Selected Podcast
Overview of Epic Training Plan
In this panel interview, Teri Young MSB, RN-BC and Jeff Ostrow MSIT PMP give an overview of the Epic training program as well as the benefits for patients, team members and health systems.
Featuring:
Teri Young, MSB, RN-BC is the Senior Director & Chief of Clinical Informatics, University of Maryland Medical System.
Jeff Ostrow, MSIT PMP | Teri Young, MSB, RN-BC
Jeff Ostrow, MSIT PMP is the Director, Portfolio Training, Design & Development, University of Maryland Medical System.Teri Young, MSB, RN-BC is the Senior Director & Chief of Clinical Informatics, University of Maryland Medical System.
Transcription:
Bill Klaproth (Host): So as we continue to move to Epic, the new electronic health record system, let’s get an overview of the Epic training plan with Teri young, a registered nurse. She’s also the senior director and chief of clinical informatics. And Jeff Ostrow, director portfolio training design and development, both from the University of Maryland Medical System. This is the Hero Podcast from UM Upper Chesapeake Health. I'm Bill Klaproth. Jeff, let’s start with you. Can you give us an overview of the substantial training available to team members?
Jeff Ostrow MSIT PMP (Guest): Sure. Thanks Bill. Well, in collaboration with the Upper Chesapeake managers and directors, we strive to ensure that each and every end user is enrolled in the appropriate training curriculum. That curriculum will provide users with the necessary training to ensure that they can accomplish all their job tasks. Each of the curriculum that they're enrolled in will be compromised of prerequisite e-learnings which are videos that show the user how Epic works and gives them a really good foundation before they get into the classroom. We also understand that many users have multiple job roles so that we ensure that those users are enrolled into multiple curriculum. Again, to ensure that those users are receiving the proper training for all the different job roles they accomplish throughout their day.
Host: Mm-hmm. Teri, let’s bring you in. Can you point out the Epic benefits for patients, team members, and health systems?
Teri Young MSB, RN-BC (Guest): Certainly. Having a single medical record across the continuum of care certainly supports better collaboration between team members across the ambulatory sites, inpatient sites, clinics. And as importantly as if patients are seen outside of the University of Maryland medical system, Epic allows us to exchange that data much more easily than ever before. So patients are certain to get all of the care that they need with all of the right data behind it so that nobody’s is in the dark about what's been going on with them.
I believe that that helps clinicians get through their day much more smoothly, and certainly helps the patients have improved outcomes, smoother transitions between levels of care. Never perfect, but certainly we’re striving and moving towards a much more comprehensive approach to having those patients receive their care in a timely, effective, and high quality manner.
Host: You can see where that exchange of data in kind of a seamless fashion would be a huge benefit. Jeff, how important is engagement in the preparation, training, and implementation of Epic?
Jeff: That’s a great question Bill. I feel that engagement is extremely important throughout all of the different phases of the project. Speaking specifically about pre-implementation. Now, there are marketing and communication campaigns that we participate in, such as Epic fairs which allow users to really understand Epic and really participate in different events to help them start getting excited about the Epic that’s going to be implemented. I think that communication about change is really important as well as adopting multiple champions for the project, getting people really excited. During implementation it’s really important that users are engaged as they attend training. That they participate in multiple educations events throughout the system as we approach implementation, and that folks practice what they learn in class. Some folks will take training four weeks before implementation. It’s really important for them to practice.
Then finally post-implementation. They want to continue to be engaged with follow up training activities. Any type of reeducation and updates that we put out throughout the year. I also want to mention the importance of engagements of super users. Those are individuals that really understand the system and the workflow and are on the floors and in the departments that help users out there. So really the bottom line is ask questions. No question is a stupid question and embrace the change. I think everybody will have a really positive experience.
Host: Right. Know that the end outcome is really going to be a benefit for all users and patients alike. Teri, if you can wrap this up for us. Is there any other information about Epic you’d like to share?
Teri: Certainly. I think the foremost piece that I would love people to take away is that we are working with our partners at Upper Chesapeake to help them to implement Epic. This is not something that anyone is doing to them. To support what Jeff just said, we really want partnership. We want engagement. We want them to participate in all aspects of this implementation. We will certainly have a great go live. It’s also important to realize that the go live is not the end but it’s simply a beginning. That ongoing engagement as we continue to optimize and improve the use of Epic in our other systems across the University of Maryland medical systems require the participation of all of our partners across the system, and especially those at Upper Chesapeake. So I'm hopefully that everyone stays highly engaged, very enthusiastic, and continues to help us build the best possible medical record and clinical delivery system that we possibly can.
Host: That is the goal. Teri and Jeff, thank you so much for your time today. We appreciate it.
Teri: Thank you.
Jeff: Thank you Bill.
Host: This is the Hero podcast from UM Upper Chesapeake Health, a podcast for internal communications. Please visit umuch.org/epic to learn more and check back for our next episode soon. Thanks for listening.
Bill Klaproth (Host): So as we continue to move to Epic, the new electronic health record system, let’s get an overview of the Epic training plan with Teri young, a registered nurse. She’s also the senior director and chief of clinical informatics. And Jeff Ostrow, director portfolio training design and development, both from the University of Maryland Medical System. This is the Hero Podcast from UM Upper Chesapeake Health. I'm Bill Klaproth. Jeff, let’s start with you. Can you give us an overview of the substantial training available to team members?
Jeff Ostrow MSIT PMP (Guest): Sure. Thanks Bill. Well, in collaboration with the Upper Chesapeake managers and directors, we strive to ensure that each and every end user is enrolled in the appropriate training curriculum. That curriculum will provide users with the necessary training to ensure that they can accomplish all their job tasks. Each of the curriculum that they're enrolled in will be compromised of prerequisite e-learnings which are videos that show the user how Epic works and gives them a really good foundation before they get into the classroom. We also understand that many users have multiple job roles so that we ensure that those users are enrolled into multiple curriculum. Again, to ensure that those users are receiving the proper training for all the different job roles they accomplish throughout their day.
Host: Mm-hmm. Teri, let’s bring you in. Can you point out the Epic benefits for patients, team members, and health systems?
Teri Young MSB, RN-BC (Guest): Certainly. Having a single medical record across the continuum of care certainly supports better collaboration between team members across the ambulatory sites, inpatient sites, clinics. And as importantly as if patients are seen outside of the University of Maryland medical system, Epic allows us to exchange that data much more easily than ever before. So patients are certain to get all of the care that they need with all of the right data behind it so that nobody’s is in the dark about what's been going on with them.
I believe that that helps clinicians get through their day much more smoothly, and certainly helps the patients have improved outcomes, smoother transitions between levels of care. Never perfect, but certainly we’re striving and moving towards a much more comprehensive approach to having those patients receive their care in a timely, effective, and high quality manner.
Host: You can see where that exchange of data in kind of a seamless fashion would be a huge benefit. Jeff, how important is engagement in the preparation, training, and implementation of Epic?
Jeff: That’s a great question Bill. I feel that engagement is extremely important throughout all of the different phases of the project. Speaking specifically about pre-implementation. Now, there are marketing and communication campaigns that we participate in, such as Epic fairs which allow users to really understand Epic and really participate in different events to help them start getting excited about the Epic that’s going to be implemented. I think that communication about change is really important as well as adopting multiple champions for the project, getting people really excited. During implementation it’s really important that users are engaged as they attend training. That they participate in multiple educations events throughout the system as we approach implementation, and that folks practice what they learn in class. Some folks will take training four weeks before implementation. It’s really important for them to practice.
Then finally post-implementation. They want to continue to be engaged with follow up training activities. Any type of reeducation and updates that we put out throughout the year. I also want to mention the importance of engagements of super users. Those are individuals that really understand the system and the workflow and are on the floors and in the departments that help users out there. So really the bottom line is ask questions. No question is a stupid question and embrace the change. I think everybody will have a really positive experience.
Host: Right. Know that the end outcome is really going to be a benefit for all users and patients alike. Teri, if you can wrap this up for us. Is there any other information about Epic you’d like to share?
Teri: Certainly. I think the foremost piece that I would love people to take away is that we are working with our partners at Upper Chesapeake to help them to implement Epic. This is not something that anyone is doing to them. To support what Jeff just said, we really want partnership. We want engagement. We want them to participate in all aspects of this implementation. We will certainly have a great go live. It’s also important to realize that the go live is not the end but it’s simply a beginning. That ongoing engagement as we continue to optimize and improve the use of Epic in our other systems across the University of Maryland medical systems require the participation of all of our partners across the system, and especially those at Upper Chesapeake. So I'm hopefully that everyone stays highly engaged, very enthusiastic, and continues to help us build the best possible medical record and clinical delivery system that we possibly can.
Host: That is the goal. Teri and Jeff, thank you so much for your time today. We appreciate it.
Teri: Thank you.
Jeff: Thank you Bill.
Host: This is the Hero podcast from UM Upper Chesapeake Health, a podcast for internal communications. Please visit umuch.org/epic to learn more and check back for our next episode soon. Thanks for listening.