Glob J Health Sci
Glob J Health Sci
Glob J Health Sci
PMCID: PMC4825491
PMID: 25363114
Abstract
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1. Introduction
1.2 Competencies
The competency of nursing informatics specialists was determined through studying three
categories including computer skills, informatics knowledge and informatics skills. It
investigates four levels of nursing practice: beginning nurse, experienced nurse, informatics
specialist, and informatics innovator.
The following competencies were rejected: diagnostic coding, desktop publishing, managing
central facilities to enable data sharing and writing an original computer program (Staggers
et al., 2002). Some components of accepted competencies are shown below in brief.
3. Results
The study mentions the followings as the key elements of nursing informatics
implementation:
It is reported that without proper training for nurses, efforts to integrate healthcare IT with
nursing practice will be hampered. It gives evidence that nurses are not getting adequate
training for IT usage (NACNEP annual report, 2009).
4. Conclusion
In today’s world the potential for information and communication technology application is
increasing so that it can enhance the quality of nursing domains outcome (McNelis et al.,
2012). Nurses have the most communication with patients, and interact with technology
more frequently. Using technology should create a positive attitude in nursing productivity. It
is essential for nurses to be involved in the initial design of systems to improve the quality of
health care and change their culture in this regard (Darvish & Salsali, 2010), (Jenkins et al.,
2007).
Mediating technically and technologically on the borderline between medicine and nursing,
nurses have become known as the medical Goddesses in the form of Tele-nurses. Nurses
have got more authority in decision-making with the use of new technologies (Gassert,
1998). For successful implementation of the electronic health reporting system, nurses must
be knowledgeable about information technology, computer skills and informatics knowledge
and skills. In telenursing, the importance of data quality criteria, transparency and integrity,
authenticity, confidentiality, the updating of information, accountability, productivity,
standards and accessibility of health web sites should be considered (Darvish, 2008). The
NACNEP recommended to prepare nurses to adopt intelligent and quality-based information
technology use in patient care by implementing five strategies: providing core informatics
courses to nursing schools, educating nurses specialized in informatics skills who are able to
solve related issues, offering more powerful nursing care through the implication of
telecommunication projects, preparing more nursing faculties in the informatics field to
facilitate students skills enhancement and enhancing collaboration to advance informatics.
The benefits of extending nursing informatics strategies directly and indirectly influence
patient and people health positively (Matarrese & Helwig, 2000). Courses affect nursing
students’ perceptions about informatics (Jetté et al., 2010); and they may learn at the BSc
level about patient-centered evidence-based care through the use of informatics tools, and get
informed about benefits such as promotion of safety, quality and effective clinical decisions
(Norton et al., 2006; Ainsley & Brown, 2009). The may even learn how remote care and
personal phone can improve nursing care in different areas such as psychiatric nursing
(Tseng et al., 2012; Goossen, 2007; Wittmann-Price, 2012). At the same time, nursing
workers are busy in the wards giving care. If they are not alert to new technologies, it will be
difficult to accept the new nurses’ ideas who are educated recently with a positive attitude to
the advantages of information technology. This group of nurses can be encouraged to be
integrated into the potential of E-learning as well as continuing education (Button, 2013),
based on the summit of technology informatics guide education reform (Schlak & Troseth,
2013). It seems necessary to prepare knowledgeable nurses to deal with selecting,
developing, implementing and evaluating IT to interpret data as usable knowledge and
information. In the nursing world, four domains should be empowered. Undergraduate and
diploma programs can be integrated with courses. Graduate programs can be designed.
Formal and informal continued educational programs for nurses on job and fellowships for
PhD graduated nurses can be useful. Trying to make different groups of nurses ready for the
ever-increasing speed of technology in the current century is possible, not only by parallel
opportunities of learning, but also with the help of evaluating tools such as Self-assessment
of nursing informatics competencies scale which can bring the same range of comprehention
about informatics implementation (Choi & Bakken, 2013). In conclusion, considering
nursing outcomes takes advantage of information technology; educational arrangement is
recommended to set short-term and long-term specialized courses focusing on the four target
groups. Informatics courses for nursing students continued educational programs for
registered nurses in work area, graduate programs at MSc and PhD levels for nurses and
fellowship programs for doctoral graduates are recommended to be considered (Figure 1).
Figure 1
The proposed educational model for empowering nurses on the subject of nursing informatics in four
groups
It is essential that nurse educators incorporate the entire concept of informatics into the
education of nurses.
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Acknowledgements
It is hereby acknowledged colleagues and all those who assisted in conducting the study or
critiquing the manuscript. The main enthusiasm of this study came out from the international
symposium of telemedicine was held by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
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References