The use of information and communication technologies in higher nursing education

Introduction: New technologies have catalytically influenced the everyday life of people in a variety of fields. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), given that they are one of the five skills that health professionals have to offer, according to the Institute of Medicine's report in the United States, provide a wealth of opportunities for training nurses at a theoretical and clinical level. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to present the new reality that ICTs offers to higher-education nursing through the applications provided. Methodology: The methodology included a collection of information on the subject from articles and books of the last decade in the Pubmed, Iatrotek databases and the Hellenic Academic Libraries Association (HEAL-Link). Results: The review of the literature has shown that using ICTs offers special opportunities for trainee future nurses as important educational tools for both themselves and their teachers. According to research results in America, 53% of nursing schools compared to 45% of medical practitioners use tools such as blogs or wikis in their curricula. At the same time, social media such as Facebook or Twitter, as well as YouTube, interact with learners and teachers as they enumerate millions of users worldwide. In Greece, 63% of Internet users have created profiles in a social networking service, with the corresponding European average being 45%. The benefits of using ICTs in nursing education are many as the Internet, the global web and the variety of virtual world software provide the guarantee of a learning process with modern methodology, content and targeting that will lead to active, critical thinkers in a team spirit and cooperative nurses, versatile in different environments. In any case, ICTs concerns in nursing education outline issues such as cost, quality of knowledge and the humanitarian dimension of teaching. Conclusion: ICTs is undoubtedly a new reality and can be a cornerstone of modern higher education

Keywords: Information and communication technologies, nursing education, benefits, reflections