Nursing Informatics Competencies in an Undergraduate Nursing Program

With the changes in healthcare and the increasing use of technology, efforts must start with nursing education programs to ensure that nursing graduates are ready for professional practice. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to identify how nursing informatics competencies were specifically being operationalized in undergraduate college of nursing courses and curriculum as well as perceived barriers to the implementation of those competencies. This mixed method descriptive design study focused on one baccalaureate nursing program in southern Georgia during the academic year of 2010-2011. The sample consisted of 16 nurse faculty members who taught courses at the participating Bachelors of Science in Nursing program. The findings of the study suggested that nursing informatics competencies most frequently reported as being included in the curriculum were email, Internet, electronic medical records, literature searches, ethical use of information systems, and clinical documentation systems. Infrastructure and equipment were reported as the leading barriers to implementation of nursing informatics competencies into courses and curriculum.