What is the TIGER initiative and what did the group determine about informatics competencies for healthcare workers?

The TIGER (Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform) initiative began in 2004 when a group of nurses came together after a national informatics conference to ensure nursing was equally recognized in the national informatics movement. The group determined that using informatics is a core competency for all healthcare workers and that many nurses lack information technology skills, limiting their ability to access evidence-based information for daily practice. They are currently working on a plan to include informatics courses in all levels of nursing education and later reach practicing nurses not enrolled in academic programs.

According to the text, the TIGER initiative originated in 2004 after nurses attended a national informatics conference. Its purpose was to ensure that nursing was recognized equally in the national informatics movement. The TIGER team concluded that informatics use is a core competency for all healthcare workers. They also found that many nurses lack information technology skills, which restricts their ability to access evidence-based information that could be incorporated into practice. The group is now working to incorporate informatics courses into all levels of nursing education, and once that is accomplished, they plan to address how to disseminate relevant information to practicing nurses who are not enrolled in an academic program. Many of the items identified by the TIGER team as lacking in nursing students and practicing nurses correspond to the nursing informatics competencies established by Staggers, Gassert, and Curran in 2002.