Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) Pilot Project

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Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) Pilot Project

• Ruth Chastain, EdD, RN
• Jill Webb, PhD, RN
• Rosemary McLaughlin, MSN, RNC

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Question

• What is the effectiveness of using handheld/ PDA
  devices for nursing faculty and students in the
  clinical lab experience at Union University
  School of Nursing?

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Literature Review

• Personal experience
• AACN Standards
• TNA convention presentation
• Nursing literature
• Colleagues
• Schools of nursing Web sites
• http//www.southalabama.edu/nursing/PDA.html
• Nurse Educator List-serv

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Methodology

• Descriptive Inquiry About
• Advantages
• Disadvantages
• Personal experiences
• Shared experiences
• Student feedback

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Procedure

• PDAs purchased for 3 faculty members
• A technical support person assigned
• Nursing software installed
• Used in clinical areas of
• Medical/surgical nursing
• Skills practicum
• Psychiatric nursing

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Results - Advantages

• PDA envy
• Information depth
• Current information
• Adaptivity
• Beam capacity

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Results - Advantages

• Interest and cooperation from software publishers
• Outcomes interest by software publishers
• Reference books in PDA format
• Disciplinary freeware
• http//www.freewarepalm.com
• Other freeware
• http//hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/atpiii/atp3palm.htm

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Results - Advantages

• Increasingly technologically connected
• Expanded knowledge for faculty and students
• Information available at point-of-care
• Demonstrated to potential students and families
  that Union University School of Nursing was aware
  of current technology

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Results - Disadvantages

• Learning curve as with any technology
• Cost
• Data loss potential
• Hardware requires respect
• Confidentiality issues
• Ethical and legal demands
• Potential violation
• Problems may be overcome with system security

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Results - Disadvantages

• Student expectations faculty must direct use in
  clinical setting
• Personal web access helpful and preferred
• Heightened attention to test security

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Conclusions/ Implications

• Recommend for all school of nursing clinical
  faculty
• Provide an orientation to PDAs
• Phase in faculty use
• Formal faculty discussion about recommended
  software for faculty and students c/c text
  decisions

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Conclusions/ Implications

• Recommend but not require for nursing students
• Optional alternative to reference books beginning
  fall 2003 to entering students
• Provide and introduction to PDAs for junior and
  senior students

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System Recommendations

• Recommend to students
• At least 16M
• Palm OS
• Color, lighted screen
• Expandability
• Explore e-mail

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Are you considering PDAs?

• Explore discipline specific data bases available
• Obtain 2 or 3 professionally specific proprietary
  programs for a pilot study
• Evaluate need carefully not a toy

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Future Considerations

• Anticipate time required for programming
• Acquire experienced technical support
• Determine potential impact on Computing Services
  resources

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Still MUCH to Learn

• QUESTIONS?