Module 1: Question 1

Nurse educators and nursing instructors need to be proficient with the information systems used by their staff and students. We must understand and anticipate the issues nurses face while working day to day in direct patient care: data recording, organization, retrieval, and interpretation. Nurse educators in a hospital facility also play an integral role in the training of staff in the implementation new information systems. We must deal with issues such acting as an advocate for nurses to have adequate and uninterrupted training time, providing input on training approaches, developing training resources and proficiency assessments, and follow up strategies for those with difficulty synthesizing the training. Nurse Educators are often among the superusers as well as act as their backup or resource. I see our role as mentors and leaders. Knowledge and proficiency on the use of information systems (electronic health record, education databases, drug databases, etc) affecting the daily lives of the nurses whom we support, contributes to the credibility of the Educator. Nurse Educators also utilize information systems when ensuring competency based training for staff. Instruction, evaluation and tracking through computer systems can effectively save time and resources.

As college instructors, knowledge of information management is vital when instructing large groups or when conducting distance learning. I currently use virtual learning environments to develop, manage and administer educational material. As the instructor for a 16 week course in oncology nursing, multimedia, web based learning, and various databases have made my staff education endeavors very rewarding. Podcasts, wikis, blogs, and effective the use of multimedia tools can assist audiences with a variety of learning styles. I heart technology.