Integrating a Mobile-Learning Platform for Enhancing Clinical Teaching: The Learners’ Perspective

Abstract

The role of mobile technology has become an integral part of daily activity among today’s society, including medical schools and hospitals. This study aimed to establish a mobile-learning platform for providing high-quality clinical teaching in undergraduate medical education. It was a mixed-methods design of quantitative survey and qualitative focus-group discussions to analyse the learners' view for acceptance of technology-integrated learning in clinical teaching at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin. Forty-two undergraduate medical students from years 3 and 5 participated in this study. The vast majority found that a mobile-learning platform was a helpful medium for the integration of leaning resources and collaboration with other health-care professionals in a clinical setting (p<0.001). They generally agreed that there is an improvement in clinical competence, confidence in clinical reasoning and focusing on the discussion by providing constructive feedback (p<0.001). The qualitative focused group discussion’s findings indicated that most of the participants expressed their satisfaction with improving their intellectual skills and their anticipation of achieving strategic learning via integrated bedside teaching with mobile-group discussions. Overall, the participants accepted that a mobile-learning platform integrated bedside teaching is a constructive, productive approach for enhancing and facilitating their learning in a clinical setting. This study offered a unique insight into learners’ perceptions of benefits and the limitation of technology-enhanced learning in undergraduate medical training. The essential attributes of mobile technology are crucial for technology integration in high-quality clinical teaching.