The Effect of Smartphone Applications on Graduate Student Stress Levels
Date
2023-04-24
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Abstract
Nurse anesthesia students encounter stress in academics, clinical, and personal life. Excessive stress can be a product of poor emotional intelligence (EI) and decreased self-efficacy (Chipas et al. 2012; Molero Jurado et al., 2019). Appropriate use of smartphone applications (app/apps), such as medical resource apps, decreases the stress of decision-making in the clinical setting and increases positive patient outcomes, as well as increases self-efficacy (Molero Jurado, 2019; Green et al., 2017; Ross & Myers, 2017). The aim of this scholarly project is to evaluate the appropriate utilization of the smartphone app UpToDate and its effect on stress among graduate students currently enrolled at AdventHealth University (AHU). This scholarly project will consist of a pretest assessing participants' baseline knowledge of the UpToDate app, how often per week they use the app, and their perceived stress. Following the pretest, a 60-minute educational presentation on the appropriate uses of smartphones and the UpToDate app will be presented. Following the intervention, a post-test will be administered to assess the participant's retained knowledge of the topic. Four weeks following the intervention, a post-test will be administered to assess the participant's perceived stress levels and how often UpToDate was utilized. The objectives of this scholarly project will be for graduate healthcare students who are in clinical trimesters to identify the appropriate utilization of the app UpToDate, increase knowledge of navigation within the app UpToDate, increase the use of the app UpToDate and reduce stress during the student’s clinical rotation at the end of the 4-week period. The anticipated outcome of this project is to have a positive impact on student health, productivity, and clinical and academic performance by reducing the stress of graduate students through the utilization of UpToDate.