Elsevier's SimChart Integrates EHR Training and Practice into Nursing Education Curriculum

PHILADELPHIA, February 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

SimChart prepares nurses for electronic documentation through real-world cases and resources designed by Elsevier

Elsevier, the leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced today the availability of SimChart, an educational simulated electronic health record (EHR) system designed for nursing students.

SimChart covers the core areas of nursing including medical surgical, pediatrics, women's health, and psychiatric, combining practical, real-world experience in electronic documentation with integrated educator support to incorporate EHR practice into a nursing education curriculum. Fully web-based and built using Elsevier's world-class clinical content, SimChart comes equipped with several real-life cases that allow students and educators to incorporate electronic documentation into the classroom, simulation center, skills lab, and clinical setting. Users are able to practice in a safe, monitored environment before they practice on real patients, and can also customize their content by adding additional cases into the system. The dynamic interface prepares students to chart on any system they may encounter in a practice or clinical setting.

"Using SimChart in the lab makes simulation and lab experiences much more realistic and allows students to become familiar with the process of finding information and documenting care in an EHR, resulting in more effective use of time on the clinical unit," said Deborah Bambini, PhD,WHNP-BC, CNE, Associate Professor, Kirkhof College of Nursing, Grand Valley State University. "It is also very helpful that students can log their clinical experiences and build a portfolio for future employers."

Additionally, SimChart offers the following distinctive features:

• Comprehensive instructor support by Elsevier - including training,  an implementation manual, and educator-oriented webinars and videos;
• Educational tools which bolster the care planning and patient teaching skills of students;
• Evaluation features which allow instructors to assess and grade students' documentation and generate reports;
• Clinical Decision Support via direct access to Elsevier resources such as Mosby's Nursing Consult Student Edition, which includes content from 20 leading nursing and medical texts, and Elsevier CPM Resource Center's CPMGuidelines™, which deliver concise evidence-based information to interprofessional clinicians so that they may perform their specific professional responsibilities as effectively as possible.

"Healthcare organizations have very few resources to train nurses on electronic documentation, because most lack time or money to invest in these solutions," said Susan Sportsman, PhD, RN, ANEF, Director, Academic Consulting Group, Elsevier. "Nursing professionals also find it difficult to learn electronic documentation on the job, while caring for patients. With SimChart, nursing students will be able to learn and understand this skill prior to getting jobs in clinical settings."  

For more information about Elsevier SimChart, including purchasing information, visit: http://www.elsevieradvantage.com/simulations

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact
Tom Reller
Vice President, Global Corporate Relations, Elsevier
+1-215 239 3508
t.reller@elsevier.com