The T.I.G.E.R. initiative proposes incorporating core informatics competencies into education at all levels and devising performance evaluations and accrediting standards. This pressure comes from the rapid pace of evolving technology and the requirements to keep up with it call for a revamp of nursing education (Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform, 2007). Future nurses can benefit from a revolution in education and the way appraisals are done of existing nursing practice. For now, there are definitely advantages to a more competent workforce, but it will take time for change to come in an already existing nursing shortage. One definite advantage would be if information technology (IT) vendors follow the third proposal, which is to use nursing groups in the design and testing of their systems.
I plan to incorporate telehealth into my practice, therefore, IT will be a part of the development process. Polinski et al. (2016) state that patients are greatly satisfied with telehealth, ranging from a satisfaction rate of 94%-99% as “very satisfied”. One-third of patients even prefer telehealth services over in-person visits, and most think that it’s just as good or better than an in-person visit. Considering that I hope to live in a rural area, telehealth would be a very necessary practice that would also require me to be competent in handling patients through these means.
Another goal is to prioritize the hiring of staff that is competent with IT and to offer training and apply funds towards developing my healthcare workforce. The T.I.G.E.R. initiative proposes that academic institutions do the training and recruiting of IT competent nurses, and proposes that government and policymakers fund efforts to bolster the implementation of IT competence; however, it’s one thing to wait for others to provide the need, and quite another to invest your own funds to better your own practice (Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform, 2007).
Lastly, as the Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (2007) states, using an electronic charting system increases time delivering patient care, and minimizes complications that would otherwise occur due to increased charting time. Investing in both technology and people will ensure that people are in charge of the technology and that people will benefit the most from tech innovations resulting in better health outcomes.
References
Polinski, J. M., Barker, T., Gagliano, N., Sussman, A., Brennan, T. A., & Shrank, W. H. (2016). Patients’ Satisfaction with and Preference for Telehealth Visits. Journal Of General Internal Medicine, 31(3), 269–275. https://doi-org.libpublic3.library.isu.edu/10.1007/ s11606-015-3489-x
Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform. (2007). Evidence and Informatics Transforming Nursing: 3-Year Action Steps toward a 10-Year Vision. 1-16. Retrieved from www.tigersummit.com
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