Professional Experience Placement

This article by Norman and Skinner (2006) explored how health professionals could address ehealth literacy issues in clinical or public practice. Ten years on, this paper is still relevant. The authors indicated there is a gap between electronic health resources available and consumers skills in using them. The eHealth lily model is used to describe the influences that underpin the complexity of this topic. The authors propose this model can be used to develop evaluation tools and design systems  to ensure there is a fit between ehealth technologies and the skills of Internet users.

I have previously blogged about the role and function of clinical supervisors and their need for being ehealth literate so they can guide both students and consumers of healthcare.  It is essential that nurse supervisors are able to model appropriate and safe behaviour and are cognisant of sound information seeking and credible health promotion and education information on the Internet. As undergraduate nursing degrees move into the post 2012  ANMAC accreditation that requires all nursing students to become informatics literate, there is a real need for registered nurses to support and model digital professionalism with students. There is also an unprecedented opportunity for students to learn about their patients and promote health literacy and ehealth literacy as part of rapport development and mutuality that can develop while undertaking work integrated learning or professional experience.

If you have any comments about the role of nurse supervisors, facilitator or preceptors in promoting ehealth literacy you are welcome to post them here.  Please join us @PEPCommunity.