Training environments can get out of sync when training for an EHR Go-Live, due to changes in test environments and production. You will want to make sure that both your patients and your end users are being taken care. Making sure that your end users are comfortable during your EHR Training project can go a long way in contributing to its success.
With multiple successful training projects to his name, HCIs Senior Vice President of Operational Delivery, Stephen Tokarz, has seen what contributes to staff comfortability during EHR Training. In today’s blog post, he discusses how to create a comfortable environment for your organization during an EHR Training project.
1) Managing Your Training Facilities
If you are able to complete your training at one centralized facility, it can make logistics much simpler. It is far easier to only have one facility to manage, and this can allow for deployment of your trainers to be much more efficient. However, it is not uncommon for geography and the nature of your organization to dictate if whether or not your project requires multiple training facilities. If this is this is the case, it will be vital for you to know which facilities you should consider constructing, and what goes into constructing them.
There will be some hardware requirements that must be considered when constructing new facilities, in addition basic things like environmental services and placement of restrooms. It is not uncommon to see organizations build beautiful facilities that only have one restroom, which can obviously lead to complications. You need to make sure that the following are readily accessible:
- Food
- Coffee
- Restrooms
- Water
- Microwaves
- Backup light bulbs/projector light bulbs
- Toilet paper
In addition to these basic things, it will be in your best interest to implement wayfinding signs. The last thing you want is for someone to not be able to find their classroom, and wayfinding signs can go a long way in preventing that. It may also be beneficial to make sure that everyone working on the training project knows to help guide lost individuals at the training facility. Hospitals should make a point to instruct their resources that – unless they are in the middle of patient care – they should assist someone who is lost and walk them to their destination.
2) Mirroring Training With Production
It is very important for everyone involved to be both comfortable and familiar with the workplace environment during a training project. In addition to providing the necessary amenities and helping those who are lost, creating a good training environment has to deal with the playground your end users have been practicing in. It will be necessary to make the environment as true to production as possible.
We often mention the possibilities of the training environment getting out of sync with what the real situation is going to look like, so make sure that you have someone from your training team that can sit on the change control board. This will allow you to be familiar with anything new that may be happening on the analysts end, or any improvements that are made to the system. The paramount focus for the training team needs to be maintaining the integrity of the training environment, and making sure that it mirrors production as much as it possibly can.
There are many obvious things that organizations must prepare for during an EHR Training project. Too often, however, healthcare facilities will overlook the fact that their employees need a comfortable environment in order to thrive. By properly managing facilities, stocking them with the proper amenities, and mirroring production, your healthcare organization can go a long way in preventing these common mistakes.
For more information on what goes into a successful EHR Training project, make sure to look out for our next episode in our Monday Morning Podcast series, where Stephen covers what goes in to a smooth and seamless EHR Training program.