Nursing Students in the digital era: α literature review

The current generation of nursing students in Higher Education, born in the 1980's and early 1990's, are referred to as millennials. All the terms given to this cohort, such as “digital natives” or “netgeneration”, are being used to highlight the impact that new technologies have to their lives. Regardless how you call them, digital natives are a puzzle generation we do not know much about it, apart from the fact that they have already entered the tertiary nursing education. Numerous surveys indicate that emerging technologies constitute a defining feature in the lives of current students, estimating that there is a fundamental shift in the way young people communicate, socialize and learn. Todays students are characterized as digital literate with distinct traits which influence their learning preferences.New pedagogical methods, such as active and experiential learning, cooperative activities, instant feedback and technology integration, come forward. The purpose of this literature review is to outline nursing students' key traits and learning profile, as presented in the existing literature.