Exploring perceptions of digital technology and digital skills among newly registered nurses and clinical managers
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

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

Emma Caton Research assistant, King’s College London, London, England
Julia Philippou Senior lecturer, adult nursing, King’s College London, London, England
Edward Baker Nurse consultant in emergency care, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, England
Geraldine Lee Reader in advanced clinical practice, King’s College London, London, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To gain insight into the views and perceptions of nurses regarding digital technology and digital skills

  • To recognise that using digital technology is likely to have both advantages and drawbacks for patient care

  • To acknowledge the need for nurses to receive appropriate and accessible digital literacy training

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.

Nursing Management. 31, 1, 27-33. doi: 10.7748/nm.2023.e2101

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

@edbaker_ed

Correspondence

edwardbaker@nhs.net

Conflict of interest

None declared

Caton E, Philippou J, Baker E et al (2023) Exploring perceptions of digital technology and digital skills among newly registered nurses and clinical managers. Nursing Management. doi: 10.7748/nm.2023.e2101

Published online: 27 September 2023

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