Published Aug 22, 2013
truckinusa, BSN, LPN, RN
365 Posts
My school just started the product called Simchart from Elsevier. Any opinions or tips? Here is a link to what I'm talking about: http://www.elsevieradvantage.com/article.jsp?pageid=10707
RNnewbie2014
137 Posts
I hated it. I was used to old school and then they swapped it up on us. I didn't know where to find everything nor did the teachers so tons of people got NIs on care plans. I personally like the template way!!! Some people liked it though.
Gentleman_nurse, MSN
318 Posts
It's supposed to simulate using electronic medical records. If the simulation is teach nursing students why professional nurses are going insane trying to use piece of buggy software then it works well. Seriously, I found I would to type the very same information into the system in 3 or 4 different places. You spend too many hours entering data and not analyzing it.
melc0305
147 Posts
My school uses it too. I start the class that uses it on Thursday. Doesn't sound too encouraging!
Fireman767
231 Posts
terrible software. It really is made aesthetically pleasing but it doesnt work well, its slow, and lacks features real EMRs use. and good luck navigating it. We switched to docucare recently
july06
123 Posts
My school uses it too. I haven't started school yet, but now I'm worried I'll have problems with it.
smoup
366 Posts
I start classes Monday and as Fireman said, we will be using DocuCare also. When the rep was talking about it and showing it to us at orientation, it looked like it was going to be very helpful, especially for writing careplans.
Is docucare any better? I wonder why a company like pointclickcare doesn't make a school version of their software? At least it would be the real deal then?
melizerd, ASN, RN
461 Posts
We attempted to use it, we hated it so much the instructors stopped making us use it. It's nothing like Epic charting at all (which is why most hospitals in our area are using). It's buggy and annoying and makes you retype things several times. I'm so glad we're not being forced to use it.
If you knew how much an EMR cost and how much it costs to maintain, its more than most colleges pay for their accreditation. Your stuck using simcharts, sorry. colleges usually sign contracts to keep them, so get used to it.
All I've seen it being used for is a place to enter patient data. The data it requires to complete a full chart is extensive. It took me at least 10 hours to enter it because of the interface. My clinicals were spent running around gathering data rather than taking care of the patient. Simchart can be great learning tool when used correctly. If your instructor is reasonable, they will keep the flaws in mind and adjust simchart assignments accordingly.
Check out
Wolters Kluwer Health Single SignOn Result
There is an interactive demo that shows you what it's like.