Nursing Informatics: When Will It Find Its True Meaning in Türkiye?

Around the world, nursing informatics has long since become a specialty in its own right, supported by master's programmes, doctoral degrees and certification schemes, producing its own literature and its own career paths. In Türkiye, however, nursing informatics is still largely regarded as an auxiliary technical skill. That view misses what the field actually is: nursing informatics is the key to the profession's digital transformation. An article published in the Cumhuriyet Nursing Journal in 2014 (Bilgiç & Şendir) defines it as follows: "the use of information technologies throughout the entire process, from the planning of care to its evaluation, arising from the combination of computer science, information science and nursing knowledge." The definition alone makes clear that this is not simply a matter of operating a tool, but a body of knowledge covering every stage of care.

The field gives the nurse far more than a digital instrument; it provides decision support, individualised care, clinical safety and measurable quality. A nurse supported by digital systems does not merely fill in forms — she interprets data, measures the quality of care, conducts research and generates evidence. That same nurse then feeds the evidence back into clinical practice, contributing directly to the raising of care standards. In other words, nursing informatics is a field that increases both the visibility and the professional weight of nursing. Yet for this potential to be realised, a whole set of areas must mature at the same time: education, legislation, software design and institutional culture. Where Türkiye stands today suggests that this maturing process is far from complete.

Four fundamental gaps stand out in the current picture:

• A lack of standards in nursing informatics education
• A shared terminology that has not fully taken root
• A limited number of graduate programmes
• Nursing modules in healthcare institutions that cannot be used effectively

Unless this picture changes, "digital nursing" will remain not a matter of the future but of a postponed present. In the field the situation is harder still: nurses already carry a heavy workload and high levels of burnout, and a hospital information system that is not user-friendly only adds to that burden. Every minute lost in front of a screen is a minute lost at the bedside. Before we begin discussing nursing informatics, then, we need to answer one question honestly — does the software a nurse uses actually make her work easier?

So what do you think? When will nursing informatics be recognised as a professional field in Türkiye? Are our curricula and our regulations ready for this transformation? If nursing modules could be used effectively in clinical settings, would they genuinely make a difference to the quality of care? I would be glad to hear your views.

Source: Bilgiç, Ş. & Şendir, M. (2014). Cumhuriyet Nursing Journal.