Quality Improvement Project to Enhance Student Confidence Using an Electronic Health Record

Background: As the largest health care workforce, nursing is positioned to improve the health of populations using health information technology (HIT). Nurse graduates often lack confidence using HIT in practice, specifically, the electronic health record (EHR). Nurse scholars endorse the use of an academic electronic health record (AEHR) in nursing programs to provide students a safe learning platform to build levels of confidence using an EHR. Method: A quality improvement project was completed to evaluate student learning outcomes, satisfaction, and sustainability of an AEHR. Using an interprofessional approach, nurse educators incorporated the Systems Life Cycle Model to adopt an AEHR in two prelicensure nursing programs. Results: Students' levels of confidence using an EHR in clinical settings increased markedly. Satisfaction rates for using an AEHR were high. Conclusion: Integration of an AEHR in nursing education contributes to building a proficient nursing workforce confident in using HIT for health care quality.