Attitudes of second year diploma nurses in three community colleges toward the use of computers in the nursing role /

The effectiveness of various kinds of computer programs is of concern to nurse-educators. Using a 3x3 experimental design, ninety second year diploma student nurses were randomly selected from a total population at three community colleges in Ontario. Data were collected via a 20-item valid and reliable Likert-type questionnaire developed by the nursing profession to measure perceptions of nurses about computers in the nursing role. The groups were pretested and posttested at the beginning and end of one semester. Subjects attending College A group received a computer literacy course which comprised word processing with technology awareness. College B students were exposed to computer-aided instruction primarily in nursing simulations intermittently throughout the semester. College C subjects maintained their regular curriculum with no computer involvement. The student's t-test (two-tailed) was employed to assess the attitude scores data and a one-way analysis of variance was performed on the attitude scores. Posttest analysis revealed that there was a significant difference (p<.05) between attitude scores on the use of computers in the nursing role between College A and C. No significant differences (p>.05) were seen between College B and A in posttesting. Suggestions for continued computer education of diploma student nurses are provided.

Nurses' attitudes toward computers before and two months after training

This study examined nurses' attitudes toward computers before training and 2 months after training. A quantitative approach and a nonexperimental survey design were used in this study. Stronge and Brodt's (1985) instrument, Nurses' Attitudes Toward Computerization Questionnaire, was used to assess 27 nurses' attitudes prior to and 2 months after computer training. Demographic variables also were collected on the questionnaires. The results of this study showed that, overall, nurses had positive attitudes towards computers in both questionnaires. The results of the first questionnaire were consistent with other studies. There were no studies that involved a follow-up questionnaire using Stronge and Brodt's (1985) instrument. Attitude scores of Questionnaire 2 were higher than attitude scores of Questionnaire 1. More time for nursing tasks, less time for quality patient care, and threat to job security questions were found to be statistically significant. This study found no statistical significance between attitudes and demographic variables. Younger nurses a~d nurses with fewer years of computer experience were most likely to exhibit positive attitudes. Implications for practice and future research were discussed. Some limitations were identified and discussed.