We all know that charting is moving to EHRs and EMRs, largely because of the Affordable Care Act and the HITECH Act. As practitioners are preparing to qualify for Stage 2 Meaningful Use Criteria, it's important for instructors to be aware of what students will be facing in the field from this point forward.
Once of the most basic requirements to meet Stage 2 requirements is recording and charting vital signs along with vital sign changes. Because of that, it's important that your students practice recording this basic information digitally.
If you currently have an Academic EHR System like EHR Tutor, have students team up in groups of two for an easy partner activity. Have one student log in to your Academic EHR System and record the other student's vital signs including blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, etc. Then, have the students switch and do the same to their partner, charting the other's vital signs as they go.
Not only is this a good activity for practicing the charting aspect of work, but it's a great beginning-of-nursing-school activity to learn and practice taking vital signs.