Informatics and its Relation to Nursing Education

Past, present and future of Informatics and its relation to Nursing Education
Not so long ago, nurses used to be trained apprenticeship model. Senior doctors and nurses used to provide on-job training to those who showed interest in the field of nursing. However, it was soon made into a more professional program and students started being taught theoretical concepts in school before proceeding to hospitals and other health facilities for internship. From the late 1970s, things became even better. The focus of nursing education moved to student learning. Nursing schools from around the world started adopting curriculums and programs that improved students understanding of nursing itself and its role in the delivery of health care. There was also a shift of focus to improving critical thinking skills of nurse students and their decision-making capabilities. Generally, the early 1980s ushered in a shift from teaching nursing students how to do to teaching them the knowledge behind the doing. Furthermore, the new era of student-focused nursing education also ushered in elements of social responsibility, reflection and the centrality of caring in the profession (Honey & Procter, 2017).
There is recognition that nursing education provides students not only with the clinical knowledge but also with lifelong communication skills, critical thinking skills, and information literacy skills. There is now more stress on how students learn compared to the past when the emphasis on teaching a finite body of knowledge (Honey & Procter, 2017). This change has been attributed to the fact that there is actually no finite body of knowledge. Of late, new studies and discoveries are revealing new and better clinical skills. By focusing on how students can continually learn more, advanced nursing programs are equipping students to be nurses of the future. Technology is already playing an important role in nursing practice especially in the delivery of healthcare. Thus, many nursing programs have already integrated technology into their curriculums. And with the rapid changes in technology, there is a need for more and more programs to continually review and update their curriculum so as to improve learning outcomes and prepare nursing students for the future (Williamson & Muckle, 2018). Appropriate use of information systems and other technologies can enable nurses to make better and more informed clinical or management decisions. Technology can also improve patient care. Thus, it is crucial for educators to integrate healthcare information/ knowledge systems into both basic and advanced nursing programs (Hannah, Ball & Edwards, 2006).
The average nursing program takes about three years to complete. This is not enough time to comprehensively teach and train every student every theory and every new technology there is out there that can help them in their career. Thus, there is emphasis on how nurses can continually acquire knowledge when on the job. Furthermore, nursing is characterized with a constant change in the body of knowledge, thus there is no option than to sharpen learning skills and other skillsets that are important for the long run (Honey & Procter, 2017). Knowledge in informatics is important for nursing students. The benefits of informatics knowledge are many. They include better clinical knowledge, better decision-making, better case management, more effective and efficient care, and improved capturing and storage of patient medical history data. A growing number of advanced informatics courses for nursing students are being developed to meet the demand on the market. Educators must continue in this push for students to embrace the new realities and skillsets and capabilities availed by the integration of information technology into many aspects of nursing (Hannah, Ball & Edwards, 2006).


References
Honey, M., & Procter, P. (2017). The shifting sands of nursing informatics education: from content to connectivity. Forecasting Informatics Competencies for Nurses in the Future of Connected Health, 31.
Williamson, K. M., & Muckle, J. (2018). Students’ Perception of Technology Use in Nursing Education. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 36(2), 70-76.
Hannah, K. J., Ball, M. J., & Edwards, M. J. (2006). Nursing Informatics Education: Past, Present, and Future. In Introduction to nursing informatics (pp. 280-291). Springer, New York, NY.