Brave new paperless world opens opportunities for more nurse informaticists Dallas Morning News, April 29, 2007 DALLAS - More and more nurses have been bridging the gap between information technology and clinical practice. Nurse informaticists are needed as the advent of electronic health records ushers in a preference to go paperless. At least 75 percent of nurse informaticists are developing or implementing clinical information or documentation systems, according to an industry survey. A shortage of these experts bodes well for nurses considering this niche. Nurse informaticists also work for clinics, home health agencies, nursing homes, public health departments, software companies and Internet content providers. "There are undoubtedly many other settings where nursing informatics expertise is used," said Poldi Tschirch, director of nursing informatics at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. This is a relatively new position for UTMB and the veteran faculty member. She undertook the challenge in October 2005 after directing technology-assisted distance learning, which made her a good fit for spearheading informatics at the university. "Many nurses working in nursing informatics roles learn on the job, building on their nursing experience with information management. I am one of these," said Dr. Tschirch, 54, who has a master's degree in nursing with an adult health emphasis and a doctorate in medical humanities.