The negative impact of smartphone usage on nursing students: An integrative literature review.

BACKGROUND: Smartphones are ubiquitous, and for some, an indispensable companion. In nursing education curricula and clinical healthcare settings, smartphones have the potential to augment student learning. Nursing students report significant benefits to smartphone use, which extend beyond learning, to include enhanced communication, clinical decision making and evidence-based practice. Despite these benefits, little is known about the negative impact of smartphones on student learning. OBJECTIVES: This integrative review aimed to synthesise findings from published research that referred to the detrimental direct or indirect effect of smartphone usage on nursing students. DESIGN: The integrative review was guided by the five-stage approach as conceptualised by Whittemore and Knafl (2005). METHODS: Seven electronic databases were systematically searched in consultation with a university librarian (CINAHL Plus, Ovid Medline ALL, Nursing and Allied Health Database, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus and ERIC) using a combination of key search terms and medical subject headings. A total of 646 articles were retrieved, and following removal of duplicates, screening of titles and abstracts, a final 27 articles met the inclusion criteria for this review. RESULTS: Studies in the review originated from Korea (n = 7), Turkey (n = 6), India (n = 4), Spain (n = 3), USA (n = 2), Spain/Portugal (n = 1), Iran (n = 1), France (n = 1), Canada (n = 1) and Egypt (n = 1). Personal smartphone use was reported to be a distraction within clinical and classroom learning, and considered as uncivil, and compromised professionalism. Frequently, smartphones were used for entertainment (e.g. social networking) rather than professional purposes. The studies identified a concerning level of nomophobia and smartphone addiction among nursing students that caused stress and anxiety, and adversely affected sleep, learning and academic performance. Recommendations were proposed for smartphone policies. CONCLUSIONS: Excessive smartphones use among nursing students may adversely affect physical and mental health and potentially impact on student learning within the classroom and clinical environment. Educators should consider the implementation of policies or guidance for the responsible use of smartphones by nursing students whilst in the classroom setting and during clinical placement, to mitigate the potential negative impact on health and academic performance.

First year nursing students' perceptions of learning interpersonal communication skills in their paid work: A multi-site Australasian study.

Nursing students are increasingly undertaking paid work while studying and most choose paid work in health care or hospitality. This paper is drawn from a larger sequential exploratory mixed-method study which examined the relationship between students working while studying nursing and the impact on academic performance. In this paper, we explored first year nursing students' perceptions of communication skills gained through paid work. Using a qualitative exploratory design, 50 first year commencing nursing students from four nursing schools (3 Australia; 1 New Zealand) were interviewed. Inductive thematic analysis was used which identified two themes: (i) recognising the value of learning interpersonal communication skills and; (ii)opportunities to develop effective interpersonal communication skills. Paid work provides interpersonal communication skills; active listening, being present and interacting while multi-tasking and emotion management. Undergraduate education providers need to recognise the benefits of paid work for students, including enhancing interpersonal skills.

The type and amount of paid work while studying influence academic performance of first year nursing students: An inception cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Working while engaging in tertiary studies can have potential benefits for students in developing their repertoire of employability skills, including teamwork, time management, customer service and interpersonal communication. Not unexpectedly engaging in excessive hours of work can have a detrimental effect on students' grades. Yet little is known about the impact of engaging in different types of paid work (nursing or non-nursing), and the amounts, on first year nursing students' academic performance across different nursing programs. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the association between: a) amount; and b) type of term-time weekly paid work, particularly its effect on academic performance, among commencing undergraduate students in the first semester of nursing studies across different nursing programs. DESIGN: Inception cohort study. SETTINGS: Four tertiary institutes across Australia and New Zealand. PARTICIPANTS: All commencing Bachelor of Nursing students attending Orientation sessions at their respective institutes were invited to participate in the study. The median age of participants was 23 years, the majority (87.5%) were female and nearly two-thirds were non-school leavers. Among those in paid work, the median hours worked was 20 h. METHODS: A baseline survey, completed by consenting students at the start of their Orientation session included items related to respondents' demographic data, self-reported paid work engagement (type and hours); we also requested their permission to link grade point average (academic performance data) at the end of first semester. Data were analysed using SPSS Version 25. RESULTS: A total of 1314 students completed the survey and 89% of survey respondents agreed for their survey to be linked to academic grades at the end of the semester. There was an inverse relationship between time spent in weekly paid work and academic performance. Additionally, three predictors emerged as statistically significant for high grade point average: (i) engaging in non-nursing related work (AOR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.19-2.26); (ii) not being first in family to attend university (AOR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.20-2.07) and; (iii) being a school-leaver (AOR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.12-1.98). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the diversity among undergraduate nursing students studying across Australasia, it is evident that the amount and type of paid work engagement can impact on students' academic performance while studying. This underscores the importance for tertiary institutes to not only support students in their learning but also understand the need to achieve the right balance, in working while studying, to support students' academic success.

"Juggling many balls": Working and studying among first-year nursing students.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore the experiences of first-year nursing students, their motivations for working and how they juggled study and other commitments while engaging in paid work. BACKGROUND: There has been a global rise in the number of students balancing full-time study, paid work and other commitments, with the main antecedent financial reasons. DESIGN: Qualitative exploratory study. METHODS: Drawn from a larger Australasian sequential exploratory mixed-method study, this qualitative study was conducted with fifty first-year undergraduate nursing and midwifery students who commenced their nursing studies in 2017. Telephone or face-to-face interviews were conducted with purposively selected students engaged in either nursing or non-nursing fields of work. Interviews were conducted from April-July 2017. Interviews lasted from 15-40 min. Results were thematically analysed. EQUATOR guidelines for qualitative research (COREQ) applied. FINDINGS: Two main themes and accompanying subthemes were identified. The first theme explored students' motivation behind combining work and study and identified the need for financial security and "me time". The second theme "Juggling many balls" provided insights into the benefits students perceived, how they kept the "balls" in the air and at times dropped "balls" while balancing work, study and other commitments. CONCLUSIONS: The motivation behind paid work was mainly financial; however, students also reported work allowed an escape and time for self which had social and health benefits. Working provided a range of positive benefits, including a sense of achievement, improved self-esteem and financial independence. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Being able to juggle and multi-task improved skills such as organisation and the ability to prioritise, all skills that have applicability for the role as registered nurse.

Do prelicensure nursing students' backgrounds impact what they notice and interpret about patients?

BACKGROUND: Academic educators are challenged to foster the development of clinical judgment in diverse learners. The impact of nursing students' backgrounds on clinical judgment has not previously been studied. AIMS: SAMPLE: Prelicensure/preregistration students, representing three international English-speaking programs in 3 countries, comprised the sample (N = 532). All were enrolled in the first course in which perioperative content was taught. DATA COLLECTION: An online learning activity was designed to elicit responses to a simulated case study of an expert nurse role model caring for an older adult patient experiencing delirium several days post-operatively. DATA ANALYSIS: Dyads of coders did three rounds of coding. Logistic and multinomial logistic regression models used background variables to look for patterns in student responses. FINDINGS: The data strongly suggest that background variables impact clinical judgment, however, not in interpretable patterns. CONCLUSION: Nurse educators must acknowledge that prelicensure students' backgrounds impact their clinical judgment and assist them to learn to think like nurses.

Integrating aged care in the nursinq curriculum.

First-year students from Whitireia New Zealand are gaining rich Learning opportunities during clinical placements at local aged- care facilities.

Identifying health and safety risks for childcare workers.

Childcare workers are exposed to several health and safety risks in their work environment, the most common being infectious diseases, musculoskeletal injuries, accidents, and occupational stress. Pregnant childcare workers have an additional risk of potential harm to the fetus. Occupational health nurses can work collaboratively with childcare workers to reduce these risks and provide workplace health promotion programs. This article explores the occupational health and safety issues for childcare workers and suggests health promotion strategies that could be implemented by occupational health nurses working in this arena.