The usefulness of personal digital assistants (PDAs) to nursing students in the clinical setting: a pilot study.

Abstract

Before incorporating personal digital assistants (PDAs) into their nursing program, the authors conducted a pilot study to explore nursing students' perceptions of the usefulness of PDAs in the clinical setting. The study was designed to answer four questions: 1. How does the availability of PDA technology influence the information-seeking behaviors of nursing students in the clinical setting? 2. Which PDA references/applications do students find most useful? 3. Which PDA references/applications do students regard as nonessential? 4. What challenges arise when using PDAs in the clinical setting? The convenience sample consisted of seven senior nursing students enrolled in a semester-long clinical rotation on a cardiothoracic unit of a large midwestern hospital. The students were supervised by the principal investigator, who was proficient in the use of PDAs. A qualitative, descriptive design was used to answer the study questions. Each student received a PDA, with the reference software installed, along with classroom instruction. Students were invited to use the PDAs over the course of the semester. Data were collected from weekly clinical logs in which the students addressed how they had used the PDA that week (for clinical preparation, during the clinical day, for theory, and any other use they might have had). At the end of the semester, students provided a written summary addressing the research questions. Data were analyzed using NUD*IST Vivo (NVivo) software. Question I Four themes emerged in response to the first research question on information-seeking behaviors of nursing students: convenience, time management, nursing theory, and up-to-date information. CONVENIENCE The students reported that the PDAs were very convenient for seeking information, not only in the clinical setting, but anytime, anywhere, 24/7. You'll probably laugh, but I brought it to Cheddar's so I could finish up my homework there while I waited for the food. It was nice because I did not need to bring in a bunch of books or my laptop (Student B). It was much easier than carrying the books around and it was much easier looking up [information] because all you had to do was type in the first couple letters of the drug or the illness of the patient and the information was there (Student C). TIME MANAGEMENT The students reported that they were able to find information much faster with the PDAs than with traditional reference sources. This helped them with time management during their clinical day. I also used it in my other clinical as well. For that one, we go in an hour early to get patient information. It goes by a lot quicker with the PDA versus trying to dig through books for what you are looking for (Student D). Instead of searching for the med in the nursing drug book, the PDA simplified it for me in a matter of 15 to 30 seconds (Student A). NURSING THEORY The PDAs provided a bridge for students to connect theoretical learning to practice. I used the PDA a ton this week in preparing for our exam. It was easy to be able to pull it out when I needed a quick reminder of drug actions or diagnosis interventions/rationales in studying for the exam. During preparation it eased my frantic mind by quickening the process to check my medication and lab test knowledge (Student B). The nursing diagnosis handbook at my fingertips is awesome and helps make several connections between our theoretical and practical [learning] (Student D). UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION The students reported that information provided by the PDA software was timelier than that found in their textbooks. I used the PDA during all my clinical preplanning, including looking up meds, labs, and nursing diagnosis. It makes the process a lot easier and the info it provides is more up to date than my books (Student E). Question 2 Three references and one palm application were identified as the most useful references/applications for the clinical setting: nursing drug reference, diagnostic and laboratory test reference, nursing diagnosis handbook, and notepad. …