How curriculum delivery translates into entrepreneurial skills: The mediating role of knowledge of information and communication technology

This research examines how curriculum delivery predicts entrepreneurial skills, with knowledge of information and communication technology (ICT) as a mediator. Curriculum delivery with the multiple dimensions of objectives, contents, teaching strategies, and feedback and assessment was used in this study, and a quantitative research design was adopted. A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 482 students at six universities in Lahore, Pakistan, and the partial-least-squares structural equation model in SmartPLS 3.2 was used for data analysis. The results show that all dimensions of curriculum delivery (i) do not influence entrepreneurial skills and (ii) positively influence the knowledge of ICT. Also, in the indirect relationships, all dimensions of curriculum delivery (i.e., objectives, contents, teaching strategies, and feedback and assessment) are associated positively with ICT knowledge. Therefore, ICT knowledge plays a mediating role between curriculum delivery and entrepreneurial skills. The results also show that curriculum delivery for educational entrepreneurs is not working effectively and efficiently in Pakistani universities, and it is concluded that curriculum delivery and ICT knowledge boost entrepreneurial skills. Finally, the conclusions, limitations, and practical implications of this study are presented in detail.

Time for TIGER to ROAR! Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform

Information Technology (IT) continues to evolve and develop with electronic devices and systems becoming integral to healthcare in every country. This has led to an urgent need for all professions working in healthcare to be knowledgeable and skilled in informatics. The Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (TIGER) Initiative was established in 2006 in the United States to develop key areas of informatics in nursing. One of these was to integrate informatics competencies into nursing curricula and life-long learning. In 2009, TIGER developed an informatics competency framework which outlines numerous IT competencies required for professional practice and this work helped increase the emphasis of informatics in nursing education standards in the United States. In 2012, TIGER expanded to the international community to help synthesise informatics competencies for nurses and pool educational resources in health IT. This transition led to a new interprofessional, interdisciplinary approach, as health informatics education needs to expand to other clinical fields and beyond. In tandem, a European Union (EU) - United States (US) Collaboration on eHealth began a strand of work which focuses on developing the IT skills of the health workforce to ensure technology can be adopted and applied in healthcare. One initiative within this is the EU*US eHealth Work Project, which started in 2016 and is mapping the current structure and gaps in health IT skills and training needs globally. It aims to increase educational opportunities by developing a model for open and scalable access to eHealth training programmes. With this renewed initiative to incorporate informatics into the education and training of nurses and other health professionals globally, it is time for educators, researchers, practitioners and policy makers to join in and ROAR with TIGER.

Student Competency Perceptions From Associate Degree to Bachelor Degree Completion

BACKGROUND

A curriculum evaluation gap was addressed by exploring the final year of the Oregon Consortium of Nursing Education (OCNE) curriculum through student perception of competency and benchmark proficiency.

METHOD

Researchers used a mixed-methods design to explore RN to baccalaureate (RNBS) student self-assessment data on perceived benchmark proficiency. Students' written statements were coded into four attainment categories, ranging from not attained to strong.

RESULTS

Researchers categorized strong attainment in the competencies of intentional learning, relationship-centered care, and clinical judgment, with moderate attainment in ethics, communication, health care team collaboration, and reflection on self-care. Competencies related to leadership, practicing within a broader health care system, and application of evidence in practice had limited attainment.

CONCLUSION

The results support using attainment categories in the measurement of student self-reported competency. The findings could be used to support course and curriculum evaluation, student advising, and coaching, as well as to improve professional development opportunities for students moving through the curriculum. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(10):581-590.].

The need for academic electronic health record systems in nurse education

The nursing profession has been slow to incorporate information technology into formal nurse education and practice. The aim of this study was to identify the use of academic electronic health record systems in nurse education and to determine student and faculty perceptions of academic electronic health record systems in nurse education. A quantitative research design with supportive qualitative research was used to gather information on nursing students' perceptions and nursing faculty's perceptions of academic electronic health record systems in nurse education. Eighty-three participants (21 nursing faculty and 62 students), from 5 nursing schools, participated in the study. A purposive sample of 9 nursing faculty was recruited from one university in the Midwestern United States to provide qualitative data for the study. The researcher-designed surveys (completed by faculty and students) were used for quantitative data collection. Qualitative data was taken from interviews, which were transcribed verbatim for analysis. Students and faculty agreed that academic electronic health record systems could be useful for teaching students to think critically about nursing documentation. Quantitative and qualitative findings revealed that academic electronic health record systems regarding nursing documentation could help prepare students for the future of health information technology. Meaningful adoption of academic electronic health record systems will help in building the undergraduate nursing students' competence in nursing documentation with electronic health record systems.

Validation of the Mobile Information Software Evaluation Tool (MISET) With Nursing Students

BACKGROUND

This study evaluated the Mobile Information Software Evaluation Tool (MISET) with a sample of Canadian undergraduate nursing students (N = 240).

METHOD

Psychometric analyses determined how well the MISET assessed the extent that nursing students find mobile device-based information resources useful and supportive of learning in the clinical and classroom settings.

RESULTS

The MISET has a valid three-factor structure with high explained variance (74.7%). Internal consistency reliabilities were high for the MISET total (.90) and three subscales: Usefulness/Helpfulness, Information Literacy Support, and Use of Evidence-Based Sources (.87 to .94). Construct validity evidence included significantly higher mean total MISET, Helpfulness/Usefulness, and Information Literacy Support scores for senior students and those with higher computer competence.

CONCLUSION

The MISET is a promising tool to evaluate mobile information technologies and information literacy support; however, longitudinal assessment of changes in scores over time would determine scale sensitivity and responsiveness. [J Nurs Educ. 2016;55(7):385-390.].

Preparing Today's Nursing Students for Tomorrow's Career

Federal directives, nursing and nursing education associations, as well as accrediting bodies emphasize the importance of integrating health information technology and EHRs into nursing practice. Additionally, informatics is a required competency of baccalaureate nursing graduates. Nursing education's efforts to enhance students' learning in the area of electronic documentation is at its peak. The goal of enabling nurses to make healthcare safer, more effective, efficient, patient-centered, timely and equitable can only be achieved if a variety of technologies are clearly integrated into nursing education. Therefore, some schools have developed educational innovations to incorporate academic EHRs. As the mental health setting is unique, extraordinary attention has to be provided during the education of electronic documentation. Nursing education efforts must focus on interventions that provide resources that enhance the participant's knowledge and skills related to electronic documentation in a variety of clinical settings. Additionally, implementing academic EHRs in clinical settings offers nursing educators an opportunity to note the benefits. The state of nursing education depends on the accessibility to utilize academic EHRs in the nursing curriculum within the clinical setting to effectively prepare students for real-word practice.

Using principal components analysis to explore competence and confidence in student nurses as users of information and communication technologies

Aim

To report on the relationship between competence and confidence in nursing students as users of information and communication technologies, using principal components analysis.

Design

In nurse education, learning about and learning using information and communication technologies is well established. Nursing students are one of the undergraduate populations in higher education required to use these resources for academic work and practice learning. Previous studies showing mixed experiences influenced the choice of an exploratory study to find out about information and communication technologies competence and confidence. A 48‐item survey questionnaire was administered to a volunteer sample of first‐ and second‐year nursing students between July 2008–April 2009. The cohort (N = 375) represented 18·75% of first‐ and second‐year undergraduates. A comparison between this work and subsequent studies reveal some similar ongoing issues and ways to address them.

Methods

A principal components analysis (PCA) was carried out to determine the strength of the correlation between information and communication technologies competence and confidence. The aim was to show the presence of any underlying dimensions in the transformed data that would explain any variations in information and communication technologies competence and confidence. Cronbach's alpha values showed fair to good internal consistency.

Results

The five component structure gave medium to high results and explained 44·7% of the variance in the original data. Confidence had a high representation. The findings emphasized the shift towards social learning approaches for information and communication technologies. Informal social collaboration found favour with nursing students. Learning through talking, watching and listening all play a crucial role in the development of computing skills.

Congruency between educators' teaching beliefs and an electronic health record teaching strategy

BACKGROUND

Technology has changed healthcare institutions into automated settings with the potential to greatly enhance the quality of healthcare. Implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) to replace paper charting is one example of the influence of technology on healthcare worldwide. In the past decade nursing higher education has attempted to keep pace with technological changes by integrating EHRs into learning experiences. Little is known about educators' teaching beliefs and the use of EHRs as a teaching strategy.

AIM

This study explores the composition of core teaching beliefs of nurse educators and their related teaching practices within the context of teaching with EHRs in the classroom.

METHODS

A collective case study and qualitative research approach was used to explore and describe teaching beliefs of seven nurse educators teaching with EHRs. Data collection included open-ended, audio-taped interviews and non-participant observation. Content analysis of transcribed interviews and observational field notes focused on identification of teaching belief themes and associated practices.

FINDINGS

Two contrasting collective case studies of teaching beliefs emerged. Constructivist beliefs were dominant, focused on experiential, student-centered, contextual and collaborative learning, and associated with expanded and a futuristic view of EHRs use. Objectivist beliefs focused on educators' control of the context of learning and were associated with a constrained, limited view of EHRs. Constructivist educators embrace technological change, an essential ingredient of educational reform.

CONCLUSIONS

We encourage nurse educators to adopt a constructivist view to using technology in teaching in order to prepare nurses for a rapidly changing, technologically sophisticated practice.

Integrating informatics into the BSN curriculum: a review of the literature

Even though health informatics (HI) education is an essential component of the undergraduate nursing curriculum, it remains controversial with no clear consensus on which knowledge and skills should be integrated in a baccalaureate nursing program. The purpose of this review article is to integrate literature on HI education in the nursing curriculum by examining previous and current literature on this topic, synthesizing the findings, and recommending guidelines and future directions for nurse educators. The computerized databases of CINAHL, MEDLINE, ERIC, Academic Search Premier, and Google Scholar were used to generate relevant literature. Nineteen studies published between 2000 and 2010 on HI education were included in this review, and from the critical and synthesis of those reports emerged four overarching themes: (a) lack of consensus on HI education; (b) impact on patient care outcomes; (c) faculty development through organizational collaboration; and (d) global disparities in HI education. Implications for nursing education and patient outcomes in clinical practice are also discussed. Further studies are warranted to promote the understanding and awareness of HI education in undergraduate nursing curriculum.