Informatics Competencies: Essential for Psychiatric Nursing Practice

Computers and information technologies (IT) are rapidly changing health care. At present, health care settings are becoming more sophisticated and technologically driven. As psychiatric nurses are faced with the challenge of acquiring computer knowledge and skills in order to effectively practice, informatics competencies are essential to this acquisition. In this article, the importance of informatics knowledge and skills to the contemporary practice of psychiatric nursing is discussed, and informatics competencies deemed relevant to psychiatric nursing practice at the generalist level are presented.