During every Epic training project, determining what Epic training is needed for a teammate’s role is a complex process. Most end-user lists with job titles originate from a Human Resources file and job titles are not a direct one-to-one match to Epic training roles. In addition, job titles for a similar position vary from organization to organization. As a result, simply using a Human Resources list of teammates and identifying the appropriate training for the role based on job title is subject to error. Although the process is tedious, taking the time to thoroughly evaluate teammate roles is a must prior to assigning Epic training. Here are some points to consider when working through this process.
When planning how to tackle this process, consider who will be assigned to complete the role mapping. If the roles being mapped to training are for clinical team members and providers, it is helpful to have an individual leading this effort who has a clinical background and Epic training experience. It is extremely helpful for this person to have a basic understanding of hospital and ambulatory clinic roles and what that work entails. On one of my projects, the Clinical Informaticists also participated in this process which was beneficial because of their familiarity with clinical roles and workflows. If the roles needing to be mapped are non-clinical roles, for example, registration, scheduling, and billing team members have someone assisting who has background experience or knowledge of the inner workings of non-clinical departments.
Once identification is made for who will be completing this process, it is imperative that there be resource documents available for this person, or team, to use during training role analysis and mapping. The organization’s Course Catalogue is a key document, a document that has a description of what each training track entails and the intended audience. Having an accurate list of teammates and their employee IDs in each department is also necessary. Typically, this list is obtained from Human Resources. However, with the most current list, due to the fluidity of healthcare new hires, terminations, and transfers, updating names and departments can be completed during manager role mapping meetings.
The most important step in the role mapping process is to schedule meetings with individual department managers or directors to review every team member in the department and analyze each person’s role and how that role translates to Epic training. If anyone has participated in Epic training role mapping, it is common knowledge that Human Resource titles do not match Epic training roles. As a result, there needs to be a discussion with the department leader about teammate roles. This step is time-consuming and tedious, but well worth the effort. Completing this work upfront will make training registration smoother in the long run and will require fewer resources to maintain changes to training assignments.
During the manager role mapping sessions, share an agenda that reflects what you want to cover. This document could include the department being reviewed, location and department number; key milestone dates for training, for example, the date training registration opens, dates of the training period, Go Live date; identify teammates who float to other departments who might need additional training assigned; note follow-ups needed after the meeting. Having an agenda will ensure that everyone is receiving the same information regarding the process and training. Inevitably there will be questions from department leaders regarding the hours of training. Having the length of training classes and an approximate amount of time for any prerequisite eLearnings will be helpful to address manager and director questions. Often the manager or director requests to attend all the training that their staff is assigned which is fine. However, further discussion should occur around this topic. Discussing the hours of training for each role, and the reality of the leader having the availability to attend training that is not required for their role should be considered. It's important to note that if the training is assigned, and not needed, and then not attended, registration compliance will be impacted. Encourage managers and directors to limit assigned training to what is required for their role, their teammates’ roles, and what is required for security access.
During the manager role analysis sessions, identify the appropriate Epic training role(s) for future submission to the organization’s learning management system, or Epic University, for assignment of Epic training. In addition, add teammates missing on the list, and make a note of terminations and transfers. Have a process in place to obtain updates for ongoing new hires, transfers, and terminations to be proactive in identifying training assignments. The role mapping process does not end once the manager sessions are complete. There are many weeks from the time the initial role mapping is completed and the Go Live, so continuing to identify and update training assignments during this time is necessary. The key is having a plan to be proactive and not reactive. It is much easier to keep up with new hires and transfer updates on a regular basis, than receiving an updated list of teammates at one time and trying to catch up.
To reiterate, training role mapping is a tedious and time-consuming process. However, the benefits far outweigh the time commitment. Provider role mapping has not been addressed here, but the process is similar and worthy of a separate post.
