Empowering the Next Generation of Nursing Students

Empowering the Next Generation of Nursing Students

& the Impact of Nursing Informatics

November, 12, 2015

Nursing

ABSTRACT

Objective: To identify the Prince Albert prospective nursing students and examine their perception of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. From there, we aim to empower future nurses through education and informatics in an effort to promote acceptance, evidence based practice and leadership.

Methods: A review of available literature was conducted using the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) online library, CINAHL, and Medline. Eighteen journals were utilized in a qualitative study to describe nursing informatics to empower student nurses. Inclusion criteria was comprised of peer reviewed articles published from 2006 to 2015). The data discussed the use of informatics in nursing, empowering future nurses and their influence on health care.

Findings: The future of nursing and health care services will be influenced by the use of informatics; information technology based innovations, management, and planning. Nursing informatics is affecting nursing education programs through various delivery techniques. Informatics provides structural empowerment, which, enhances, engages and empowers nursing students. This ultimately brings acceptance, leadership and promotes change in the healthcare system.

Conclusion: Nursing informatics is at the frontline of transforming health care may ultimately improve patient safety and outcomes. Nursing students are being educated with IT based platforms, studying with digital technology and practicing with a new wave of expertise that will be incorporated into the healthcare system. Informatics is influencing new and current health care personnel, and is the forefront towards nursing empowerment, patient safety, nursing leadership, efficiency and positive change.

Key words:

nursing informatics; nursing; healthcare informatics; nursing leadership; health care technology; nursing technology; nursing students

Literature review

Nursing informatics will be integrated into the future of nursing and health care (Black & Watties-Daniels, 2006). This is a challenging issue in health research and healthcare leadership that needs to be addressed (Black & Watties-Daniels, 2006). Students in the U of S BSN program are expected to be familiar with the most current technology to better prepare themselves for present and future workplace obligations (Black & Watties-Daniels, 2006; Institute of Medicine, 2010). As stated by Black and Watties-Daniels (2006), informatics has emerged as an adjunct to the way in which the educators can teach. This innovative use of informatics transcends into more appealing educational environments for the nursing student, for it facilitates necessary avenues to promote individualized learning (Black & Watties-Daniels, 2006). With the knowledge gained, a student may then have increased confidence in their work ethic and in turn be empowered to seek more clinical learning opportunities during their practical experiences (Black & Watties-Daniels, 2006; Bradbury-Jones, Irvine, & Sambrook, 2010). As an article suggests, the level of belongingness in the clinical setting can have a direct effect on the nursing student’s likelihood to be empowered to speak out against poor health care services and advocate for their patients (Levett-Jones & Lathlean, 2009). Therefore, the use of informatics has the ability to positively influence the nursing profession (Levett-Jones & Lathlean, 2009). Informatics promotes success in the classroom that may be translated to successor in the clinical setting and ultimately to the workforce through allowing the students to become assertive and confident nurses (Levett-Jones & Lathlean, 2009).

Empowering Future Nursing Students

Our strategy is to target prospective nursing students by increasing their awareness of the BSN program. Much of the nursing profession is grounded in learning through clinical experience, team collaboration and the concept of empowerment (Bradbury-Jones, Irvine & Sambrook, 2007). Our group set out to engage the nursing prospects to promote acceptance and reassure them that we, as fourth year nursing students, are willing to support them on their journey. Bradbury, Irvine, & Sambrook (2010) found that first year nursing students lack empowerment in comparison to third year students therefore, we felt it was important to initiate empowerment of nurses earlier in their education. As a result, we tailored our project to engage students in the pre-requisite year to lead them to empowerment and ultimately success.

Even though we learn repeatedly that empowerment of our patients is essential in attaining optimal patient outcomes, the empowerment of nursing students has been overlooked in the literature (Bradbury-Jones, Irvine, & Sambrook, 2010). Empowering patients is vital, but empowering future healthcare providers by creating an environment of acceptance, reassurance and guidance to foster confidence is also essential (Levett-Jones, T., Lathlean, Higgins, & McMillan, 2009). The literature reports that students who receive inclusion and recognition for their efforts during clinical placements will show higher capabilities in thought processes, emotion, behaviour and have increased health, wellness and self-esteem (Levett-Jones, Lathlean, Higgins & McMillan, 2009). Student nurses that are aspiring to fill the role of empowering clients, families, and communities will vastly impact our society one client at a time (Marquis & Huston, 2015). Therefore, student nursing empowerment is a necessary part of ensuring quality care is delivered throughout the healthcare system.

Evidence Based Practice

The key elements of nursing informatic implementation are viewed as healthcare promotion, advanced systems, internet, and network (Darvish, Bahramnezhad, Keyhanian & Navidhamidi, 2014). Nursing informatics is distinguished from other nursing specialties by its focus on the methods and technology of information handling in nursing (Seismeier, 2010). This focus is on the use of technology and informatic principles to address the way nurses use data, information, and knowledge to make decisions and deliver care (Seismeier, 2010). Evidence based practice is the foundation of nursing