Question

You are designing an education session for your colleagues on transitioning from a paper-based documentation system to an electronic medical record (EMR) system. Time is of the essence, and you have three 1-hour sessions planned to cover the information they need to incorporate the new EMR system into their daily practice. Several of your colleagues are concerned about their ability to master the new system. Jack, the nursing unit supervisor, confides, “I am terrified. Learning a whole new system of documentation is overwhelming to my staff, given all of their other responsibilities. I worry that this new EMR system will have a negative impact on morale, just at the time when we are feeling pressure to increase the amount of work that we do.”

Describe how you will structure the educational sessions using two of the psychological learning theories discussed in this chapter. Explain why you chose each theory.

2: Judge which learning theory can best assist you in addressing the issues your colleagues raise about their ability to master the new system and feelings of being overwhelmed. Why did you choose this theory?

3: What can you do to ensure that learning will become relatively permanent?

Answer 1

1. I will use the following two psychological learning theories to provide the educational sessions for the staffs about transitioning from paper based documentation system to an electronic medical record system :-

- behavioural learning theory in which new behaviour or changes in behaviour are used through associations between stimuli and respone .

- cognitive learning theory in which learning occurs through internal processing of information .

I have chosen these two theories because learning and implementation of new things occur by changing the existing behaviour and by providing knowledge and skills about the new implementation .

2. The theory that will be used to address the issues of my colleagues about to master the new system is behavioural learning theory . By changing the behaviour of the staffs along with motivating them to use the new implementation . It will help in changing the behaviour and hence they will adjust it with the same as time goes .

3. To ensure that learning will be permanent , certificate and other incentives will be given to all those who will implement this change in practice and at last it will help to do the work at less time and more securely . Hence it will help in the upgradation of the hospital and staffs