Discussion
The early theoretic work of nursing informatics con-
centrated on three general themes—information
technology, conceptual foundations, and the role of
the informatics nurse specialist. The more technolo-
gy-oriented definitions were a reflection of their era,
and the definitions matched the task at hand.
Schwirian’s early work on a conceptual definition20
was largely ignored as practical issues rather than
more theoretic work guided definitions.