# Self-assessed digital competence of nurse educators—A cross-sectional study in four countries

## TL;DR

This study looked at how nurse educators in four European countries rate their digital skills and found that education level and training are linked to higher competence.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into the factors influencing digital competence among nurse educators across different countries.

## Key findings

- Nurse educators reported a moderate overall level of digital competence.
- Slovak educators rated their competence higher than those from Finland, Malta, and Spain.
- Higher education and pedagogical training were associated with better digital competence.

## Abstract

This study examines the self-assessed level of nurse educators’ digital competence in four European countries and explores variables associated with it.

A cross-sectional study was conducted.

Nurse educators (n = 290) from 36 nursing education organizations in Finland, Malta, Slovakia, and Spain participated in the study. Data were collected from May 2021 to February 2022 through an online survey. The Educators and Educator Candidates’ Competence in Digital Pedagogy instrument contained 20 items in three categories. Descriptive statistics, the Kruskal–Wallis test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple regression analysis were used in the analysis.

Nurse educators reported an overall moderate level of digital competence; the lowest level was in the safe and responsible use of technology. Slovak educators assessed their competence as higher than those from Finland, Malta, and Spain. Having a master's or doctoral degree and completing pedagogical studies were related to a higher level of digital competence.

Nurse educators have successfully adopted the use of evolving teaching, learning, and assessment methods to ensure appropriate and practice-preparing healthcare education. The findings can be used in nursing education and healthcare practice organizations to focus nurse educators’ education on the safe and responsible use of digital pedagogical practices, such as the ethical utilization of electronic documents. Furthermore, in-depth examination of the relationship between educators’ education and digital competence is needed.