DiSK Pass – Responding to Digital Challenges in Health and Social Care

This project evaluates an innovative teaching approach that aims to equip nursing students with the knowledge and skills required for the rapidly evolving digital healthcare landscape. Not least in light of the recent COVID-19 global pandemic which, has fast-tracked healthcare technology to be rolled out at scale; for example, an 800% increase in the use of Microsoft Teams within the NHS to support remote working Through a digital passport (‘University of Salford DiSK Pass’), nursing students will undertake digital activities embedded within the curriculum throughout their three-year pre-registration nursing programme. The University of Salford DiSK Pass has been designed to meet the Nursing & Midwifery Council’s (NMC) latest Future Nurse Standards for Proficiency (NMC, 2018) as well as Health Education England’s (HEE) Digital Capabilities Framework. Objective 1 – Pilot and evaluate the DISk Pass app impact on student engagement, experience and capabilities developed (Oct – Dec 2020) Objective 2 – A longitudinal analysis to capture, measure and monitor digital skill use to improve professional development and practice amongst student nurses (2020 -2023) Objective 3 – A mixed methods; convergent parallel design study to explore educators’ digital capabilities and needs to successfully deliver and support students throughout their learning process (2020-2021).

Team: Dr Cristina Vasilica, Neil Withnell, Dr Dilla Davis, Elizabeth Burns, Kyle Charnley, Dr Yeliz Prior