Reflection on Critical Digital Literacies in Nursing Education

The theoretical frameworks presented by Nichols et al., Smith, and Curran provide a powerful lens for analyzing the ethical and practical challenges of the digital age. Applied to nursing, concepts such as critical literacy, datafication, and systemic risk transcend abstract academic discussion. Instead, they become central, non-negotiable considerations for patient care, professional development, and the long-term integrity of the nursing profession itself.

Post-Secondary Nursing Education

Post-secondary nursing education aims to create graduates who are not just skilled clinicians but also critical thinkers and ethical professionals. Smith's work on developing Critical Digital Literacies (CDL) to counter misinformation and disinformation is crucial in this context. Nursing students are continually exposed to health content across social media, ranging from patient anecdotes, to unverified claims about disease processes and treatments. Lacking robust CDL skills, they remain vulnerable to falsehoods that could directly compromise their clinical judgment.

A curriculum informed by Smith's insights moves beyond basic lessons on avoiding unreliable websites. It mandates the active, critical analysis of digital media. For instance, an assignment might require students to deconstruct a popular health-related meme or video. This analysis would not only assess factual accuracy but also uncover rhetorical strategies, emotional appeals, and the potential for harm. Such exercises build the critical consciousness necessary to effectively manage misinformation in the clinical environment, protecting patient safety.

Furthermore, the discussion of datafication by Nichols et al. directly informs the use of student learning platforms. Within a Learning Management System (LMS), every click, quiz submission, and discussion post is automatically converted into a data point. Students must understand how this data is collected, what inferences it allows, and its potential uses. An educational module could explore how these platforms subtly shape learning behaviours or expose students to institutional or commercial surveillance. This would help to prepare them for the deeply data-rich environments of modern hospitals.

Hospital and Clinical Settings

In the clinical environment, the challenges of datafication and systemic risk, as highlighted by Curran, become immediate and acute. Nurses routinely navigate a complex array of interconnected digital systems, including Electronic Health Records (EHRs), patient monitoring devices, and mobile applications. Curran's notion of an "imperative to collect and connect" is a daily operational reality in healthcare: every vital sign, medication event, and patient interaction is instantly converted into data. While this extensive data collection is vital for quality improvement and patient care, it simultaneously introduces the systemic risks he describes.

Consequently, professional training for nurses must extend far beyond technical proficiency with EHRs. Practitioners must be educated on the inherent fragility of complex digital systems. Using Curran's framework, in-service sessions could address the "weakest link" principle in cybersecurity, emphasizing how a single compromised password or unpatched device can facilitate a massive data breach. Nurses must recognize that their vigilance regarding data security is not merely an IT concern. It is fundamentally a patient safety imperative.

Furthermore, the ethical implications of datafication are paramount. The information documented by a nurse in an EHR is not solely a clinical record. It is a valuable data asset used for research, policy development, and even commercial ventures. Nurses should possess critical awareness of the "behavioural surplus" that their work generates. Therefore, their ongoing professional development must include critical reflection on how their documentation practices either contribute to or mitigate the risks associated with surveillance capitalism and data misuse.

Conclusion

Ultimately, these three works collectively describe challenges which are inseparable from modern nursing practice and education. As Smith effectively argues, the solution is rooted in a concerted effort to build Critical Digital Literacies. This is no longer an optional competency. It is a professional requirement for all nurses. This essential literacy must be cultivated from the earliest stages of post-secondary education and continually reinforced through professional development to safeguard patient well-being and uphold the integrity of the profession.

Personal Reflection 

Therefore, how can a nurse educator’s real-world experience with patient documentation, technology use, and data security help students and practicing nurses understand the ethical challenges of datafication, misinformation, and systemic risk in healthcare?

In my work as both a nurse and educator, I’ve seen how data and digital tools shape almost every decision we make in healthcare. When I first started nursing, we documented on paper charts. Today, every click, order, and note becomes part of a digital ecosystem that is monitored, analyzed, and sometimes even sold. This transformation, which Nichols et al. describe as datafication, has changed not only how we work but how we think about care itself.

In the classroom, I use this experience to help nursing students move beyond seeing technology as neutral or purely helpful. For example, I once showed students two viral social media posts, one claiming that a common vaccine caused infertility, and another suggesting that a natural supplement could replace insulin. Many of them admitted that at first glance, both seemed convincing. We analyzed the language, emotional triggers, and images used, then researched the evidence behind the claims. This activity, inspired by Smith’s work on Critical Digital Literacies, helped students realize how misinformation spreads and how easily it could affect their future patients’ decisions.

In clinical practice, I’ve also seen how data can become both a powerful ally and a source of risk. A few years ago, our hospital experienced a temporary outage in the electronic health record system. Nurses were suddenly unable to access patient charts, medications, or vital signs. It was a stark reminder of what Curran calls systemic risk, the fragility of interconnected systems we often take for granted. Afterward, I led a debriefing session with staff to discuss what went wrong, how communication broke down, and what backup strategies we could use next time. It became clear that data security and digital preparedness are as essential to patient safety as infection control or medication checks.

In teaching hospital staff, I now emphasize that documentation is not just a record, it’s part of a much larger data story. Every note entered into an electronic record contributes to research databases, policy analytics, and sometimes commercial insights. I often ask nurses to consider questions like, “Who owns this data?” and “What could happen if it’s used in ways we didn’t intend?” These discussions encourage reflection about ethics, transparency, and trust.  These are core values in nursing that remain critical in the digital age.

Drawing from my own experience, I’ve learned that the best way to teach these ideas is through lived examples, not lectures. When students or staff connect these digital issues to real patient experiences, they understand how a misleading online claim can harm someone, or how a weak password can jeopardize an entire unit. They begin to show that data ethics is not abstract. It’s part of the heart of nursing practice. By linking theory to the realities of patient care, educators can prepare nurses who are not only clinically skilled but also critically aware and ethically grounded in an increasingly digital healthcare world.

References

Nichols, T. P., Smith, A., Bulfin, S., & Stornaiuolo, A. (2021). Critical literacy, digital platforms, and datafication. In The handbook of critical literacies (pp. 345-353). Routledge.

Curran, D. (2023). Surveillance capitalism and systemic digital risk: The imperative to collect and connect and the risks of interconnectedness. Big Data & Society, 10(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517231177621

Posada, J., Weller, N., & Wong, W. H. (2021). We haven't gone paperless yet: Why the printing press can help us understand data and AI. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.1145/3461702.3462604

Smith, E. E. (2024). Building critical digital literacies for social media through educational development. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 19(2), 64–89. https://doi.org/10.20355/jcie29599