Click, care, connect: incorporating nursing informatics into undergraduate nursing curricula

Nursing informatics is a driving force for the transformation of healthcare systems. Developing a digitally literate nursing workforce has become mandatory in many universities around the world. This study analyzed how nursing informatics was integrated into undergraduate nursing curricula in Australia and South Africa. A holistic multiple case study approach guided this study. Categorical aggregation of the data from four cases revealed that nursing informatics was conceptualized as clinical data, health information and digitalized nursing profession. Nursing informatics was a requirement for nursing programme accreditation in Australian cases. Across four cases, eight nursing informatics competencies were identified: computer literacy, information literacy, digital communication literacy, digital health literacy, data security and privacy literacy, clinical judgment skills, leadership skills in digital health, and adaptive expertise in technology advancement. Although several efforts have been made to prepare students for nursing informatics in Australia and South Africa, there is a significant gap between the two countries, and the lack of clearly defined nursing informatics competencies and guidelines to develop and teach informatics content were highlighted as hindrances. Thus, developing tools to guide the integration of nursing informatics is recommended.