Nursing students' perception of digital technology in clinical education among undergraduate programs: A qualitative systematic review

Background

Although past research has highlighted the importance of digital technology in clinical education among undergraduate nursing programs, facilitators and barriers to application still need to be systematically understood.

Aim

The objective of this systematic review is to synthesize existing literature reporting on nursing students' experiences with digital technology in clinical education among undergraduate programs to identify gaps and design future educational programs.

Methods

We conducted a qualitative systematic review and reported the following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science databases were searched for studies published in English. Qualitative studies focusing on nursing students' experiences of digital technology in clinical education were included, and data were synthesized by extracting findings, developing categories, and developing synthesized findings.

Results

Six synthesized findings were concluded:1) nature of digital education, 2) facilitators, 3) barriers, 4) benefits to learning, 5) mixed experience, and 6) challenges.

Conclusions

The systematic review revealed that the utilization of digital technology in clinical practice is beneficial to the learning of undergraduate nursing students. Facilitators and challenges of digital education, as well as barriers to digital education identified in this review can be used to design more effective digital education activities. Digital technology can be used to supplement traditional teaching, and it is worthwhile to explore more in the area of digital education to promote the cultivation of nursing students' competency.