Topic: Scaling Success: Transforming Epic Education for Rapid Growth
Time: May 7, 11:30 AM – 12:10 PM
Location: Training Advisory Council (TAC 06)
For UCHealth, rapid organizational growth combined with the complexity of training new affiliates, often mountains away, demanded a fresh approach to Epic training. Previously, classroom training was the norm, but proved time-consuming, resource-intensive, and challenging to schedule around patient care. Many nurses felt overwhelmed by the volume of information, much of which was not easily retained or revisited post-onboarding. UCHealth needed a scalable solution that accommodated nursing schedules, enhanced ongoing support, and facilitated relevant communications about Epic updates.
UCHealth’s experience highlights a critical need shared by all Epic clients: scalable, accessible, and effective education programs. As organizations aim to boost adoption and optimize Epic utilization, UCHealth presents a solution that empowers nurses to access information as needed, without compromising patient care. This session is essential for any organization seeking to improve training scalability, promote efficient EHR use, and enhance clinician satisfaction with Epic.
UCHealth took a different approach by switching to computer-based onboarding and integrating microlearning opportunities within Epic. This strategy enables self-directed, virtual training that new hires can complete before their first day, accelerating their time to patient care. It also facilitates integrated change communications, crucial for keeping nurses informed about Epic updates, new features, and policy changes.
The virtual approach offered many benefits, including:
- Optimized Onboarding: By eliminating classroom sessions, trainers now onboard new hires and administer Epic training in half the time compared to instructor-led methods. According to a KLAS Research survey, UCHealth nurses are 50% more satisfied with the self-paced format.
- Increased Accessibility: Moving training materials from SharePoint to Epic takes the “road signs out of the garage and puts them on the roadway”, providing nurses with access to tip sheets, videos, and other resources when and where they are needed most.
- Ongoing Support: With on-demand access to microlearning from within Epic, support is available to nurses 24x7x365. Content can be easily revisited as needed, especially when workflows change.
- Improved Communications: With links to learning materials organized by upgrade available inside of Epic, UCHealth delivers clear, relevant updates to nurses about the latest Epic functionalities and changes.
- Honor Roll Insights: With access to learner engagement and usage analytics, UCHealth effectively monitors ongoing nurse education, enabling them to meet the Epic Honor Roll requirement of delivering 3-5 hours of training to most of their nurses.
UCHealth’s transition resulted in significant improvements in nurse competency, confidence, and overall experience with Epic. By shifting to a digital format, UCHealth reduced the time and costs associated with traditional, instructor-led training, and instead reallocated its educators to deliver more personalized coaching and support more strategic initiatives. In addition, feedback from nurses confirmed greater satisfaction with a more personalized learning experience and the ability to learn at their own pace.
By attending this session, clinical informatics executives and health IT educators will learn how to drive better outcomes in Epic adoption and proficiency, with a training strategy that supports continuous learning and effective change communications.
