Case Study 2: The TIGER Initiative Foundation – Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform

TIGER’s successes have been dependent upon its grass roots origins and the support of many volunteers and organizations. TIGER success in education is evident where the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Board unanimously approved the revised Essentials of Baccalaureate Nursing Education which recommended that graduates must have basic competence in technical skills, which includes the use of computers, as well as the application of patient care technologies such as monitors, data gathering devices, and other technological supports for patient care interventions. In addition, nursing informatics organizations such as Alliance for Nursing Informatics (ANI), American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS), American Nurses Informatics Association (ANIA), Minnesota Nursing Informatics Group (MINING), New England Informatics Nursing Consortium (NENIC) have embraced the TIGER agenda, providing staff resources and financial support to the initiative. Nursing leadership, including American Nurses Association (ANA), Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), American Academy of Nursing, American Organization of Nurse Executives, (AONE), (Nursing Organizations Alliance (NOA), and specialty organizations including the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialist (NACNS), The Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) provided critical support for TIGER, enhancing visibility and access to nursing executives. Health care IT vendors were active supporters and participants in the initiative, sponsoring the TIGER Summit Gallery Walk, webinars, seminars and components of the TIGER Virtual Learning Environment.

TIGER has made multiple contributions to the nursing body of knowledge through publications, national and international presentations. TIGER recommendations were included in the 2011 IOM Future of Nursing Report [3]. Also instrumental has been the publication of Nursing Informatics: Where Technology and Caring Meet, 4th Edition, Ball et al. [1].

TIGER published nine collaborative reports, which cover standards and interoperability, national policy, educational and faculty development, usability and clinical application design, leadership development, virtual learning center, consumer empowerment and personal health records and informatics competencies. The collaborative reports can be accessed and downloaded for free from the TIGER Website at www.tigerinitiative.org [2].

In 2013, the TIGER Initiative Foundation continues to build on its history of transforming nursing and interprofessional colleagues to advance the integration of health informatics and to transform practice, education and consumer engagement. Over the last 18 months, through the assistance of HIMSS [4], TIGER has become a nonprofit foundation, and established a structure to its grass roots initiative. TIGER remains focused on its purpose of preparing nurses and interprofessional colleagues to use informatics and emerging technologies to make healthcare safer, more effective, efficient, patient-centered, timely and equitable. TIGER continues to advance the integration of health informatics through a number of communication vehicles: TIGER Website, TIGER List Serv communications, and publication of a monthly TIGER e-newsletter. TIGER has also jumped into the realm of social media with Facebook and Twitter @ABoutTIGER [2].

Most recently, TIGER has launched its long anticipated Virtual Learning Environment. TIGER utilized a collaborative workgroup approach to advance education on Health Information Technology (HIT) topics. The TIGER Virtual Demonstration Collaborative workgroup studied the benefits and challenges of a virtual learning environment to expedite innovation and adoption of HIT and identified that a dynamic and sustainable platform was needed to continuously showcase the most effective and efficient current technology-enabled and near future-enabling technologies to advance nursing practice, education and research.

With the launch of the TIGER VLE, the goal is to increase understanding and adoption of health informatics by frontline clinicians, to provide faculty and educators with tools and resources to prepare the current and future health professions workforce, and to engage consumers in the future technology-enabled care environments is now a step closer. The TIGER Initiative Foundation’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) provides an interactive web based learning opportunity, which includes information about HIT and related topics for health professionals and consumers. There are a wide range of topics included in the VLE: electronic health records, usability, clinical decision support, health information exchange, care coordination, meaningful use, standards and interoperability, consumer health information, mobile health, privacy and security, exemplars of how health information technology support nursing practice and others. To facilitate adoption of information technologies, the VLE provides not only an opportunity for educational content buts also provide learners with exposure to new and enabling technologies. TIGER has a collaborative approach to engaging with sponsors to demonstrate the use and utility of technology for improving practice and patient outcomes

Unlimited access to the VLE for 1 year is provided through a registration fee of $25. The VLE currently has a national and international broad healthcare professional audience. Faculty, students, clinical and informatics professionals from healthcare institutions, industry and professional associations along with international participants make up a rich diverse audience of learners.

A virtual tour is available to view from this link composed for this text. For ease of reading we have also included some screen shots, which depict the key screens in the TIGER VLE describing briefly their core purpose and function.

We will begin our exploration of the TIGER VLE. The first time you log into the event your profile will be displayed. Your profile contains your personal biography and message. Filling out this information allows others in the environment to network with you (Fig. 16.1).

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After logging into the VLE, you will be taken to the TIGER Lobby (Fig. 16.2). From the lobby page you have access to TIGER social media on Facebook and Twitter, find out what new content has been added, see a list of TIGER Sightings, upcoming events and read a brief history of TIGER. The lobby page also provides different navigation options.

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Navigating to the TIGER Resource Center (Fig. 16.3) enables learners to browse content by subject and sponsor. Resources cover many topics and include; presentations, webinars, links, e-brochures, documented sources and white papers. Faculty can benefit from the resources to enhance curriculum, provide additional resources for students, or provide content material with assignments for discussion boards or online live chats.

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The TIGER Communities page (Fig. 16.4) provides learners the opportunity to browse content by various communities. Communities are groups of like-minded individuals with similar interests or professions. Content placed in communities is focused toward each different community’s interests. TIGER currently has seven communities- Faculty Development, Leadership & Management, Patient/Consumer Engagement, Policy, Student, Underserved /Rural, and Workforce Development.

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Moving onto the Sponsors page (Fig. 16.5), the Exhibit Floor provides the learner with opportunities to view healthcare informatics technology solutions. The Virtual Demonstration Collaborative identified early on that there was a need to expose nursing and interprofessional colleagues to the broad array of technology available to support healthcare process and outcomes. TIGER’s collaborative business model provides opportunities for healthcare information technology solutions companies to gain product visibility and at the same time showcase innovative technology, which supports clinical processes and outcomes. Educational institutions have expressed interest in sharing their programs, so potential students can see the many educational nursing and informatics programs. Entering a booth exposes the learner to healthcare technology products, education and information. The booth (Fig. 16.6) provides various tools/mediums for showcasing and exploring technology.

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The Collaborator Page (Fig. 16.7) provides an ability to view collaborators and see the recently completed TIGER Open Door Project, sponsored by the National Library of Medicine and hosted on the James A. Zimble Learning Resource Center, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The TIGER Open Door Project is a clearinghouse of publically available content organized by health IT topics. This can also be accessed from the TIGER Website.

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TIGER Connect (Fig. 16.8) provides an opportunity to chat with others in the environment.

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The TIGER VLE also has capabilities to internally privately chat, send emails, play games and earn TIGER recognitions. Virtual business cards may be sent within the environment. Finally, items may be downloaded into your tote bag and saved to your computer.

In summary, coordination and collaboration with industry leaders and experts, nursing and interdisciplinary professional organizations, educational institutions and government agencies at the state, regional and national level will enhance the variety of offerings, and facilitate outreach to a diverse and expansive learning audience. The TIGER VLE and other TIGER efforts will enable The TIGER Initiative Foundation to make a significant contribution to the national HIT agenda to advance nursing and other clinical professions to meet the challenge of transforming healthcare.