I was quite apprehensive about the first day of using the EPIC at our hospital. Having a medical student round with me at the beginning of "go-live" to guide me through the process brought the anxiety level down tremendously. The physicians at my hospital all had training on the program beforehand, but there is no way to really learn it without using it on real patients during rounds. What I loved about the students was that they thought like doctors and could relate to the things I needed, from the most efficient way to review labs and vital signs to generating useful templates for notes. Nothing was theoretical; it was from their four years of experience using the program day after day. The physicians in our program raved about them and I expressed my thanks to our administration for having the wisdom to utilize their knowledge and expertise during this transition.

Hugh McHugh, MD
MD, Internal Medicine
Rockford Memorial Hospital