Smartphones in Clinical Nursing Practice: A Multiphased Approach to Implementation and Deployment.

Students in the undergraduate nursing program at the University of Calgary - Qatar are required to work with patients in clinical settings under faculty supervision.. One of the main goals of clinical courses is to provide students with the opportunity to learn in context and ‘just-in-time’, a much more realistic and memorable learning experience. During clinical placements, students need to acquire additional information about illnesses, medication and patient care on site. The current research was conducted to determine if properly selected smartphone technology and accompanying software would help provide students with information they needed in a just-in-time fashion and if this would have a positive impact on their learning. A multi-phased study was developed to (1) determine the impact of smartphone and software deployment in clinical courses on student learning and to determine barriers and issues that may inhibit success [Phase 1] and (2) to use the knowledge gained in phase 1 to address these issues and barriers by optimizing e.g., deployment strategies [Phase 2]. Findings from phase 1 indicate success in terms of learning outcomes while also showing that students would prefer to use their own smartphones. Phase 2 is currently underway and will result in the development of implementation strategies based on evidence gained from phase 1 and mobile technology usage pattern survey (ECAR).