PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF BACCALAUREATE NURSING PROGRAM LEADERS RELATED TO NURSING INFORMATICS

Abstract

Nursing program leadership for integrating nursing informatics (NI) into curricula is essential. NI is a specialty that combines nursing science, computer science, and information science to manage health information and improve patient health outcomes (American Nurses Association, 2008). Approximately 98,000 patient deaths per year occur due to medical errors (Institute of Medicine, 1998). Management of patient health information using technology was identified as essential to minimizing errors and promoting patient safety, transforming the healthcare delivery system (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, 2015b). NI skills are necessary for all practicing nurses. Graduating nursing students, however, may not enter practice with sufficient NI skills to meet the demands of a technology-rich and information-saturated healthcare field (Choi & De Martinis, 2013). Nursing faculty have even been reported to be a barrier to students acquiring necessary NI skills (Curran, 2008). This study assists in identifying the current state of NI in baccalaureate nursing education in one Midwestern state. Limited information addressing NI programming supports the need for further research. The purpose of this research was to examine baccalaureate nursing program leaders’ perceptions and experiences related to NI in the nursing education setting. This qualitative descriptive study was conducted using focus groups with semi-structured interviews and written surveys. The sample included nine baccalaureate nursing program leaders in the state of Kansas, representing 53% of Kansas baccalaureate nursing programs. Research questions explored nursing program leaders’ understanding and description of NI, its impact on curriculum, and associated challenges and success strategies with curricular integration. Results of this study included two major categories addressing the research questions: challenges with curricular integration and success strategies for integrating NI into the curriculum. Participants identified challenges such as agreeing on a definition of NI, gaining resources, developing faculty, and encountering legal and ethical issues. Success strategies identified included determining NI needs for the curriculum and leadership roles and responsibilities. The written survey responses supported the two identified focus group categories. Findings show that NI is an important part of the curriculum. Implications for nursing program leaders include guiding faculty in re-evaluating the curriculum according to current standards, accessing resources, and addressing confidentiality and social media issues. Further research is needed including gaining perspectives of nursing faculty and students.