An Innovative Approach to Remote Electronic Health Onboarding Record Education Amid a Global Pandemic

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Education
• Medical Informatics
• Pandemic Response

Background:

• COVID-19 pandemic necessitated social distancing, disrupting traditional in-person training.
• Conventional onboarding methods for electronic health record (EHR) systems became challenging due to reduced group sizes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the transition of traditional EHR onboarding education to synchronous remote learning.
• To evaluate the effectiveness and comparability of remote EHR training versus traditional methods.

Main Methods:

• A nurse educator team implemented synchronous remote learning for EHR training.
• Compared post-course evaluations of remote learners (n=94) with traditional in-person learners (n=110).

Main Results:

• Post-course evaluations were comparable between remote and traditional learning groups.
• Remote learners reported technology was conducive to training.
• Remote learners achieved higher scores in locating and reviewing patient information.

Conclusions:

• Synchronous remote EHR education is a safe and effective alternative to traditional classroom training.
• Remote learning successfully facilitated new staff onboarding during the pandemic.
• This innovative approach maintained training quality and safety amidst public health challenges.