The field of nursing informatics is growing at a rapid rate to keep pace with the explosion of healthcare information technology. Nursing organizations such as the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) have recognized the importance of informatics in nursing by adding healthcare and informatics competencies to the newly published Essentials (2021). Nurse educators are tasked with ensuring that graduating nurses have the informatics competencies necessary for safe patient outcomes. Since the development of Stagger’s nursing informatics competencies in 2002, nurse researchers have developed tools for measuring nursing informatics competencies; however, it is important to review and revise tools to reflect current standards and trends.

A research team of eight nurse educators examined the SANICS-18 tool by Yoon et al. (2015) and compared the competencies assessed to the 2021 AACN Essentials, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society TIGER Competencies (2021), and current trends in healthcare information technology. Using an iterative process, revisions were made to fill competency gaps and update wording to reflect current technological advances. Five of the items were removed due to lack of current relevancy (e.g., turn computer off and on, load paper, change toner, remove paper jams, print documents), and other items were updated (e.g., adding use for emerging healthcare technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning of social media and texting to the email competency) to reflect current standards. Items were modified to reflect learning levels congruent with Bloom’s taxonomy.

The survey was finalized as a 19-item Likert scale instrument called the SANICS-19. Students were asked to rate themselves with a 5-point Likert scale (1=not competent, 2=somewhat competent, 3=competent, 4=proficient, and 5=expert). Higher scores on the SANICS-19 indicated higher perceived competence. The SANICS-19 was distributed virtually to nursing students of all program types across the country (n=202).

A Cronbach’s α of 0.959 was calculated, indicating excellent internal consistency. The lowest scoring item was on emerging healthcare technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. The highest scoring item was about using electronic communication tools such as email, social media, and texting. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the mean score (mean=58, SD 11.92) for BSN students (n=49) and the mean score (mean=55, SD 15.79) for RN-BSN students (n=121). No significant difference was found between the total scores (p = .589, Z=-.540); however, 2 of the 19 individual items had a significantly higher mean score for RN-BSN students and 6 resulted in a significantly higher mean score for BSN students. Comparisons were made between the SANICS-18 and SANICS-19 for items that retained original wording or had wording that remained very similar. The item “assess accuracy of health information on the internet” was worded the same in both surveys, and the mean scores were similar (SANICS-18: 2.99; SANICS-19: 3.08).

The SANICS-19 is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to determine nursing students’ informatics competencies. Use of the SANICS-19 will support understanding of interventions that can support informatics competencies.

Kristi Miller PhD, RN, CNE

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