Article
Comparative Assessment of Informatics Competencies in Three Undergraduate Programs
Online Journal of Nursing Informatics
(2012)
Abstract
This study was conducted to determine and compare the informatics competencies of students in three undergraduate tracks: Traditional Pre-Licensure, Registered Nurse (RN) to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), and Accelerated BSN. Data were collected from 131 students in fall 2011 using a 30-item Self-Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies Scale. Scale scores indicated that RN to BSN (mean=3.21) and Accelerated BSN (mean=3.01) students were competent in informatics, but not Traditional Pre-Licensure students (mean=2.82). Comparison of competency scores by track reveal that RN to BSN and Traditional Pre-Licensure students differed significantly in overall informatics competency (F(2, 92)=4.31, p=.02). This difference may reflect students’ different levels of clinical nursing experience and the learning format of each track. All students perceived they lacked competence in two subscale areas, “Applied computer skills” and “Clinical informatics role.” These findings provide insight about the strengths and weakness of the informatics competencies of nursing students and warrant attention from nurse educators when designing nursing curricula.
Keywords
- nursing informatics competencies,
- self-assessment of nursing informatics competencies scale,
- SANICS,
- undergraduate nursing students,
- RN to BSN,
- accelerated BSN,
- traditional pre-licensure
Disciplines
Publication Date
2012
Citation Information
Jeungok Choi. "Comparative Assessment of Informatics Competencies in Three Undergraduate Programs" Online Journal of Nursing Informatics Vol. 16 Iss. 2 (2012) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jeungok_choi/11/