Non-work related use of personal mobile phone by hospital registered nurses


This recently published study by McBride et al (2015) investigated the frequency of non-work elated use of personal mobile phones and personal communication devices among hospital registered nurses. The study was undertaken in the USA during 2014. I have previously blogged about the use of mobile or portable device used by undergraduate students and this study continues to inform the current situation of mobile device use in healthcare environments.

There was a 7.25% of 8.56% respondents that met the inclusion criteria. The use of mobile phones and other communication devices are widespread in hospital in the USA. The principal finding was that 78.1% reported using their personal mobile phone or communication device while working. Only 6.4% reported they never used their phone for personal reason during work. Calling or checking/sending emails and text messages to family and friends was the most commonly reported non-work related activity.

The authors discuss Turkle’s notion of the ‘tethered self’ where humans need continued reassurance of developing and maintaining their group membership. They also mentioned the emotional reassurance provided by being able to keep in contact with family and friends. There is also a discussion about degrade performance through being ‘always on’ or the benefit of unobtrusive breaks enabling registered nurses to overcome fatigue and regain concentration and focus.

The authors provide information about the age distribution of respondents with almostĀ  40% being 51-60 years and another quarter (23.9%) being 41-50 years. Over two-thirds of participants were aged over 40 years which may have bearing on the behaviour reported. I have previously written and blogged about the lack of policy development to guide and support nurses in appropriate use of using mobile devices for mobile learning opportunities. These results demonstrate that the absence of guidance of appropriate behaviour may impact on patient care and there is the potential for distraction that could be hazardous to patients. It is imperative that the next generation of nurses are guided by leaders of their profession, their peers and colleagues. Professional identity formation begins as a student and it is imperative that registered nurses are positive role models while students mimic and ‘mini-me’ their role models. There is an urgent need to safely integrate the use of mobile devices for mobile learning into healthcare environments.

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