Program Overview

Nurse SmartUser is an efficiency training program designed to help nurses make the most of Epic tools. Each session within the Nursing SmartUser Program contains one hour of time-saving tips for a specific subject.

Overall Program Learning Objectives

At the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Customize and apply Epic personalization and workflow tools to efficiently organize work, manage tasks, and support patient care across inpatient and outpatient nursing workflows.
• Analyze nursing workflows and information flow to identify opportunities to reduce unnecessary navigation, cognitive load, and documentation burden while maintaining accuracy, timeliness, and clinical relevance.
• Create, modify, and evaluate user-level tools and configurations to support efficient, consistent, and clinically appropriate documentation and message management.

Session Overview

Session Statement of Need and Purpose 

Nurse SmartUser is an efficiency training program designed to help nurses make the most of Epic tools. Each session contains one hour of time-saving tips for a specific subject.

Nurses may be unaware of time-saving documentation features in Epic, such as the Pasteboard, chart search shortcuts, or the Remind Me tool, resulting in slower and less consistent documentation practices. Without familiarity with AI-assisted tools like Outpatient Insights, nurses may spend more time manually reviewing lengthy patient histories, increasing the risk of missing relevant clinical information. Nurses may also not be utilizing efficient ordering techniques—such as keyboard shortcuts, order panels, or bulk editing—leading to repetitive steps and increased time spent in the order entry workflow.

This course helps nurses improve documentation efficiency and clinical communication by leveraging advanced Epic features within the outpatient setting. Learners will practice using tools such as the Open Slots button, Remind Me feature, personal chart notes, chart search, and AI-assisted note review. Unlike foundational Epic training, this activity emphasizes practical documentation strategies, including ordering with keyboard shortcuts, editing multiple orders simultaneously, and using compiled documents to communicate with other care team members. Completing this course is essential within the overall program because it equips nurses with documentation skills that save time, reduce errors, and support high-quality, well-coordinated patient care.

Session Learning Objectives

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Apply documentation tools to capture and communicate patient information efficiently.
• Use Epic's chart search and AI note summary features to quickly locate and synthesize relevant clinical information from a patient's history.
• Streamline medication and order management using keyboard shortcuts, order panels, bulk editing, and order macros to reduce time spent on repetitive ordering tasks.

Elements of Competence

This educational activity is designed to change learner competence and focuses on the following competencies:

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)/Nursing: 

• Systems-based practice
• Utilizing informatics

Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies

• Roles and responsibilities
• Interprofessional communication

Intended Audience

This session is intended for nurses in inpatient settings using the EMR in their daily practice.

Course Schedule & Agendas*

*We will add agendas to this table as classes are scheduled. Credit information document is available on Epic's registration site. 

Policy on Disclosure

It is the policy of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Interprofessional Continuing Education Partnership (ICEP) to identify, mitigate and disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies* held by the speakers/presenters, authors, planners, and other persons who may influence the content of this accredited continuing education (CE).  In addition, speakers, presenters, and authors must disclose any planned discussion of unlabeled/unapproved uses of drugs or devices during their presentation.

This accredited continuing education activity is focused on the non-clinical topic – use of and communication within the electronic health record. As such, no persons in a position to control content have relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.

*Ineligible companies are those whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. The ACCME does not consider providers of clinical services directly to patients to be ineligible companies.

Planning Committee Members

Peer Reviewer: Laura Vergenz, BSN, RN

Accreditation Statement

In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by the University of Wisconsin–Madison ICEP and Epic. The University of Wisconsin–Madison ICEP is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American   Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Credit Designation Statements

American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)

The University of Wisconsin–Madison ICEP designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.00 ANCC contact hours.

Continuing Education Units (CEU's)

The University of Wisconsin–Madison ICEP, as a member of the University Professional & Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), authorizes this program for 0.10 continuing education units (CEUs), or 1.00 hour.