Electronic Health Records Technology to Enhance Nurse Practitioner Education

Dr. Kathy Dontje and Mary Jane Cook have been accepted to represent the College of Nursing by participating in the Health Information Technology Scholars (HITS) program. The program uses online modules, workshops and webinars, to enhance the development of a College specific technology project for the Nurse Practitioner program.

The HITS program is sponsored by the University of Kansas School of Nursing and funded by a HRSA grant. The HITS program received 290 applications from 97 different schools of nursing. Of this, 52 applicants were then selected, representing 27 schools in 28 states.

The project plans to enhance existing technology and provide Nurse Practitioner (NP) students with the opportunity to interact with the electronic health records (EHR) for primary care settings. The EHR is an important part of the changes that are occurring in the healthcare system and NP students need to understand the safety and quality tools within the EHR to improve clinical practice. Through assignments and tutorial development, students will create a quality improvement project based on data retrieved from the database.

Overall, the project will focus on the meaningful use of the EHR system through evidence based practice support. The EHR will assist in capturing and communicating data that improves patient safety and quality.

"Technology and the use of electronic health records are at the center of improving quality of healthcare and safety for patients. With the introduction of the EHR content into the NP curriculum our students will possess skills for improved health and safety of their patients. Some of the areas where this will happen is in medication reconciliation and documenting in the EHR to meet the standards which are being developed for meaningful use of the EHR,” said Dr. Dontje.

NP curriculum has not traditionally addressed informatics competencies related to the EHR. This may be due to the difficulties in clinical education associated with the availability of the EHR at clinical sites. It is particularly challenging with rural and underserved populations in which the students practice. This project will develop an avenue by which all NP students would have the opportunity to interact with the EHR and understand its impact on healthcare delivery.

The College is honored to have Dr. Dontje and Ms. Cook selected to participate in the HITS program. The chosen project of interest established by the program will enhance the educational curriculum provided by the College and advance the opportunities of excellence available to students.