Information Literacy in a Digital Era: Understanding the Impact of Mobile Information for Undergraduate Nursing Students.

Recent entry-to-practice nursing informatics competencies for Registered Nurses in Canada mean nurse educators need educational strategies to promote student competency within the rapidly evolving informatics field. A collaborative research team from three Canadian nursing programs completed a mixed method survey to describe how nursing students used mobile nursing information support and the extent of this support for learning. The Mobile Information Support Evaluation Tool (MISET) assessed Usefulness/Helpfulness, Information Literacy Support, and Use of Evidence-Based Sources. The quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed to describe students' perspectives and the ways they used mobile resources in learning situations. Findings suggest nursing students mainly accessed mobile resources to support clinical learning, and specifically for task-oriented information such as drug medication or patient conditions/diagnoses. Researchers recommend a paradigm shift whereby educators emphasize information literacy in a way that supports evidence-based quality care.

Integrating mobile devices into nursing curricula: opportunities for implementation using Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation model.

OBJECTIVES: To identify studies reporting mobile device integration into undergraduate and graduate nursing curricula. To explore the potential use of Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation model as a framework to guide implementation of mobile devices into nursing curricula. DESIGN: Literature review and thematic categorization. DATA SOURCES: Literature published up until June 2013 was searched using EBSCO, PubMed, and Google Scholar. REVIEW METHOD: The literature was reviewed for research articles pertaining to mobile device use in nursing education. Research articles were grouped by study design, and articles were classified by: 1) strategies for individual adopters and 2) strategies for organizations. Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation theory was used to categorize reported implementation strategies. RESULTS: Fifty-two research studies were identified. Strategies for implementation were varied, and challenges to integrating mobile devices include lack of administrative support and time/funding to educate faculty as well as students. Overall, the use of mobile devices appears to provide benefits to nursing students; however the research evidence is limited. CONCLUSION: Anticipating challenges and ensuring a well laid out strategic plan can assist in supporting successful integration of mobile devices.