Use of Smartphones With Undergraduate Nursing Students

It is important for nursing students to become comfortable with accessing point-of-care technology to support provision of safe, evidence-based care to patients.

Smartphone applications (apps) were introduced into community screening settings in a first-semester undergraduate nursing health assessment course. The apps provided information about body mass index, as well as United States Preventive Services Task Force-recommended preventive services using the Agency for Health Research and Quality electronic preventive services selector app. Classroom activities prepared students using mock cases and real data, and evidence-based guidelines were used when counseling patients about individual results.

Smartphone apps were well accepted by students and allowed students to transfer learning from the classroom and laboratory to the community setting.

Smartphone apps promote active learning and the long-term retention of knowledge. This community-based activity supports the validity of independent health promotion activities in nursing practice. [J Nurs Educ. 2016;55(7):411-415.].