Are Nurses Able to Lead in the Digital Health Evolution?

The United States healthcare system is slowly evolving from one built on mostly episodic and ambulatory in-person encounters to one that is digitally based, technology rich and informed by data. Simultaneously, the nursing profession is facing crises on a number of fronts, especially the education pipeline, workforce availability and professional development. Formal education tracks and the postgraduate novice-to-expert continuum have historically contained an insufficient focus on technology and informatics as a core component of nursing practice. For nurses to practice—and lead—in a modern healthcare environment, we must consider solutions that elevate our education pathways.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize the internal and external drivers shaping nurses’ roles in the digital evolution of healthcare.
• Appraise the gaps in the current workforce and among new graduates.
• Examine the current state of informatics in the novice-to-expert trajectory of the nursing workforce.
• Assess the adequacy of the preparation pipeline from entry to practice to advance practice.

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