Replacing Smartphones With Mini Tablet Technology: An Evaluation.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Informatics
• Educational Technology

Background:

• Handheld technology is increasingly used by students for accessing point-of-care resources during clinical experiences.
• The integration of mobile devices in healthcare education aims to enhance learning and resource accessibility.
• Evaluating new technologies is crucial for optimizing the educational toolkit for medical and nursing students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of replacing student smartphones with tablets for clinical learning.
• To evaluate student satisfaction and perceived utility of tablets compared to smartphones in a clinical setting.
• To identify specific use cases where tablets may or may not be advantageous over existing mobile technology.

Main Methods:

• An evaluation project was conducted involving students in a clinical setting.
• Two different types of tablets were assessed for their suitability.
• Student feedback and satisfaction levels were collected regarding tablet usability.

Main Results:

• Students reported equal dissatisfaction with both types of tablets evaluated.
• Students recognized the potential utility of tablets for managing clinical assignments.
• Tablets were seen as beneficial for interacting with learning management systems and communicating with faculty.

Conclusions:

• Tablets did not demonstrate superiority over smartphones for retrieving essential point-of-care information.
• While tablets offer potential benefits in specific administrative and communication tasks, they do not currently replace the core information access function of smartphones for students.
• Further research is needed to explore device optimization for clinical education.