A Formative Program Evaluation of Electronic Clinical Tracking System Documentation to Meet National Core Competencies

Electronic clinical tracking systems are used in many educational institutions of higher learning to document advanced practice registered nursing students’ clinical experiences.  Students’ clinical experiences are constructed according to the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties core competencies.  These competencies form a basis for evaluation of advanced practice registered nursing programs.   Healthcare clinicians and educators are expected to provide evidence-based clinical practices for students.  No previous studies have evaluated the use of electronic clinical tracking systems to validate students’ clinical experiences in meeting national core competencies.  Medatrax, an electronic clinical tracking system, is evaluated using a formative program evaluation approach to determine if students’ clinical documentation meets Family/Across the Lifespan Nurse Practitioner Competencies in a mid-southern family nurse practitioner program.  This formative program evaluation supports the use of Medatrax in facilitating accreditation and program outcome goals.  The significance of this study is that it provides novel evidence to support the use of an electronic clinical tracking system to assist a mid-southern school in meeting national core competencies.