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thank the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service for the ongoing assistance and support provided. This paper was submitted to the University of Tasmania as part fulfilment of subject CNA803, Advanced Clinical Nursing Practice, for the Master of Clinical Nursing (Anaesthetic & Recovery Nursing). The author sincerely wishes to thank Dr Paula Foran, unit coordinator, for her guidance throughout the master’s course and work in preparing this paper for publication. References 1. Sutherland-Fraser S, Osborne S, Bryant K. Perioperative Nursing. In: Hamlin L, Davies M, Richardson-Tench M, Sutherland-Fraser S, editors. Perioperative Nursing: An Introductory Text, 2nd ed. Sydney: Elsevier; 2016. 2. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). Australia’s hospitals at a glance 2018–19 [Internet]. Canberra: AIHW; 2020 [cited 7 February 2021]. Available from: www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/c14c8e7f-70a3- 4b00-918c-1f56d0bd9414/aihw-hse-247.pdf. aspx?inline=true. 3. Beitz J. The perioperative succession crisis: A cross-sectional study of clinical realities and strategies for academic nursing. Nurs Econ 2019;37(4):179–197. 4. Platt M, Coventry T, Monterosso, L. Perioperative nurses’ perceptions of crosstraining: A qualitative descriptive study. JPN 2019;32(1):19–25. 5. Sonoda Y, Onozuka D Smartphones in the operating room: Can perioperative nurses be trusted? Introduction The use of hand-held technology has become ubiquitous in modern life1 . For many Australians, handheld technology is a necessity with nearly nine out of ten owning a smartphone2 . Smartphones are now so powerful they can supersede the need to use any other digital device. In the clinical environment, smartphones offer a pocketsized, convenient and immediate means of accessing a wide range of information and resources on relevant topics such as medications, surgical procedures and equipment as well as access to organisational email communications and health care–related apps. While computers are available in many clinical areas, access is often constrained and their use remains dedicated to patient management systems, diagnostics, pathology, sterile tracking systems and, more recently, electronic medical records. As with previous technological advancements, the use of smartphones presents unique social and professional opportunities and challenges. How we choose to use – or not use – our smartphone is critical. The increasing availability and capability of handheld technology in health care requires a specialised workforce with an understanding of appropriate use of digital technology3 . While there has been a rapid evolution in smartphone technology with widespread application in health care, the development of guidelines and policies to govern their use has been slow to follow4 . The recent publication of the National Nursing and Midwifery Digital Health Capability Framework3 supports the safe and effective implementation of digital health in Australia. The framework also recognises that, increasingly, all nurses and midwives work in a digital environment and that it is essential for every nurse and midwife to have digital literacy skills to maximise health and societal outcomes, improve services and extend their evidence-based practice3 . This requirement is clearly evident in the technologically dense perioperative environment where nurses are expected to intersect with digital technology as part of everyday provision of patient care. Advocating for digital literacy among nurses and the requirement to use technology for many patient care activities has been part of nursing practice for over a decade5 ; yet, within operating rooms, staff access to personal hand-held technology continues to be discouraged by management6 . A lack of policy and difference between generations’ perceptions regarding the use of personal hand-held devices has resulted in a persistent cultural overtone of distrust of their use in the clinical environment. Perhaps it is time to consider the use of hand-held technology by perioperative nurses in the operating room as a valuable resource to enhance patient safety and improve the delivery of patient care. In order to explore this field, a review of the literature was conducted to identify the
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