Integration of an Academic Electronic Medical Record into the Bachelor of Nursing program: A pilot project

Integration of an Academic Electronic Medical Record into the Bachelor of Nursing program: A pilot project

Electronic medical records (EMR) are a ubiquitous technology in a modern health care system. Replacing traditional paper-based information systems, EMRs provide nurses with a centralised and readily accessible source of electronic clinical information. Electronic systems can offer a range of opportunities to improve nurses’ work through access to information, enhanced workflows and guidance for care practices (Borycki & Kushniruk, 2019). Hospital computers provide point-of-care access to not only patient information, but also medical reference works, research articles, and guidelines about specific illnesses and injuries, treatment options, medications, and patient care. Although some of our clinical partners permit students limited access to the EMRs, many only provide students with view-only access, limited to some areas of the patient record, and do not permit students to document in the patient record. Despite this restriction, new graduate nurses are expected to use these systems without sufficient opportunity to explore their use in lab simulations or during their clinical practicum during their undergraduate (UG) education (Johnson & Bushey, 2011; Kavanagh & Szweda, 2017). UG nursing curricula needs to reflect the information technology used in current nursing practice (Hanberg & Madden, 2011; Kavanagh & Szweda, 2017). By exposing students to a more authentic approach to learning, such as an interactive Online Workbook that simulates the EMR, student nurses will have the confidence and familiarity to retrieve information during clinical placement and transfer this knowledge forward as new graduate nurses. As this technology has become available in most health care settings around the world, more work is needed to fully develop robust educational EMRs to support the development of digital competencies in a modern health care system (Campbell & Leger, 2020). When considering the selection and incorporation of an academic EMR into the Bachelor of Nursing program, consideration was given to experiences reported in the literature namely cost, internet connectivity (Wisner, Lyndon, & Chesla, 2019). The decision was made to use Microsoft OneNote Class Notebook where all students have access without incurring any extra cost. The ability to have the OneNote Notebook downloaded onto the desktop was a bonus to overcome the issue of connectivity for some students who are in the rural and remote areas. The EMR project was initially introduced in one course; it was conducted to determine the feasibility of the implementation of the project in additional nursing courses across the Bachelor of Nursing program. This project used exploratory research method. Once utilisation of the academic EMR commences, student engagement, uptake and satisfaction will be assessed through end of semester surveys and focus groups. Students need exposure to electronic documentation and data management to prepare for successful employment after graduation.