The emerging role of educational informatics.

Initial growth in the field of nursing informatics has centered primarily on the clinical setting. Much has been written about the systems developed and evaluated and possible new roles that one can play in the clinical environment. The educational arena has not fared as well. Early attention has been focused on the integration of educational technology or on competency-based skills in informatics according to program levels of students. This paper will focus on the emerging role of educational informatics. Examples will provide nurses with a better understanding of the roles played by the educational informaticist in crafting the science of nursing informatics to produce better nursing education outcomes.