The Marriage of Nursing and Technology: It’s Impact on Advanced Practice Nursing

The Marriage of Nursing and Technology: It’s Impact on Advanced Practice Nursing
Name
Nurs 502
Abstract
Technology has changed the way in which nursesnurse’s practice and how educators teach. Nurses must acquire the skills to access information, synthesize it and collaborate with others using computer technology. Educators are expected to assess and redesign nursing curricula to meet these needs and utilize computer technology to incorporate nursing informatics and evidence- based practice as the basis for delivering health care.
: informatics, computer technology, educators
Technology and Education
The evolution of nursing practice and how we learn has changed. Knowledge and memorization of information is no longer sufficient. It is imperative now that we have the skills and ability to know how to access information, make sense of it, and then share it with others (Yoder & Terhorst, 2012). Nursing education no longer relies on textbooks to provide the bulk of information needed for one to advance in their nursing practice. Computer technology and its ability to give immediate access to information are now at the forefront of nursing education. The expanded use of technology, specifically electronic health records, has increased the nurses'nurses’ ability to quickly and efficiently share information (White, 2012). Nursing education has to keep up with these technological changes by fully integrating the use of the Internet and informatics into its curriculum. According to White (2012), today'stoday’s nurses now have to be highly educated and better prepared with new and innovative skill sets in their practice. Years of experience without the proper credentials to support one'sones knowledge, will no longer allow nurses to simply advance in their career path. Demonstrated competence in computer literacy is now a required part of the nursing curricula and must be incorporated as such.
Assessing the Need for New Knowledge
Standardized tools for evaluating nurse informatics competencies have been developed in the past. One such tool, the SANICS (Self Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies), initially did not assess nursing students with diverse educational and demographic backgrounds in its sample and, because it was developed in 2006, did not demonstrate current informatics practice (Choi & Bakken, 2013). Two new initiatives clearly define the informatics competencies required for nurses. They are TIGER (Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform) initiative, which visualizes nursing informatics as a core competency for all nurses and QSEN (Quality and Safety Education for Nurses), which helps nursing faculty improve nurses nurses' education by emphasizing evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and informatics to improve the quality and safety of health care systems (Rutherford & Jennrich, 2013).
Educating the Educators
Today'sToday’s nurse educators at the graduate level must create opportunities for students tothat incorporate technology as well as content into the curriculum (Marraco et al.,, Kazer & Neal-Boylan, 2014). The online learni...