The emphasis here must be on creating opportunities for learning. In this constantly changing environment opportunities to learn even basic concepts, can not be limited to formal educational programmes. Leaders in nursing informatics education must create life long learning opportunities that are integrated into continuing education for all professional nurses. However, nursing is a practice profession and students in every educational programme participate in related hands-on experiences. For example, a student in a doctoral programme learning how to do nursing research will be enmeshed in real research.
Basic students learn clinical nursing concepts by providing care to real people.
In both of these examples the management of nursing information is an inherent part of nursing. To learn the management of nursing data in today's automated environment students require access to health care information systems. The first problem is passwords. Access to automated systems usually requires a password. Rarely is a clinical setting prepared to provide temporary passwords for a parade of short term non-employees.