Writing Simulation Scenarios: New Tools for Teaching Informatics Skills to Nurses

Abstract

Nursing Education The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has identified proficiency in the use of informatics as a core competency, an essential component of improving patient safety, reducing medication error, and improving practice skills for healthcare providers (IOM, 2004). In addition, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) has defined key education skill areas that should be assured in baccalaureate nursing education. One of these key skills is in the use of information and healthcare technologies (AACN, 1998). Nursing students in traditional baccalaureate programs are able to build information technology skills while completing liberal arts and prerequisite courses as most colleges and universities require the use of word processing, presentation software, and email as part of most courses. Most traditional studentsarelikelytohave‘‘grownup’’withcomputersaspart of their learning environment. Nursing students who enroll in second degree accelerated programs are less homogeneous in regard to age, educational background, and prior knowledge regarding basic software technology and email. This makes teaching informatics courses more difficult because the skill, comfort, and learning needs of the accelerated program students are likely to be disparate. This article describes one teaching experience in assessing the learning needs of student nurses in an accelerated program, and examines the process of matching teaching approaches to student learning needs. This is an issue that is likely to arise as nursing programs integrate informatics as a core component of baccalaureate nursing education. At the outset of the course, the current knowledge and skill levels of all students (N ¼ 38) was self-assessed using