Nursing undergraduates' perception of preparedness using patient electronic medical records in clinical practice

• Published in: Australian journal of advanced nursing 2021-03, Vol.38 (2), p.44-51
• Main Authors: Mollart, Lyndall, Newell, Rachel, Noble, Danielle, Geale, Sara, Norton, Carol, O'Brien, Anthony
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clinical medicine; Confidence; Core curriculum; Curricula; Data processing; Documentation; Electronic health records; Electronic records; Experiential learning; Learning; Management; Medical records; Nurses; Nursing; Nursing education; Nursing skills; Perceptions; Physician practice patterns; Questionnaires; School-to-work transition; Scope of practice; Simulation; Student attitudes; Undergraduates
• ISSN: 0813-0531; 1447-4328; 1447-4328
• DOI: 10.37464/2020.382.282

Objective: To investigate third-year undergraduate nursing students' perceptions and views on being prepared for using patient electronic medical records (EMR) in clinical placement after using only paper-based documentation during their education program; and their opinion on the introduction of EMR in the university simulated learning environments to be work ready. Background: Contemporaneous clinical practice in many countries now requires nurses to competently use patient EMR including electronic observation and medication charts. However, Australia has been slow in introducing this learning into undergraduate nursing programs. For this reason, there is a knowledge gap examining nursing students' viewpoints on learning EMR in their undergraduate program in preparation for the clinical environment and future registered nurses in Australia. Methods: All third-year students enrolled in the undergraduate nursing program at one regional metropolitan university in New South Wales (including three campuses) were invited to complete an electronic questionnaire. This survey included questions on the students' perceptions on their confidence and preparedness using EMR in clinical practice based on their current paper-based learning in the university simulation laboratories; and their opinions on the benefits of integrating EMR learning into the undergraduate nursing curriculum. Results: Seventy third-year nursing students completed the questionnaire, a response rate of 13.2%. Most respondents (71.1%) did not feel prepared to use EMR in the clinical setting after only learning paper-based documentation and 81.7% did not feel confident accessing patients EMR the first time. Nearly all students (98.5%) believed they would be more confident using EMR initially in their clinical placements if there had been opportunity to practice using EMR in the university simulation laboratories. There was a significant difference with female participants perceived improved confidence accessing