Pilot Test of Usability and Functionality of Academic EMR App for Nursing Students’ Clinical Practicum
|
If you are the presenter of this abstract (or if you cite this abstract in a talk or on a poster), please show the QR code in your slide or poster (QR code contains this URL). |
Abstract
Background: As medical records have transformed from paper to electronic medical records (EMRs), undergraduate nursing students have used EMR without enough opportunity to explore at a patient’ bedside and document on it during their clinical practicum. Academic EMR (AEMR) can assist nursing students to understand patients and care in safe and efficient practicum environment [1, 2]. Yonsei University Health System has developed and deployed an EMR app a mobile solution for healthcare professionals at a hospital in iOS environment [3] and it has been modified for nursing students to access patients’ information at the bedside and practice documentation.
Objective: This pilot study was conducted to evaluate usability and functionality of an AEMR app by assessing undergraduate nursing students’ knowledge and skill before committing to an experimental study.
Methods: The participants were six third-year nursing students of a 4-year nursing program at a university, Seoul, Korea and the study was conducted in July and August, 2014. To evaluate the usability and functionality of the app, we created a patient case scenario and tasks based on a real patient hospitalized at a hospital that a nursing student would usually encounter. After three clinical instructors reviewed the scenario and tasks, we finalized fourteen tasks to evaluate the AEMR app. Tasks consisted of various levels of difficulties, such as from logging in/out to filling out the admission documentation linked to web-based forms. Following the short instruction of how to use the app, the case scenario, tasks and an app-installed iPad were given to each participant. The think-aloud protocol was used to elicit participants’ verbalizations as they talked aloud about their experience during the test. We videotaped the screen, voice, and user interactions with the app and also recorded duration of each task and any difficulties that a participant expressed. After completing the tasks, we asked participants any problems encountered when they navigated the app to complete the tasks.
Results: All six students were able to complete tasks and they took 30-45 minutes to complete those tasks. The comments from participants included that the AEMR app was easy to locate patients’ information with little effort and to familiarize it, just like a PC-based EMR they used to use. They pointed out the little improvement needed for forms that they had to fill out based on a patient’s conditions.
Conclusions: The findings from this pilot study demonstrated that the AEMR app had minimal usability and design issues when participants attempted to locate the necessary information to comprehend their patients. As a result of this pilot study, we slightly modified tasks and reevaluated them. The app provided the environment that nursing students can conveniently and promptly access patients’ information at the bedside. We are confident that this AEMR app will enhance nursing students’ experience for their clinical practicum to understand patients’ conditions to document them with great mobility that leads to planning and providing appropriate nursing care.
Objective: This pilot study was conducted to evaluate usability and functionality of an AEMR app by assessing undergraduate nursing students’ knowledge and skill before committing to an experimental study.
Methods: The participants were six third-year nursing students of a 4-year nursing program at a university, Seoul, Korea and the study was conducted in July and August, 2014. To evaluate the usability and functionality of the app, we created a patient case scenario and tasks based on a real patient hospitalized at a hospital that a nursing student would usually encounter. After three clinical instructors reviewed the scenario and tasks, we finalized fourteen tasks to evaluate the AEMR app. Tasks consisted of various levels of difficulties, such as from logging in/out to filling out the admission documentation linked to web-based forms. Following the short instruction of how to use the app, the case scenario, tasks and an app-installed iPad were given to each participant. The think-aloud protocol was used to elicit participants’ verbalizations as they talked aloud about their experience during the test. We videotaped the screen, voice, and user interactions with the app and also recorded duration of each task and any difficulties that a participant expressed. After completing the tasks, we asked participants any problems encountered when they navigated the app to complete the tasks.
Results: All six students were able to complete tasks and they took 30-45 minutes to complete those tasks. The comments from participants included that the AEMR app was easy to locate patients’ information with little effort and to familiarize it, just like a PC-based EMR they used to use. They pointed out the little improvement needed for forms that they had to fill out based on a patient’s conditions.
Conclusions: The findings from this pilot study demonstrated that the AEMR app had minimal usability and design issues when participants attempted to locate the necessary information to comprehend their patients. As a result of this pilot study, we slightly modified tasks and reevaluated them. The app provided the environment that nursing students can conveniently and promptly access patients’ information at the bedside. We are confident that this AEMR app will enhance nursing students’ experience for their clinical practicum to understand patients’ conditions to document them with great mobility that leads to planning and providing appropriate nursing care.
Medicine 2.0® is happy to support and promote other conferences and workshops in this area. Contact us to produce, disseminate and promote your conference or workshop under this label and in this event series. In addition, we are always looking for hosts of future World Congresses. Medicine 2.0® is a registered trademark of JMIR Publications Inc., the leading academic ehealth publisher.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.