Digitalization is an ongoing trend in the healthcare sector which is characterized by the integration of digital technologies to improve healthcare services (Chen et al., 2020; Wynn et al., 2023). With the upcoming of new technologies and artificial intelligence new competence requirements for healthcare professionals are needed (Billett, 2021; Wynn et al., 2023). Fittingly, many different competence frameworks in healthcare try to list potentially relevant competencies that are warranted in the daily professional live and should be trained (Nazeha et al., 2020). However, these frameworks are based on diverse quantitative and qualitative methods to identify relevant competencies and leave many questions open (Nazeha et al., 2020). For example, they are generic mostly neglecting the specific work context and focus on a broad span of different competencies and technologies. The present symposium tries to shed light on the methodological debate with a joint mixed-method perspective including qualitative and quantitative methods to identify digital competencies in healthcare.

Instead of having a rather broad and generic perspective on digital competencies without focusing on a specific digital innovation, the first contribution deals with specifically measuring artificial intelligence (AI) literacy in healthcare. This quantitative study aims to develop a short version of an already validated scale to measure AI literacy (Laupichler et al., 2023) to profit from higher efficiency and instrument acceptability. Finally, the original scale has been reduced from 31 to 12 items with a good reliability. Within this contribution the advantages and pitfalls of survey-based competence assessment are explored offering a convenient and efficient approach to assess and identify AI literacy competencies in healthcare.

By contrast, the second contribution tries to contextualize digital competencies in healthcare and focuses on healthcare work requirements on the one hand and engagement with technologies on the other hand. Using qualitative interview data from healthcare workers from Switzerland related to the Program of International Assessment of Adult Competence this study identifies what is demanded by healthcare workers, how they engage with the tasks at work and what kind of competencies they report to possess. Furthermore, this data will be compared with data from other countries to account for cultural and contextual differences.

Similarly, the third contribution also aims to consider the contextual facet of competencies by considering digital competencies in patient care information (PCI) transmission and documentation as tripartite construct encompassing knowledge, skills and attitudes which are activated in a specific situation (Weinert, 2001). To consider this situated perspective on digital competencies in PCI transmission in nursing a qualitative approach was chosen involving video ethnography with job shadowing followed by self-confrontation interviews. The data was analyzed using semiological content analysis based on the Course of Action theoretical framework (Theureau, 2006) that offers coding categories similar to knowledge, skills and attitudes. Finally, a list of digital skills for nursing was provided.

Overall, this symposium offers three different exemplary approaches to identify digital competencies in healthcare and gives some input how digital competence frameworks could inform themselves based on research evidence.

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