Digital health program launched for nurses and midwives
Tuesday, 04 February, 2020
A professional development program has been launched to identify the digital health skills nurses and midwives need to further improve the quality, safety and efficiency of the care they deliver.
Run by the (HISA) 鈥 in collaboration with the as part of the 鈥檚 commitment to building health workforce capability in digital health 鈥 nurses and midwives across Australia will be consulted on the specific digital health skills they need, what is practical and relevant for them, and how a draft digital health capability framework could be used in hospitals and health services as a professional development guide for nursing and midwifery in the digital world.
The six-week consultation is being conducted in collaboration with the Australian College of Nursing, the Australian College of Midwives, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council, the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (DHCRC) and Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers representing federal and state government jurisdictions, along with other key stakeholders from across the nursing and midwifery sectors.
HISA CEO Dr Louise Schaper said, 鈥淚n the emerging field of digital health, nurses and midwives are at the forefront, combining knowledge, data and technology to produce best possible outcomes for patients.
鈥淚n this new program, nursing and midwifery organisations will be collaborating to create the first national framework to support nurses and midwives in an increasingly digital workplace, with all the challenges and opportunities that provides.
鈥淥ur goal is to raise awareness among nurses and midwives of the value of digital health skills, the opportunities in the area, and the knowledge to improve quality of patient care,鈥 she said.
Dr Schaper said once consultation was complete, the final capability framework and resources would be launched at the Nursing Informatics International Congress, NI 2020, taking place in Brisbane on 27鈥29 July.
Registered nurse Angela Ryan, the agency鈥檚 Chief Clinical Information Officer, said, 鈥淣urses and midwives are once again ensuring that they are at the centre of their educational and professional development so that they can deliver the best care possible.
鈥淭his program will identify the specific skills nurses and midwives need for them to maximise the benefits for their patients from Australia鈥檚 digital health system.鈥
The program鈥檚 Advisory Committee Chair, ANMF鈥檚 Julie Reeves, said, 鈥淭he ANMF is Australia鈥檚 largest union and professional nursing and midwifery organisation, representing more than 275,000 nurses, midwives and care workers across the country.
鈥淲e understand how important it is for our members to be skilled in the use of digital health tools and technology and see this as an opportunity to contribute to the ongoing development of our professions.鈥
Consultations began on 3 February 2020 and will run for six weeks. Information on the program is available .
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