Cultivating informatics competencies in a community of practice.

To move the healthcare industry into the 21st century, nurses must become savvy in the use of informatics to provide optimal care to their patients. However, the relatively few formal nursing informatics programs that exist across the country are simply not adequate to meet the demands of both new and existing nurses. Informatics competencies must be incorporated into nursing curricula at entry-level and via staff development to provide a ready workforce. Creative faculty development strategies that capitalize on the concept of faculty as a community of practice are required to incorporate informatics competencies into nursing curricula.