Nursing Informatics Competency Assessment for the Nurse Leader: The Delphi Study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Informatics
• Healthcare Leadership
• Health Information Technology

Background:

• Nurse leaders require informatics competencies to engage in health information technology (HIT) decision-making.
• A gap exists in validated informatics competencies tailored for nurse leaders' roles.
• Advancing HIT necessitates specialized knowledge for effective healthcare leadership.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify essential nursing informatics competencies for nurse leaders.
• To establish a foundation for a competency-based model in nursing informatics.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an environmental scan to gather initial data.
• Employed a 3-round Delphi survey with nurse leaders for competency validation.
• Focused on identifying relevant informatics competencies for leadership roles.

Main Results:

• 74 out of 108 initial competencies were identified as relevant.
• Most nurse leaders reported acquiring health information technology knowledge through on-the-job training.
• Participant response rates ranged from 26 to 41 across Delphi rounds.

Conclusions:

• The findings support a shift from informal on-the-job training to a formal competency-based model for nursing informatics.
• This research provides a validated set of competencies to enhance nurse leader preparedness in HIT.
• Advancing nursing practice requires structured informatics education aligned with leadership responsibilities.