Use of academic electronic medical records in nurse education: A scoping review

Background: Use of academic electronic medical records is internationally recognised as a means for preparing health professional students for the digital healthcare environment. Reported practice benefits include skills for electronic documentation, health informatics, point-of-care clinical decision support systems, as well as preparation for information technology-enabled clinical settings, while challenges include lack of access to simulation software, faculty-related barriers, limited finances and educational software costs. However, little is known about best practices related to its use within pre-licensure or entry-to-practice nursing curricula and impact on clinical practice outcomes.

Objective: This review sought to explore how academic electronic medical records are used in entry-to-practice nursing curricula.

Design: A scoping review guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute three-step search strategy, exploring existing publications and grey literature.

Inclusion criteria: Quantitative and qualitative studies related to use of academic electronic medical records in pre-licensure nurse education.

Information sources: A range of databases were searched including CINAHL, Medline, Proquest Central, ERIC, ScienceDirect, PubMed, IOS Press, as well as grey literature, reference lists and handsearching.

Review methods: The search yielded 580 articles, from which inductive thematic analysis of 34 included studies was conducted.

Results: Included articles were nine qualitative, 21 quantitative and five mixed methods studies. Most originated from the USA. Academic electronic medical records are mainly used to teach documentation, safe use of health technology, and for clinical preparation. Most are used for fundamental or junior levels courses, with problem-based learning and simulation embedded. Institution's technology resources and faculty capability are essential to implementation.

Conclusions: There is a need for more research that examines optimal timing and duration of use of academic electronic medical records in curricula, and their impact on critical thinking and clinical performance. Finally, there is a need to explore greater academic-clinical partnerships in the education process.