Exploring perceptions of digital technology and digital skills among newly registered nurses and clinical managers.

BACKGROUND

Digital technology has an increasing role in healthcare, but staff lack opportunities to develop their digital skills and there is a lack of research on education and training in digital technology for staff.

AIM

To explore nurses' perceptions of the use of digital technology in their practice and to identify the digital skills required by newly registered nurses to work in a digitally enabled environment.

METHOD

Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted on an online communication platform with nine participants - four newly registered nurses and five senior nurses working in clinical and/or management roles. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.

FINDINGS

Several barriers and facilitators to the use of digital technology were identified, including around infrastructure, time, skills, training, support, leadership, familiarity and confidence. The use of digital technology may enhance care consistency and increase patient autonomy, but it may also erode nurse-patient relationships.

CONCLUSION

Digital technology can enhance patient care but organisational barriers, notably in relation to digital literacy training, need to be addressed for nurses to fully adopt it.