Elizabeth N Kangoya

Title : Exploring nursing student’s perceptions on the use of smartphones in clinical settings as a learning tool

Abstract:

Smartphones have become vital to our lives due to their many features, such as their size, portability, and access to the internet at any time and place. The aim of this study was to find out how nursing students felt about using cell phones as a learning aid during clinical placement. The study adapted an exploratory strategy within a qualitative approach. The study recruited 17 nursing students from the University of Namibia's (Southern Campus). Six of the nursing students were used for pilot study and were not included in the main study, which had eleven nursing students. Semi-structured interviews were used to acquire the findings of this study until data was saturated. The research finding indicates that nursing students perceived smartphones as a support mechanism for making clinical decisions and for patient care. Nursing students were able to acquire clinical information on their smartphones to respond correctly when confronted with a situation. Smartphone use in healthcare settings may have an impact on the quality of patient-centred communication and pose a risk to patient safety. Smartphone use in healthcare settings may cause healthcare providers to get distracted and patient treatment to be disrupted. Furthermore, it has the potential to cause adverse events, jeopardizing patient safety. The results of this study provide knowledge on the use of smartphones by nursing students in the clinical setting, which could help to establish measures that guarantee adequate patient care and responsible use of these devices.

• The study findings are aimed at informing universities together with the Nursing Councils of to understand the benefit of cell phone use during clinical settings as a learning tool.
• The result of the study could also be useful to the Universities, to assist in reviewing the policy and adapt to technology.
• Finally, the results might also be used to fill the knowledge gap experienced by students during clinical.

Biography:

Ms. Elizabeth N. Kangoya studied Nursing at the University of Namibia and graduated in 2005 with a Diploma in comprehensive Nursing and Midwifery. She started working as a Registered Nurse in the State facilities in Namibia at the same time doing a Bachelor of nursing Advance Practice. She later worked as a Registered Nurse at a Private Hospital in Namibia. In 2015 she joined the University of Namibia as a Clinical Instructor. She obtained a Master of Nursing Science at the same institution and was further promoted to Lecturer position in 2021. She has published 2 research articles in Scientific journals.