Psychometric Analysis of a Nursing Informatics Competencies Survey.

Abstract

As healthcare information technology continues to expand its influence on healthcare, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing has recognized the importance of informatics in nursing by creating a healthcare and informatics domain in the newly revised Essentials. Nurse educators are tasked with ensuring graduates have the informatics competencies necessary for safe patient outcomes. A research team examined the Self-Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies Scale-18 and compared the competencies assessed to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society's Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform Competencies, and current trends in healthcare information technology. Revisions were made to fill competency gaps and reflect current technological advances. The survey was finalized as a 19-item Likert scale instrument called the Nursing Informatics Competencies Survey-2024. Higher student self-assessment scores indicate higher perceived competence. The Nursing Informatics Competencies Survey-2024 was distributed virtually to nursing students of all program types across the southeastern United States (n = 202). A Cronbach's α of .959 was calculated, indicating excellent internal consistency. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare mean scores (M = 58, SD = 11.92) for BSN students (n = 49) and (M = 55, SD = 15.79) for RN-BSN students (n = 121). No significant difference was found between the total scores (P = .589, Z = -0.540). The Nursing Informatics Competencies Survey-2024 is a valid and reliable instrument to determine nursing students' informatics competencies.