Determination of informatics self-efficacy of nurse instructors

This research was conducted descriptively to determine the informatics self-efficacy of nurse educators. The Self Assessment of Informatics Competency Scale for Health Professionals, validated and deemed reliable in the Turkish language, was employed. The scale was administered to 334 nursing faculty members in universities' Nursing Faculties/Departments/Schools, who graduated from nursing programs and had been working for at least six months, during May-June 2023. Their self-assessments regarding information competency were determined. Data obtained from the research were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Tukey Tests. The total score obtained by nurse educators on the information self-efficacy scale was 2.32±0.71, with sub-dimension mean scores for basic computer skills being 3.11±0.78, function being 2.84±0.91, and applied computer skills: health informatics being 1.96±0.85. In the study, no statistically significant differences were found in the total and sub-dimension scores of the information self-efficacy scale based on educators' age, gender, academic work experience, academic title, institutional position, teaching branch, participation in clinical practice, taking clinical responsibilities, and usage of hospital information management system software (p>0.05). On the other hand, statistically significant relationships were found between educators' previous nursing experience, the geographical region of the institution, the level of computer technology usage, receiving training on electronic health records, experience with hospital information management system/health information management system login, and the total score on the scale (p<0.05). In conclusion, this study determined that nurse educators have a good level of basic computer skills but overall have a moderate level of information self-efficacy. Based on these results, it is recommended to plan educational arrangements to support the information self-efficacy of educators, especially by making provisions that allow their participation as users in hospital information management systems. Keywords: Nursing, faculty, informatics, self-efficacy, computer