Enhancing students’ digital capabilities to improve preparedness for clinical practice

• Nursing students often enter placement with limited confidence using electronic health records. • Early academic electronic health record integration improves digital confidence, preparedness, and awareness of skill gaps. • Embedding academic electronic health record supports curriculum design to better prepare students for clinical practice. Digital health capability is a core requirement for contemporary nursing graduates; however, undergraduate curricula often provide limited structured exposure to electronic health records prior to clinical placement. To examine the impact of embedding an academic electronic health record (AEHR) into a first-year nursing curriculum on students’ digital readiness and perceived preparedness for practice. A mixed-methods exploratory design was used with first-year nursing students ( N = 336) at an Australian university. An eight-item adapted survey was administered before and after AEHR learning activities delivered across a 10-week teaching period. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied, and free-text responses were analyzed thematically. Students reported increased confidence in navigating digital systems and completing clinical documentation following AEHR exposure. Qualitative findings indicated enhanced preparedness for placement, reduced anxiety, and greater awareness of digital skill development, with students valuing early, hands-on exposure. Embedding AEHR in first-year nursing curricula supports the development of digital literacy, confidence, and readiness for clinical practice. Broader adoption of AEHR may help address persistent digital readiness gaps in nursing education.