by nursing professionals and faculty.
• A clear understanding of informatics is crucial for effective nursing practice and education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how Doctor of Philosophy nursing students, who are future nursing educators, perceive informatics and its core elements.
• To assess students' understanding of integrating informatics into undergraduate nursing curricula.

Main Methods:

• A small simulation study was conducted with nursing students in a PhD program.
• Students used an online collaboration tool to develop a plan for integrating informatics into a simulated undergraduate nursing program.

Main Results:

• Students identified few competencies aligned with major informatics initiatives (e.g., American Nurses Association, Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform).
• While recognizing the need for computer skills, students largely overlooked crucial information literacy aspects like health data privacy and security for entry-level nurses.

Conclusions:

• Findings indicate a gap in understanding core informatics competencies among future nursing educators.
• There is a clear need for a standardized definition of informatics and a consensus on essential informatics curriculum content for nursing education.