Journal of hospital medicine : an official publication of the Society of Hospital Medicine
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Multicenter Study
Educational impact of using smartphones for clinical communication on general medicine: more global, less local.
Medical trainees increasingly use smartphones in their clinical work. Similar to other information technology implementations, smartphone use can result in unintended consequences. This study aimed to examine the impact of smartphone use for clinical communication on medical trainees' educational experiences. ⋯ We summarized the impact of a rapidly emerging information technology-smartphones-on the educational experience of medical trainees. Smartphone use increase connectedness and allow trainees to be more globally available for patient care but creates interruptions that cause trainees to be less present in their local interactions with staff during teaching sessions. Educators should be aware of these findings and need to develop curriculum to address the negative impacts of smartphone use in the clinical training environment.