Effect of a smartphone-based online electronic logbook to evaluate the clinical skills of nurse anesthesia students in Iran: a randomized controlled study

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to evaluate a smartphone-based online electronic logbook used to assess the clinical skills of nurse anesthesia students in Iran. METHODS: This randomized controlled study was conducted after tool development at Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in Ahvaz, Iran from January 2022 to December 2022. The online electronic logbook involved in this study was an Android-compatible application used to evaluate the clinical skills of nurse anesthesia students. In the implementation phase, the online electronic logbook was piloted for 3 months in anesthesia training in comparison with a paper logbook. For this purpose, 49 second- and third-year anesthesia nursing students selected using the census method were assigned to intervention (online electronic logbook) and control (paper logbook) groups. The online electronic logbook and paper logbook were compared in terms of student satisfaction and learning outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 39 students participated in the study. The mean satisfaction score of the intervention group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P=0.027). The mean score of learning outcomes was also significantly higher for the intervention than the control group (P=0.028). CONCLUSION: Smartphone technology can provide a platform for improving the evaluation of the clinical skills of nursing anesthesia students, leading to increased satisfaction and improved learning outcomes.