Traveling without EMR experience?

[brainsarecool, RN]

Hi friends, I am so eager to travel. I have enough RN experience. *However*, I only have experience with the EMR at the Veterans Affairs hospitals. Has anyone traveled to a hospital that uses a different EMR than what they're trained on? Do you get any training on it? I'd love to take a course on Epic right now, but can't find anything online. Appreciate any advice!! -Leslie

[NedRN]

While Epic is currently the most popular EMR, any hospital that accepts you will do training. I haven't seen the VA's EMR, however I've read that it is particularly user friendly and the US could have saved billions that they spent subsidizing doctors and facilities to start using random  brand EMRs.

I also read that Epic is relatively user friendly, but even in the one facility that I've traveled to that used it in the relatively limited use case of the operating room, I found it a bear. Although other travelers told me the OR charting there was twice as much content (screens you have to populate) as any other OR they had been to. Part of the my problem was that the IT training I did had a non functional OR training module. Still, I don't find it user friendly and a number of hospitals do require prior Epic experience probably for that reason. Still, you have to be oriented to each hospital's EMR customization (none of it is stock).

Usually I find most EMRs a breeze. Even Meditech! Even used it in the days of no graphical user interface with 100% keyboard commands. Anyway, get used to one EMR, usually the others are easy.

Even now, many EDs use paper charting because the workflow can be too frenzied compared to other specialty areas. But since you have some EMR experience in that setting, you should be fine. I'd bet that when serious notes need to be entered, you can do a narrative. The other stuff for ED should just take seconds.