I'm Alicia Paulson, a public health professional (BDS, MS) currently working on BMC's M3W Surgical Step-Down Unit. I use Epic every day on the floor. This portfolio shows how I'd bring that firsthand clinical experience to the Alaris IV pump integration as a Clinical Systems Adoption Specialist at Boston Medical Center.
Bidirectional infusion pump interoperability eliminates manual transcription, enforces drug-library guardrails, and closes the medication loop in real time. The result is less harm, a lighter cognitive load for nurses, and more time for direct patient care.
Alaris DERS guard rails prevent under- and over-infusion. Auto-programming eliminates the #1 source of IV medication errors: manual rate entry. Every infusion starts from a verified Epic order.
Removing manual pump programming saves an estimated 8–12 minutes per infusion. Across a 12-hour shift with multiple drips, that's 30–60 minutes returned to bedside care per nurse per day.
Pump-to-Epic data flow auto-documents infusion start, rate changes, pauses, alarms, and completion directly in the MAR. No more late charting or missed entries, and a complete, accurate audit trail every time.
From the physician's order through pharmacy verification to the bedside scan sequence and auto-charting, every step is connected digitally. No manual transcription, no re-keying. A pharmacy override propagates to the pump in real time.
Pump event data feeds into Epic analytics dashboards covering alarm fatigue, soft-limit override trends, and drug library gaps. This gives clinical leadership the visibility they need to drive continuous, evidence-based improvement at BMC.
Sustained adoption requires more than a go-live. Role-based training, super-user networks, feedback loops, and ongoing clinical informatics support ensure the integration lives up to its promise.
Every medication infusion follows this six-step bedside workflow, from patient identification to real-time documentation in Epic, with Alaris and Epic exchanging data at each step along the way.
The integration fundamentally transforms the bedside infusion experience. It reduces risk, reclaims nurse time, and closes the documentation gaps that have long been a frustration for nursing staff.
Role-specific, hands-on training modules designed for nurses, pharmacists, physicians, and IT staff. Each module is grounded in adult learning principles and uses real Epic playground and Alaris simulation environments so staff feel confident before they ever touch a live system.
Big-picture orientation on why Alaris and Epic are integrated, how data flows between systems, patient safety benefits, and what changes in day-to-day workflows. Reduces resistance by answering "why are we doing this?"
Hands-on simulation of the complete bedside workflow: scanning the patient ID band, scanning the medication bag, scanning the pump barcode, reviewing the pre-loaded parameters that Epic sends to the pump, validating against DERS guardrails, starting the infusion, and handling exceptions when something doesn't match.
Deep dive into the Alaris drug library maintenance workflow, soft/hard limit governance, how pharmacy order verification in Epic Willow affects pump parameter loading, and managing formulary change propagation across the pump fleet.
What to do when the integration is unavailable: manual pump programming with DERS standalone mode, downtime documentation workarounds, escalation paths to Clinical Informatics, and how to reconcile records after system restoration.
Intensive super-user preparation: full workflow mastery, common issue diagnosis, how to escalate to the Clinical Informatics team, supporting peers at the elbow during go-live, and documenting feedback for continuous improvement.
How to use the Epic pump analytics dashboard to monitor auto-programming utilization, hard-limit alarm trends, override volume, and uncharted infusion flags. This turns raw pump data into actionable quality improvement at the unit level.
Sustainable adoption doesn't happen at go-live. It's built patiently before, supported intensely during, and continuously nurtured after. Each phase has measurable milestones, clear ownership, and a feedback loop that keeps things honest.
Adoption isn't just go-live completions. It's measurable clinical impact. These KPIs are tracked in Epic Analytics and reviewed with leadership on a monthly cadence.
Auto-program utilization, issue log, at-the-elbow coverage summary, escalations
Unit-level adoption dashboard, DERS override trends, open issues by priority
Full KPI report to CNO/CMO/IS, drug library governance review with P&T
QI outcomes presentation to Quality Committee; benchmarking vs. similar BMC programs
These scenario-based learning activities are embedded in the training curriculum. They build confidence before go-live and become a trusted reference guide after.
Every clinical system integration comes with a learning curve. Here are the most common issues encountered during go-live, along with practical steps to resolve them quickly.
I'm a multilingual public health professional (BDS, MS) currently working as Unit Coordinator on BMC's M3W Surgical Step-Down Unit, where I use Epic daily in a fast-paced inpatient setting. This portfolio is my way of showing the kind of thoughtful, people-centered approach I'd bring to the Clinical Systems Adoption Specialist role at Boston Medical Center.