From AI to interoperability to workforce optimization tools, healthcare technology is evolving faster than ever. What hasn’t kept up at the same speed is the number of nurse leaders equipped to guide that transformation. That gap is where risk—and opportunity—lives.
If we want technology to improve care delivery, we need nurse leaders who are prepared to lead it. That starts with building digital competency and expanding access to education.
Building digital competency in nurse leaders
Nurse leaders today are expected to participate in technology decisions that directly impact patient care, clinician workflows, and organizational outcomes. Yet many have not had formal training in informatics, data strategy, or digital health. That needs to change.
Through my work as co-leader of the AONL Leadership Innovation Technology and Transformation Committee, I’ve helped develop guiding principles that define the skills nurse leaders need to succeed in a digital environment. These principles focus on practical capabilities, not just theory.
Nurse leaders need to be able to:
- Build digital fluency across technology, data, and informatics
- Collaborate across stakeholders to drive digital strategy
- Lead technology adoption and transformation
- Align digital initiatives with organizational goals and outcomes
- Foster innovation through partnerships and experimentation
- Use data and analytics to inform decisions and improve care
This is no longer a niche skill set. Digital competency is becoming a core expectation of nursing leadership.
Why education and access matter
The demand for digitally capable nurse leaders is growing, but access to education remains uneven. Time constraints, funding limitations, and competing priorities often prevent nurses from pursuing formal informatics training.
We can’t expect nurse leaders to guide complex technology decisions without giving them the tools to do it well.
Investing in education does more than build individual capability—it strengthens entire organizations. When nurse leaders understand both clinical care and technology, they can help:
- Select solutions that align with real workflows
- Reduce inefficiencies and documentation burden
- Improve adoption across clinical teams
- Support safer, higher-quality care
Education creates confidence, and confidence drives better decisions.
Honoring a legacy through the Karlene Kerfoot Grant
One of the most meaningful ways we can expand access to education is through initiatives like the Karlene Kerfoot Nursing Leadership in Technology Education Grant.
Created in partnership with The DAISY Foundation, the grant honors Karlene Kerfoot’s legacy as a nurse leader who believed deeply in the connection between nursing and technology. She understood that nurses should help shape digital health strategies, not simply respond to them.
The first group of grant recipients reflects that vision. These are nurses who are investing in their growth at the intersection of care delivery and technology. They are building the skills needed to lead transformation, not just experience it.
Expanding programs like this helps remove barriers and opens doors for more nurses to step into informatics and digital leadership roles.
Insights from AONL: nurses are leading digital transformation
At this year’s AONL conference, one message came through clearly. Nurse leaders are no longer on the sidelines of technology conversations—they are shaping them.
Through conversations with colleagues and industry peers who attended, I heard consistent examples of nurse leaders influencing enterprise technology strategies, partnering with CIOs and CMIOs, and helping drive decisions around AI, staffing models, and system design. Many are already applying the competencies our workgroup has defined, but we need more of them.
As technology becomes more embedded in every aspect of care delivery, nurse leadership must scale alongside it.
Investing in nurse leadership is investing in care
When organizations invest in nurse leadership in technology, the impact shows up quickly and clearly.
- Technology aligns more closely with clinical workflows
- Adoption improves across care teams
- Clinician burden decreases
- Patient safety and outcomes improve
When we don’t make that investment, we feel it just as quickly—in inefficiencies, frustration, and missed opportunities.
While we know technology will continue to evolve, the real question is whether we are preparing nurse leaders to guide it.
A call to expand opportunity
We need to make it easier for nurses to step into technology leadership roles, which means creating clear pathways into informatics, supporting ongoing education, and investing in programs that expand access. It also means recognizing that digital competency is not optional, but essential, for today’s nurse leaders.
Because when nurses lead in technology, we not only implement better systems, we create better care experiences for both patients and clinicians. And that’s what this work is really about.
