Professional Experience Placement

Borycki, Foster, Sahama, Frisch and Kushniruk (2013) discuss the need for nursing students to attain competency in health information systems at graduation. The need for competencies arises from the use of information communication technology (ICT) from patient electronic health records, medical records and medication charts. Furthermore digital processes have been introduced into healthcare settings including acute, aged, community and mental health environments.

The authors indicate that few nursing courses overtly describe the ICT competency level expected by their graduates, nor have they developed clear strategies for integrating competencies into their curricula. Additionally, there has been a lack of investment in developing tools representative of real-world settings that would assist with students developing the underlying theories and principles requisite for being competent at graduation. The authors indicate that student nurses are graduating without sufficient knowledge of nursing informatics to be able to work effectively and efficiently. This paper focuses on the methods used in Australia and Canada to remediate this deficit and develop competencies. The authors also describe the the strengths and limitations of the process.

This paper highlights implications for clinical supervisors that I have mentioned in previous blogs. It is important that clinical supervisors have the knowledge and skills to support and guide their students. This is an imperative for all aspects of care. Competent use of ICT is part of that process. Clinical supervisors need to be able to demonstrate competence with the retrieval, manipulation and recording of patient/client data. They need to be able to research and critique evidence based clinical information. Moreover they need to be able to support patients or clients in locating or accessing salient health education information. These leaders in health care are advocates for improving health literacy of their patient or clients regarding their care. Clinical supervisors are educators of much more than students in nursing. They are role models for empowering people to participate in their own care.

The burgeoning use of ICT platforms also adds another dimension to healthcare that clinical supervisors cannot ignore. Students now have access to mhealth technologies such as laptops, tablets and smart phones. These ICT devices add another dimension by increasing the ability to retrieve or verify information quickly. Clinical supervisors need to guide their students in appropriate and timely use of the access these devices enable.  They also need to be aware of the policies and guidelines of the healthcare setting regarding their use by students, staff, patients and visitors.

The future development of informatics that can be embedded into the undergraduate nursing curriculum will be a useful advancement in ensuring that nurses are ‘fit for practice’ in health information systems at graduation.

This University has developed social media guidelines and the School of Nursing and Midwifery began hosting a  community of practice for clinical supervisors using Twitter almost a year ago. Joining this CoP is his is a way of engaging with emerging technologies, meeting your peers and having the opportunity to be involved with discussions about relevant issues to clinical supervisors, facilitators or preceptors.

If you have any comments or suggestions about clinical supervision of students in relation to ICT you can post them here.