EHR Etiquette and Training in Preclinical Medical Education
Document Type
Event
Abstract
The necessity of developing and integrating electronic health record (EHR) teaching curricula in medical education has been well elucidated over the last few years. Academic institutions have developed simulated EHR environments for training and testing their learners. Nonetheless, concerns remain about the impact of the ‘triangulation of physician-patient-computer’ on the patient-physician rapport.2 In this article, we describe the integration and results of EHR etiquette training into an existing clinical skills curriculum. At the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville (USCSOM-G), we introduced second-year medical students to the EHR with a didactic lecture including basic EHR navigation and ergonomics information. Following didactics, we integrated practice and assessment of these skills in a history and physical clinical exercise utilizing Standardized Patients (SP). We developed three questions [A1] [A2] to assess EHR usage and etiquette. These questions are derived from important elements of ‘LEVEL’, a mnemonic describing five key communication behaviors to foster smooth integration of computers into practice, which was developed by Interregional Clinician-Patient Communication (IRCPC) Leaders of Kaiser Permanente. After the SP encounter, faculty provided feedback with each student on their interaction with the SP while utilizing the EHR. This experience demonstrates that providing an introductory didactic lecture followed by a simulated clinical exercise using the EHR during a SP visit could serve as a method of teaching EHR etiquette skills to medical students. Additionally, it provides an opportunity for faculty educators to evaluate, offer feedback, and reinforce these components.
EHR Etiquette and Training in Preclinical Medical Education
Breakout Session A: Education
CASB 103The necessity of developing and integrating electronic health record (EHR) teaching curricula in medical education has been well elucidated over the last few years. Academic institutions have developed simulated EHR environments for training and testing their learners. Nonetheless, concerns remain about the impact of the ‘triangulation of physician-patient-computer’ on the patient-physician rapport.2 In this article, we describe the integration and results of EHR etiquette training into an existing clinical skills curriculum. At the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville (USCSOM-G), we introduced second-year medical students to the EHR with a didactic lecture including basic EHR navigation and ergonomics information. Following didactics, we integrated practice and assessment of these skills in a history and physical clinical exercise utilizing Standardized Patients (SP). We developed three questions [A1] [A2] to assess EHR usage and etiquette. These questions are derived from important elements of ‘LEVEL’, a mnemonic describing five key communication behaviors to foster smooth integration of computers into practice, which was developed by Interregional Clinician-Patient Communication (IRCPC) Leaders of Kaiser Permanente. After the SP encounter, faculty provided feedback with each student on their interaction with the SP while utilizing the EHR. This experience demonstrates that providing an introductory didactic lecture followed by a simulated clinical exercise using the EHR during a SP visit could serve as a method of teaching EHR etiquette skills to medical students. Additionally, it provides an opportunity for faculty educators to evaluate, offer feedback, and reinforce these components.