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 

This course equips inpatient nurse managers who may be underutilizing or are unaware of practical Epic tools to streamline daily unit operations, chart auditing, and reporting. Without consistent use, managers may lack visibility into documentation gaps and staffing imbalances across the unit.

Participants will explore efficiency tips such as AI-powered patient summaries, the Event Log, Flowsheet History, Workflow Surveillance Metrics, and the Assignment Wizard to support effective oversight of their unit. Advanced topics include navigating Analytics dashboards, customizing Reporting Workbench views, and analyzing BCMA compliance data in SlicerDicer. Completing this course is essential within the overall program because it empowers nurse managers with actionable Quick Wins they can implement immediately to improve patient safety and team performance.

Session Learning Objectives

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

• Use Epic tools, including Reminder Lists, AI Summaries, and the Event Log to efficiently audit inpatient charts and follow up on patient care concerns.
• Apply the Workflow Surveillance Metrics list and Assignment Wizard to monitor unit documentation compliance and support balanced patient assignments.
• Analyze unit performance data using Analytics Catalog dashboards, Reporting Workbench, and SlicerDicer to identify trends and inform quality improvement decisions.

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.