Assignment: Self-Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies

OBJECTIVE : The aim of this study was to identify nursing informatics competencies perceived as relevant and required by nurse leaders.

BACKGROUND : To participate as a full partner in healthcare leadership among rapidly advancing health information technologies (HITs), nurse leaders must attain knowledge of informatics competencies related to their clinical leadership roles and responsibilities. Despite this increased need to engage in HIT-related decision making, a gap remains in validated informatics competencies specific to the needs of nurse leaders.

METHODS : An environmental scan and 3-round survey using Delphi methods used with nurse leaders for competency identification were used.

RESULTS : Between 26 and 41 participants responded to each Delphi round. Most nurse leaders acquired HIT knowledge through on-the-job training. We identified 74 competencies from an initial list of 108 competencies.

CONCLUSION : This work can advance nursing practice to move beyond “on-the-job informatics training” to a more competency-based model of nursing informatics education and practice.

For this Assignment:

• Complete the “TIGER-based Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies (TANIC©) survey” provided in this week’s Resources. Be sure to complete the TANIC survey by Day 3 of this week.
• Reflect on the answers you provided within your survey.

• Consider how you could improve your skills in these areas, and identify resources within your organization as well as external resources that could be used to develop nursing informatics competencies.

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• Review the AWE Checklist (2000/3000 Level).
• Find one scholarly resource to inform your self-evaluation and/or plan.
• Use the Self-Assessment Paper template from this week’s Resources. No abstract or reference list is required for the AWE Checklist.
• Submit the TANIC © survey to the Week 2 designated assignment area. Assignment: Self-Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies.

Submit a 2-3-page, double-spaced paper that addresses the following:

• Provide a brief overview of the TANIC © tool, and your strengths and weaknesses as outlined in your self-assessment.
• Choose at least one skill that is pertinent to your current position or future goals in which you need to strengthen your abilities for each of the three main areas (basic computer competencies, information literacy competencies, and information management competencies). Assignment: Self-Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies.
• Outline a brief plan for developing these competencies. In your plan, identify resources that can assist and are available to you within your organization or one with which you are familiar. Identify any external resources, and explain how these resources are relevant to your current practice and/or future goals.
• Analyze how developing nursing informatics competencies contributes to your effectiveness as a nurse.
Note: This assignment is a self-assessment and can be written in the first person. Include a minimum of three resources from the professional nursing literature in the assigned course readings (include the TANIC© tool as a reference), other references in the Walden Library or relevant professional web sites.

Self-assessment of nursing informatics competencies

TANIC tool, first presented in 2009, is an assessment instrument applied to evaluate the capacity of nursing personnel to competently navigate informatics concepts within their professional environment. It is presented as an online tool that validly and reliably self-assesses nurses’ informatics competencies. The assessment focuses on three informatics competencies: basic computer, information literacy, and clinical information management (Hunter et al., 2015). Having completed the TANIC self-assessment tool, I determined that I have strengths and weaknesses with regards to nursing informatics. With regards to my strengths, I am competent in basic computer skills, particularly the use of medical applications and information systems as well as mobile technologies. I believe that my computer skills are adequate enough to accomplish my professional nursing job tasks. Still, I can improve my basic computer competency through acquiring computer certification. My second strength is my information literacy competency. I am good at identifying the nature and extent of information required in the professional environment, accessing the information efficiently and effectively, using the information within groups and as an individual to accomplish tasks, and evaluating the outcomes of the information used. Still, there is room for improvement since I have an information literacy weakness with regards to critical evaluation of information and sources Assignment: Self-Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies. My final strength is in clinical information management since I know what nursing data to collect, how to process the data, and how to present and communicate the process data to other medical stakeholders (The Tiger Initiative, 2010).

Although I have good foundational knowledge in the three informatics competencies, there are opportunities for improving my skills. Firstly, I need to strength my database use and presentation skills as regards basic computer competencies. Database use skills are necessary when handling patient information, especially in the present era where the information has been digitized. Presentation skills are necessary when communicating with other stakeholders, particularly when presenting new information that could be difficult to understand or disregarded if presented wrongly. Secondly, I need to strengthen my critical evaluation of information and sources skills as regards information literacy competency. This skills is necessary when sifting through information and determining what is useful to keep and what should be discarded or disregarded. Thirdly, I need to strengthen my presentation and communication skills are regards information management competency. I understand that presentation and communication skills are necessary when handling processed data that should be transmitted as knowledge or information. Lacking this skill makes it difficult for me to translate data into information (The Tiger Initiative, 2010).

I have a three-step plan for developing the three informatics competencies, particularly the areas that require strengthening. The first step is to enroll for informatics modules that target the development of the deficient skills. Attending the training modules will not only strengthen my skills, but also provide me with certification that offer evidence of my proficiency. Assignment: Self-Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies/ For instance, obtaining the International Computer Driving License (ICDL). The second step is to take regular assessment tests to evaluate my competency levels. For example, Information Literacy in Technology (iLIT) would assess my proficiency in information literacy by evaluating my capacity to access, evaluate, incorporate, and use nursing and medical information. The third step is to practice this skills while accepting feedback from my peers. Practicing will allow me to improve my proficiency while accepting feedback will enable me to identify and work on areas that need improvements (Grain & Schaper, 2013).

Developing nursing informatics competencies would contribute to my effectiveness as a nurse. This would occur in three ways. Firstly, it would improve my capacity to community since informatics allows me to integrate data management into nursing practice. Secondly, it improves my capacity to complete professional tasks since the nursing profession has increasingly integrated technology as part of its advances and informatics allows me to easily use the technology concerned with information management. Thirdly, it would allow me to better secure patient information and address privacy concerns, especially when I am required to transform data into knowledge. Finally, it would allow me to better incorporate data into evidence-based practice thus enabling me to improve the care provided to patients (Davis & LaCour, 2014).

References

Davis, N. & LaCour, M. (2014). Health information technology (3^rd ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Grain, H. & Schaper, L. (2013). Health informatics: digital health service delivery – the future is now. Amsterdam: IOS Press.

Hunter K., McGonigle D., Hebda T., Sipes C., Hill T. & Lamblin J. (2015) TIGER-Based Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies (TANIC). In: Rocha A., Correia A., Costanzo S., Reis L. (eds) New Contributions in Information Systems and Technologies. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 353. Cham: Springer.

The Tiger Initiative (2010). Informatics competencies for every practicing nurse: recommendations from the TIGER collaborative. Retrieved from https://www.himss.org/file/1308906/download?token=vBLUSYgz

Assignment: Self-Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies