Charting change: mapping evidence on the use of academic electronic health records by nursing students—a scoping review

Introduction Academic electronic health records (AEHRs) are increasingly utilized in nursing education to enhance digital documentation, informatics competence, and practice readiness. This scoping review aimed to map the extent, range and nature of evidence on the use of AEHRs by nursing students, including the platforms used, implementation strategies, reported outcomes, and facilitators and barriers to their use. Methods This scoping review followed Levac et al.’s framework and the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Searches were conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL, Emcare, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science, along with additional searches in Google and Google Scholar. Of the 1,085 records identified, 34 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the thematic synthesis. The search period covered the years 2016 to 2026. Results The 34 included studies, primarily from the United States ( n = 21), mainly involved undergraduate nursing students ( n = 23). AEHR interventions were delivered through commercial/cloud-based ( n = 13), in-house-developed ( n = 12), hospital-linked ( n = 6), and hybrid platforms ( n = 4), with DocuCare being the most frequently used platform ( n = 5). Some studies used more than one platform. These interventions were typically implemented through course integration ( n = 17), case-based learning ( n = 12), simulation-based learning ( n = 11), and clinical practicum ( n = 6), with some studies using more than one approach. Reported benefits included improvements in informatics competencies, documentation, clinical reasoning, confidence, satisfaction, and communication. Institutional support and realistic learning environments facilitated implementation, while costs, limited training, and technical barriers hindered it. Conclusion AEHRs are essential for developing nursing students’ digital readiness and documentation competencies. Their integration should be scaffolded across all years of nursing education through affordable, context-appropriate platforms and effective teaching strategies.