Current status and associated factors of digital literacy among academic nurse educators: a cross-sectional study | BMC Medical Education

The inaugural World Conference on Digital Education, convened in Beijing in February 2023, advocated for “the advancement of the integration and development of digital technology within the realm of traditional education, to foster innovative educational concepts, methods, and forms, with the ultimate goal of harnessing digital technology to empower education and better serve the fundamental essence of human learning” (p.1) [1].

The rapid evolution of digital technology has far-reaching implications, necessitating an accelerated digital transformation in education. A key imperative is the comprehensive enhancement of teachers’ digital literacy, marking a critical and pressing trend [2, 3]. Teachers, as direct practitioners in the digitalization of teaching and learning, play a pivotal role. Digital literacy for educators extends beyond mere technological application; it encompasses their capacity to process, analyze, and critically evaluate digital information [4, 5]. Over the past two decades, the field has witnessed rapid strides in the informatization and digitization of education, resulting in substantial achievements across policy frameworks, hardware infrastructure, and software development [6, 7]. These advancements have laid a robust foundation, setting the stage for a higher-level exploration into the progression of teachers’ digital literacy.

Within the context of nursing education, it is imperative to align with contemporary trends and ensure that academic nurse educators possess the requisite digital literacy to effectively prepare future nursing professionals while they are in a tertiary nursing education program [8]. This imperative underscore the need for academic nurse educators to not only embrace digital tools but also cultivate an evidence-based understanding of their utilization in the dynamic landscape of nursing education and diverse healthcare settings. Therefore, the findings of this study may guide academic nurse educators in creating relevant courses and programs that embed and translate digital literacy in nursing education. As a result, there is a sustained transmission and translation of digital literacy to their students, who will become future professional nurses working in a digitally integrated healthcare environment, ultimately future-proofing patient safety outcomes.

Literature review

The digital transformation of education is intricately tied to a country’s future competitiveness [9]. In recent years, global competition has spurred nations to formulate development strategies that seamlessly integrate digital technology across the entire field of education, extending into economic and social development [10,11,12]. Tertiary education served as the final frontier in training educators and learners for digital literacy. Educators in higher learning institutions, such as academic nurse educators, must be digitally literate to prepare future workers for productive career in digitally integrated workplaces.

Teacher digital literacy encompasses the awareness, capability, and responsibility of educators to effectively utilize digital technology in acquiring, processing, managing, and evaluating digital information and resources. It extends to their proficiency in discovering, analyzing, and solving educational and teaching challenges, as well as optimizing, innovating, and instigating change in educational activities [12, 13]. The digital literacy level of academic nurse educators holds significant sway over nursing education, impacting both the quality of education and the development of students’ clinical skills and nursing knowledge [14].

In nursing education, digital technologies play a crucial role in simulated clinical scenarios, electronic medical record management, and remote health monitoring. These applications enhance the learning experience for nursing students and empower educators to effectively explain and demonstrate complex nursing concepts [15, 16]. By leveraging digital technology tools, academic nurse educators can elevate the quality of nursing education, enabling students to master digital tools and systems pertinent to modern healthcare practices. This preparation equips them to meet the challenges of real-life healthcare environments [17]. The integration of digital literacy among academic nurse educators not only enhances the overall educational process but also contributes to the adaptability of students in navigating contemporary healthcare landscapes.

The omnipresent Chat Generative Pretrained Transformer (ChatGPT) affects nursing education [18,19,20]. It uses Open AI’s language model architecture. OpenAI claims that GPT-4 performs at the human level on professional and academic criteria, including passing a simulated bar exam in the top 10% [21]. ChatGPT’s capacity to respond as well as, if not better, than the average person has caused concerns about cheating on exams or finishing schoolwork [22]. ChatGPT can create student papers, research publications, and more. Some contend that ChatGPT is only effective on the data it was trained on, therefore humans must always confirm the result [21]. These issues call for more ChatGPT training for teachers and students in schools, while others suggest it should be an essential technology used in classrooms [18,19,20]. However, USA Today reported that several schools have banned ChatGPT [23], although the American Psychological Association advises schools to educate teachers and students about the appropriate and ethical use of ChatGPT [24]. In nursing education, it is crucial to examine academic nurse educators’ ability to use this technology to improve their teaching and learning practices, hence developing nursing students that will thrive in a digitally integrated healthcare workplace [18,19,20].

The establishment and formulation of digital literacy standards are pivotal for enhancing educators’ digital literacy proficiency [25]. Both domestically and internationally, extensive exploration and research have been conducted on the definitions and standards of digital literacy for teachers [26, 27]. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has developed widely accepted standards for educational technology and digital literacy. These standards outline requirements for educators’ skills, knowledge, and pedagogical practices in the digital age [28]. Similarly, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has established standards for digital literacy in education, emphasizing core skills and literacy for both students and educators in the digital realm. This guides global education reforms [29], particularly influencing China and its nursing programs.

In China, the Ministry of Education issued an industry standard for Digital Literacy for Teachers on November 30, 2022. This standard establishes an indicator system with five primary dimensions (digital awareness, digital technology knowledge and skills, digital applications, digital social responsibility, and professional development), 13 secondary dimensions (e.g., digital cognition, digital teaching design, digital academic assessment), and 33 tertiary dimensions (e.g., recognizing challenges and opportunities in applying digital technology to education, creating digital educational resources, leveraging digital technology resources for mental health education) [30]. This standard not only summarizes teachers’ existing information technology competence but also imposes a stringent requirement for the standardization and systematization of teachers’ digital literacy. Consequently, nursing programs aligns its curricula and nurse academic educator development to this digital literacy standards.

In summary, within the context of the global digital transformation of education, teachers’ digital literacy emerges as a critical factor in the educational landscape. This study’s primary objective is to address the existing gap in digital literacy research within the field of nursing. It aims to comprehend the current status of digital literacy among academic nurse educators and propose targeted improvement strategies. The overarching goal is to optimize the quality and effectiveness of nursing education to better align with evolving healthcare needs and educational requirements. This study aspires to provide scholarly and logically sound support for the digital transformation of nursing programs, contributing both knowledge and practical insights to the future of nursing education.

Research questions

This study addressed the following research questions:

1. 1.

   What are the digital literacy levels among academic nurse educators with different demographic characteristics?

2. 2.

   What are the digital literacy scores of academic nurse educators?

3. 3.

   What are the associated demographic factors of digital literacy among academic nurse educators?