Best Practices for the Implementation and Sustainment of Virtual Health Information System Training: Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the adoption and implementation of digital technologies to help transform the educational ecosystem and the delivery of care. OBJECTIVE: We sought to understand instructors’ and learners’ perceptions of the challenges and opportunities faced in implementing health information system virtual training amid the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Semistructured interviews were conducted with education specialists and health care staff who provided or had taken part in a virtual instructor-led training at a large Canadian academic health sciences center. Guided by the Technology Acceptance Model and the Community of Inquiry framework, we analyzed interview transcript themes deductively and inductively. RESULTS: Of the 18 individuals participating in the study, 9 were education specialists, 5 were learners, 3 were program coordinators, and 1 was a senior manager at the Centre for Learning, Innovation, and Simulation. We found 3 predominant themes: adopting a learner-centered approach for a meaningful learning experience, embracing the advances in educational technologies to maximize the transfer of learning, and enhancing the virtual user experience. CONCLUSIONS: This study adds to the literature on designing and implementing virtual training in health care organizations by highlighting the importance of recognizing learners’ needs and maximizing the transfer of learning. Findings from this study can be used to help inform the design and development of training strategies to support learners across an organization during the current climate and to ensure changes are sustainable.