Does Mobile Phone Affect Academic Progress among Medical Students

Background: Medical students need to learn considerable new information during their studies and they must develop skills for lifelong learning, keeping their knowledge updated. Lifelong learning, particularly in medicine, requires motivation and problem identification and solving skills relevant to the clinical situation. Aim of the work: The aim of the current study was to determine the effect of mobile phone use on academic progress among female medical students at college of medicine, King Faisal University, KSA. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was conducted in the present study at College of Medicine, King Faisal University in Saudi Arabia among female medical students. Participants are female medical students of pre clinical and clinical phases of medical study. All participants were provided a self administered questionnaire. Results: The total number of participants was 174 female medical students, College of Medicine, King Faisal University. The mean age of the students was 20.7±1.9 years old with a range of 7 (18-25) years. Among the female medical students 53% were using smart phones, compared with 47% using other types of mobiles such as old versions of mobiles and other brands of mobiles. The academic progress due to mobile phone use was reported among 43% of the users of smart phones. Using mobiles for long hours during learning showed highly statistical significant difference regarding academic progress among medical students, with a p value of 0.008. Conclusion: The usage of mobile phones and IPADs showed an impact on academic progress and overall performance of the medical students.