An Analysis of Published Nursing Informatics Competencies

Nursing informatics competency lists can provide a clear picture of required skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed for today's nursing workforce in a high-tech environment. Many stakeholders such as employers and educators have a vested interest in defining nursing informatics competencies for nurses. The primary objective of this paper was to compare and contrast published nursing informatics competencies. A literature search was conducted using the terms “informatics competencies” and “nursing informatics competencies” via PubMeb and CINAHL for relevant articles. The search captured 37 articles; however, only six met the inclusion criteria set prior to the search. These six competency lists were reviewed for audience, sample size, design, categories used to classify competencies and operational examples of competencies. Findings revealed that there is variation among published informatics competencies in regard to content, presentation, and audience. A general list of competencies that can be utilized by nurses at all levels is needed. As a result nurses could operationalize and measure the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to execute safe and effective nursing care in today's health care setting.