Use of Mobile Handheld Computers in Clinical Nursing Education

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Farrell, Maureen and Rose, Louise (2008) Use of Mobile Handheld Computers in Clinical Nursing Education. Journal of Nursing Education, 47 (1). pp. 13-19. ISSN 0148-4834

Abstract

Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are increasingly in use in both clinical practice and nursing education as a method of providing timely access to resources at the point of care. This article describes the use of PDAs during the medical-surgical clinical component of a Bachelor of Nursing program in Australia. The aim of the study was to investigate whether PDAs would enhance students’ pharmacological and clinical contextual knowledge and to identify issues associated with the use of PDAs in students’ clinical experience. A mixed-method approach was used incorporating a quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest of pharmacological knowledge and focus group discussions. Students using the PDAs demonstrated a moderate increase in their mean score, which was double the increase in the control group. Findings from the focus group discussions indicated that students found the PDAs easy to use and perceived their use as beneficial to their learning in the clinical area. This study provides support for the ongoing implementation of PDAs into nursing education.

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Additional Information

Online ISSN: 1938-2421

Item type Article
URI https://vuir.vu.edu.au/id/eprint/8567
DOI 10.3928/01484834-20080101-03
Subjects Historical > FOR Classification > 1110 Nursing
Historical > FOR Classification > 1303 Specialist Studies in Education
Historical > Faculty/School/Research Centre/Department > School of Nursing and Midwifery
Keywords ResPubID19654. mobile handheld computers, clinical nursing education, personal digital assistants, PDA, BNurs, Bachelor of Nursing, Australian higher education, tertiary education, Australia
Citations in Scopus 67 - View on Scopus
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