Incorporate technology, such as hand-held mobile and Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices in the classroom. Many schools that use this technology create their own applications for PDA devices. Students can download nursing applications, or use other applications that find information on practical and technical procedures. There are applications that nursing students can use to translate Spanish to English, tips for making diagnoses and nursing procedures, medical references and a disease and disorders reference guide.
Use computer-based learning to help stimulate nursing students in subjects that require a lot of memorization and recall, such as lists of diseases and disorders, procedures and administration of drugs. The SMART board by SMART Tech, an interactive whiteboard used by nursing schools to teach nurses, is one such technology that tests students' abilities to recall information through interactive methods, rather than lecture-type learning.
Introduce students to cutting-edge technology used in hospitals and health care facilities, such as electronic databases and other technologies that may be used to monitor and administer health care to patients. Nurse call systems, for example, are a form of technology that is being implemented more and more. Nurse call systems are wall-mounted communication devices, similar to an intercom, that provide a form of communication between nurses, patients and other staff members, which can be beneficial for providing adequate communication.
Encourage nursing students to stay current on the latest medical news and practice updates by reading online print journals and credible online medical magazines. Online information is instant and more accessible than print information; however, nurses must be able to distinguish between credible reporting and unreliable sources. This keeps nurses learning as they progress through their career and as changes in the medical field take place.