Smartphones, trainees, and mobile education: implications for graduate medical education.

Abstract

Smartphones are one of the fastest-growing sectors in the technology industry, and they continue to evolve to combine faster processors, better memory, and more efficient operating systems into a compact handheld device. Smartphones also offer a dynamic tool for use in personal and professional environments.1 The role of smartphones in medicine continues to expand as additional uses and applications emerge. An estimated 80% of physicians, trainees, and medical students use smartphones, and this percentage is expected to increase.2–,4 Smartphones provide a multifaceted platform for mobile health care, allowing users to access a vast amount of information and interact with resources conveniently and quickly.5 Applications range from patient monitoring to use as a tool for diagnosis, to communication and medical education. Recent advances in smartphone technology have led many educators to extend their teaching methods into the mobile learning environment, providing an “anytime, anywhere” approach to learning. Mobile learning has been shown to have efficacy within the traditional classroom environment, and brief communications via short message service (SMS) supplement interactive classroom sessions, resulting in enhanced interest in and attention to classroom activity.6 Given the nature of graduate medical education (GME), where trainees are expected to assimilate a vast amount of information that is constantly evolving, and often are away from traditional classroom settings, the benefits of mobile learning with its uninterrupted access to educational resources can be particularly advantageous. In this perspective, we characterize the current and potential uses of smartphone technology in GME and provide recommendations for future studies on incorporating smartphone technology as an educational platform.