Health and AI
EHR Training in 2026: How Long Until Clinicians Are at Ease?
EHR training in 2026: half a day to start, one to two months to feel at ease. What clinicians say about e-learning, super users and switching EHR in hospitals.
Summary
The essentials in 30 seconds
| Question | Short answer | Key takeaway |
|---|---|---|
| How much EHR training does a new system require? | In maternity units running Galeon, half a day (4 hours) is usually enough to get started. | Getting started and feeling at ease are two different stages. |
| When does a clinician feel at ease? | After one to two months of use for everyday functions, sometimes several years to master everything. | Support has to be planned for the long run. |
| Are staff who struggle with computers at a disadvantage? | At first, yes, but a clear, readable tool closes the gap quickly. | Usability matters more than the length of training. |
| Is e-learning enough? | Rarely: in one regional hospital group (GHT), only 10 to 15% of physicians completed it, versus 100% of nursing and allied health staff. | Physicians need training that fits their schedule. |
| Which training format works best? | Real clinical cases from the unit, with test access before the session. | People remember what they did, not what they watched. |
| Who provides support after training? | In-house super users, plus the vendor on site during the first days. | Hands-on local support prevents people from giving up. |
| Should medical secretaries be trained? | Yes, with as much care as clinical staff: they are at the heart of how the record is used. | One poorly trained role slows down the whole chain. |
Introduction
EHR training (training staff on a new electronic health record) is often the first thing teams worry about. "I'm not comfortable with computers." "It's going to take us months to get used to it." These two sentences come up in almost every unit when a hospital is switching EHR. They often come from the most experienced clinicians, who worked on paper for decades.
The question deserves a precise answer, because training is where an EHR project is won or lost. One large regional hospital group received 4,500 calls to its support desk in the week of go-live, 60% of them from physicians, who had barely used the e-learning on offer (SantExpo 2026).
At Galeon, an EHR deployed in 19 hospitals and built with clinicians since 2016, we train every new team on the ground. This article draws on what clinicians themselves say: how long it takes, what helps, and what should never be promised.
Successful training is not measured in hours spent in a classroom, but in the number of clinicians working independently by the end of the first week.
EHR training: how many hours does it take?
To get started, a few hours. In maternity units running Galeon, teams generally attended a 4-hour, half-day session, which most of the clinicians we interviewed found sufficient.
A junior doctor in gynaecology, who changes software "every six months" as she rotates through her residency, feels that "the 4-hour training is more than enough". A midwife from a small community maternity unit agrees: half a day, in small groups, each person entering a different clinical case. A maternity department head notes that residents, used to digital tools, needed almost no training at all.
These figures apply to getting started in a unit such as a maternity ward. For a whole hospital with several thousand staff, training becomes a project in its own right: one regional hospital group in Brittany had 6,000 people to train, 4,000 to 5,000 of them through e-learning (SantExpo 2026).
How long does it take to feel truly at ease with a new EHR?
One to two months for everyday functions, much longer to master everything. Clinicians say so plainly, and it is better to announce it than to discover it.
A midwife at a large maternity unit in the Var, who rotates between sectors (delivery room, postnatal ward, outpatient consultations), expects it will take him "a month and a half to two months" to feel at ease with the whole software: you have to work in every sector to see everything. A coordinating midwife and senior nurse manager talks of "2, 3, 4 years" to be truly at ease with any work software, adding: "not everyone realises that".
Other hospitals report the same. One cancer centre kept a dedicated EHR hotline running for nearly two years, staffed by clinical super users (case study). Planning this long-term support avoids concluding too early that a tool "doesn't work".
Are staff who are not comfortable with computers at a disadvantage?
At go-live, yes, and that should be acknowledged. But the gap closes quickly when the tool is easy to read and support is close at hand.
A midwife with 38 years in the job says she "had nightmares for the first few days": training makes it feel as if everything flows, then the reality of the unit kicks in. She notes that colleagues who have only ever known computers adapt faster, and that having trained people within the team makes all the difference. An experienced department head sums it up: "for older people like me, there is a certain adjustment period, but once you're in, you'll never go back to the paper record".
The deciding factor is usability. A paediatric nursing assistant finds the platform "accessible to anyone, whether you're good with computers or not". A midwife with 20 years of experience tells her colleagues that leaving paper "shakes us up", but that it is "absolutely not out of reach, even easy".
Is e-learning enough to train clinicians on an EHR?
Rarely on its own, and certainly not for physicians. It is useful for the basics, but it does not replace hands-on practice with real cases.
The Brittany hospital group is a telling example: 100% of nursing and allied health staff completed the e-learning, but only 10 to 15% of physicians did (SantExpo 2026). Physicians generated most of the support calls in the first week. They have little free time and learn by doing: short training, as close as possible to their daily work, suits them better.
What training and change management work best when switching EHR?
Change management matters as much as the training itself: a short session built on the unit's own clinical cases, preceded by test access and followed by on-site support.
Give test access before the training
One department head sent her team test logins before the training, so that everyone could "poke around" at their own pace. The session was then used to answer real questions rather than to discover the screen.
Train on real cases
During training, each clinician enters a situation they actually encounter. One midwife, for example, chose a twin pregnancy to learn how to manage two babies in the same record. People remember what they have done themselves.
In-house super users and an on-site presence
In every Galeon deployment, in-house super users (a nurse manager, a midwife) receive in-depth training and relay their colleagues' requests. During go-live, the Galeon team stays on site: in one small community maternity unit, a midwife was even assigned as extra backup so that care was never held up.
Should medical secretaries be trained on the EHR?
Yes, and this is often where projects fall short. Medical secretaries are at the heart of how the record is used, from booking appointments to coding the hospital stay.
One hospital that described the failure of its 2018 go-live cited, among the causes, the absence of medical secretaries from the working groups (SantExpo 2024). We have seen it too: a medical secretary at a large hospital told us she had received only one hour of training, the rest being learned "along the way". We now treat this with the same attention as clinical staff training.
Traditional EHR training vs training built with frontline staff: what are the differences?
| Criterion | Traditional training | Galeon approach |
|---|---|---|
| Format | E-learning or classroom demo | Half-day session in small groups |
| Content | Generic walkthroughs of the software | Real clinical cases from the unit |
| Before the session | First look at the screen on the day | Test access to explore at one's own pace |
| Relay within the unit | Central IT support | In-house super users trained in depth |
| Go-live | Remote hotline | Vendor team present on site |
| Physicians | Same course as every other role | Short training, close to their daily work |
| Medical secretaries | Often trained last | Point of attention from the preparation phase |
| After training | End of support | Follow-up meetings and screen adjustments |
Limits and points of caution
- Four hours do not make an expert. The half-day gets people started; feeling at ease takes weeks of practice.
- Not all units are alike. A standalone maternity unit trains faster than a whole hospital with an emergency department, operating theatres and a pharmacy.
- Physician training remains hard to secure, whatever the vendor; it has to be organised with department heads.
- Medical secretaries were long less well trained than clinical staff, including by us; this is something we are correcting.
- The first days remain demanding for clinicians who have always worked on paper, even with good support.
FAQ
How many hours of EHR training should be planned?
In maternity units running Galeon, a 4-hour half-day in small groups, followed by on-site support during go-live.
How long does it take to become independent on a new EHR?
A few days for daily tasks, one to two months for all the functions used in a unit.
How do you train clinicians who dislike computers?
Through practice on real cases, with a super user from the team close at hand, and by accepting that the first days will be slower.
Should training take place before or after go-live?
Before, as close as possible to the switchover date, then continuously during the first weeks.
What is an EHR super user?
A clinician or nurse manager from the unit who is trained in depth, helps colleagues and reports needed adjustments back to the vendor.
Is e-learning useful?
Yes for the basics and for large workforces, but it is not enough: it must be complemented by supervised practice, especially for physicians.
In summary
The fear that "it's going to take us months to get used to it" is half right. Getting started on an EHR takes a few hours when the tool is easy to read: half a day is enough in maternity units running Galeon. Feeling fully at ease, on the other hand, takes weeks, sometimes longer, and that should be said. What makes the difference is not the length of training but its form: test access beforehand, real cases, in-house super users, an on-site presence and particular attention to physicians and medical secretaries. That is how we have supported every team since 2016.
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Sources
- SantExpo 2026: the day-to-day realities of an EHR deployed at GHBA (training, e-learning, support)
- EHR challenges in a cancer centre: a clinical hotline for two years
- SantExpo 2024: lessons learned from switching EHR (the role of medical secretaries)
- ANAP: supporting healthcare facilities in their digital projects
- The French Ségur digital health programme, French Digital Health Agency
- Galeon: HospiConnect, digital identity for hospital professionals
- Galeon: the cost of an EHR, legacy or cloud
