An Exploratory Study of Allied Health Students' Experiences of Electronic Medical Records During Placements

Abstract

Background Allowing students to access and document in electronic medical records (eMRs) during clinical placements is viewed as critical for ensuring that graduates have a high level of digital proficiency prior to entering the workforce. Limited studies have explored student access to eMRs in health disciplines outside of medicine and nursing. Objective Our main objective was to examine allied health students' experiences and perceptions of the opportunity to develop eMR competencies during their placement, across a range of allied health disciplines and placement settings. Methods An explanatory sequential design was used, comprising a quantitative survey (n = 102) followed by qualitative semi-structured interviews (n = 6) with senior allied health students to explore their experiences and perceptions of eMR access during placements. Results Of the 93 students who responded to the question about their placement eMR, nine (10%) reported their placement site did not use an eMR and four students reported that they were not allowed to access the eMR during their placement. Most students (64%, 54 out of 84) accessed the system using their own credentials, but 31% (26 out of 84) used someone else's log-in and password. Students were satisfied with the eMR training and support received while on placement, but there was significant variability across sites on the level of training and support provided. All students believed that eMR access was beneficial for learning and preparation for work, improved delivery of care, taking ownership of work, and feeling responsible for patient care. Conclusion Providing students with access to eMRs during placements is fundamental to the development of a student's professional identity and to recognizing their role in the delivery of interprofessional patient care. For graduates to be equipped to effectively contribute to multi-disciplinary care in a digital health environment, universities need to work with practice partners to standardize and formalize eMR access, registration, training, and support, and to provide students with early exposure and training on eMRs in university courses.

Student Access to Electronic Medical Records: Missing an Opportunity to Prepare Our Workforce

“…This is partly because the way in which information is presented, accessed, and reproduced within the EMR calls for cognitive processing that may not necessarily come naturally to the student, yet is vital to the profession. Importantly, students value writeaccess to systems and see clear benefits, with a recent survey of over 100 Australian allied health students showing almost all (97%) agreed that providing students with both read and write access to EMRs during clinical placements was important [3]. Additionally, exposure may influence attitudes towards EMR.…”

“…While most LHDs reported providing students with their own EMR login credentials, this was not always the case. A recent study investigating allied health students' experiences of EMRs in Australia showed that of those who had access to EMR systems, almost a third accessed the system using someone else's credentials [3]; a safety risk and a clear breach of policy and permitted EMR activity [13]. This finding suggests that EMR policies may not in fact reflect what occurs in practice within districts.…”

“…Policies detail access and training requirements for students, yet in this study we found that policies pertaining to student EMR use were inconsistent across Australian healthcare LHDs. Almost a third of Australian allied health respondents to a recent survey indicated that a lack of appropriate training was a direct hinderance to them using the EMR [3], therefore consistent policy inclusive of standard training may facilitate and support student EMR operation.…”

“…Training programs for EMR systems are not standardised within university degrees during pre-clinical years, or for student clinical placements, and research indicates that some students are dissatisfied with the EMR training programs available to them while completing their degree [3]. Additionally, the EMR functions available to students vary across different placement sites, resulting in different degrees of exposure.…”