Technological Stressors of Louisiana Baccalaureate Nurse Educators

• Main Author: Burke, Mary Ann Stark
• Other Authors: Krisanna Machtmes
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: LSU 2005
• Subjects: Human Resource Education Workforce Development
• Online Access: http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-08312005-163644/

Computers are now a part of everyday life, with the majority of daily activities revolving around the use of a computer. The concept of technostress was first introduced in the 1980's when computers became more prevalent in the business and academic world. Nurse educators have been impacted by the rapid changes in technology in recent years. A review of the literature revealed no research studies that have been conducted to investigate the incidence of technological stress among nurse educators. Therefore, the purpose of this descriptive-correlational study was to describe the technological stressors that Louisiana baccalaureate nurse educators experienced while teaching nursing theory courses. A census of 311 baccalaureate nurse educators was selected to participate in the study, and a total of 180 questionnaires were returned resulting in a 58% response rate. Of these completed questionnaires, 61 participants indicated that they had not taught a baccalaureate nursing theory course in the past six months, which indicated a frame error, and four additional participants indicated that they did not utilize technology in their theory courses. One hundred and fifteen usable questionnaires were included in data analysis, resulting in a 46% response rate. Two researcher-developed questionnaires, a demographic data sheet and The Nurse Educator Technostress Scale, were used for data collection. Data collection was completed through the use of an on-line survey software, called Zoomerang©. Findings revealed that the baccalaureate nursing education workforce in Louisiana is aging and experiencing technological stress. Furthermore, findings indicated that there was no relationship between demographic variables, such as age, ethnicity, gender, and educational level and a nurse educator's technological stress. The variable, perceived administrative support for use of technology in the classroom, was a significant predictor in a regression model predicting Louisiana baccalaureate nurse educators' technological stress (F = 14.157, p < .001). This finding is significant in a time of shortage of qualified baccalaureate nurse educators. Results from this study support the need for a university-sponsored technology orientation and continuous technological support in order to reduce the incidence of technological stress among nurse educators.