How Care New England is embedding Epic training into nursing education
Providence, R.I.-based Care New England has partnered with Rhode Island College in Providence to create a pipeline of digitally educated, EHR-trained nurses and healthcare administrators, Tomas Gregorio, CIO of the health system, told Becker’s.
The partnership, announced Feb. 5, aims to build a pipeline of nurses and healthcare technology professionals trained in cybersecurity, AI, data analytics and digital health. Under the partnership, Care New England will work with the college to enhance existing academic programs and develop new clinical and healthcare management degree programs, professional certifications and workshops.
“It will allow us, as we start to recruit and grow Care New England, to build a certified and trained group of individuals who come in with education on how Care New England works — how a hospital works, how administration looks at dashboards to make critical operational decisions,” he said.
As health systems continue to face significant nursing shortages, Mr. Gregorio said organizations should build closer relationships with nursing schools. However, this partnership goes further. A key element of the collaboration includes integrating Epic EHR training into Rhode Island College’s nursing and health sciences curricula.
Care New England will provide access to an Epic academic license, allowing students to gain hands-on experience with the EHR platform. The partnership also includes the creation of internship and cooperative education opportunities for Rhode Island College students, which could lead to full-time employment with Care New England.
“We want those nurses to have an idea of what the EHR looks like before they join us,” Mr. Gregorio said.
He added that the Epic experience will help students enter internships or co-ops with an understanding of real software dashboards that show what running a hospital or hospital department looks like, expediting onboarding for Care New England and other organizations that may hire them.
“Getting talent early, teaching them how Epic works and ensuring that when they become part of your organization they already understand how to do the work — that’s extremely important,” he said. “Through internships and co-ops, you can test individuals, see how they function in the environment and make better hiring decisions.”
As for the end goal, Mr. Gregorio said he hopes the partnership strengthens Rhode Island’s health IT presence.
“That’s the bigger goal. Rhode Island College specializes in workforce development, and we believe this partnership creates a strong transition from education into the workforce,” he said. “They need to educate students, and we need to hire them — especially as we continue growing the workforce.”
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