Implementing the Electronic Health Record in Nursing Education Through the Use of 'Just In Time' Teaching Methodologies

Connelly, Liane

Wednesday, 1 August 2012

Liane Connelly, PhD
Northern Division, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing, Norfolk, NE
Beth Burbach, MSN, RN
School of Nursing, UNMC Northern Division, Omaha, NE

Learning Objective 1: Identify key elements of just in time teach methodologies

Learning Objective 2: Determine best educational practice for teaching EHR in academic settings.

In 2010, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS, 2011) published rules and regulations for incentive payments for eligible professionals, hospitals, and others who participate in Medicare and Medicaid programs and successfully implement meaningful use of electronic health record (EHR) technology (e-prescribing, electronic exchange of health information, and quality data). Hospitals that do not meet these federal guidelines by 2015 will face reductions in Medicare reimbursement.

Nurses are the largest number of workforce professionals in a typical acute care facility, therefore the education of nursing students related to the utilization of the EHR is an essential occupational requirement. Due to time constraints, providing lengthy instruction on EHR poses challenges of inefficiency given multiple priorities in nursing education.

This pilot project was undertaken in order to determine a best – practice teaching/learning strategy with an EHR used in a Midwestern regional medical center. Faculty from 2 nursing programs, medical center educators, and the EHR vendor worked collaboratively with the regional medical center for the purpose of determining an approach in which to educate nursing students about EHR, in a nonthreatening yet efficient manner. Use of a dummy test site on the community college/medical center campus was made available for student learning of and practice with the EHR used by the vendor and regional medical center. The focus of inquiry was comparison of two instructional methods; a “just in time” approach compared with a more traditional, one time instructional strategy. This poster presentation will present the early results of a joint project between these organizations in the education of nursing students related to the best educational strategy in EHR education.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (2011, December 6). Retrieved from http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-17207.pdf.

See more of: Evidence-Based Practice Poster Session 2
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