Medical technology and techniques are taking impressive leaps forward. The next generation of healthcare professionals and leaders in the healthcare industry also need to follow suit – and learning about the use of mobile nursing apps is one way to do so.
The Wolters Kluwer Health Survey shows that 65 percent of nurses are using mobile apps for professional purposes for at least 30 minutes a day, while 20 percent use them for 2 hours or more. Of survey responders, 60 percent use social media to follow healthcare issues at work, while 86 percent follow healthcare issues on social media outside of work. This data suggests that health and nursing apps are becoming one of the common go-to sources of knowledge for nurses.
In addition to the day-to-day application, mobile medical apps also help teachers and students in:
- accessing and creating multimedia material for medical studies,
- producing digital narratives, and
- exploring emerging study material.
Below are some of the preferred mobile apps for nursing students:
- Epocrates – This app is helpful for students working toward healthcare degrees and professionals who need a quick reference guide to learn about FDA approved prescription drugs and drug interactions. This app also helps provide information for accurate doses and identifying pills precisely. It includes manufacturer DEA/FDA status and the approximate retail price of the drug.
Available on – The iTunes App Store, Google Play Store
Cost – Paid - Med Mnemonics – This app is a learning tool with over 1,900 mnemonics (short rhymes or phrases that help you in memorizing information) that help nursing students learn information faster and methodically. This is especially helpful for nursing students when it comes to studying for exams and can also be helpful in the future when they are in the profession to retain the knowledge they learned in classes.
Available on – The iTunes App Store, Google Play Store
Cost – Paid - Medscape – This app helps students and professionals stay up to date with medical news while also providing information about prescription drugs and interactions. Staying up to date with current events in the medical field is important for students and professionals alike to ensure all information is up to date.
Available on – The iTunes App Store, Google Play Store
Cost – Free, but it comes with in-app advertisements - NCSBN Learning Extension’s Medication Flashcards – This app is helpful for students preparing for exams. Each student’s way of learning and retaining information is different, and this app allows the user to customize his/her learning experience for more effective learning.
Available on – The iTunes App Store
Cost – Free - NCLEX-RN Medication Flashcards – This app is a registered trademark of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. It has over 300 frequently used RN exam terms for reference in multiple categories, which is helpful for studying for the NCLEX exam.
Available on – The iTunes App Store, Google Play Store
Cost – Free, but it comes with in-app advertisements. - NurseGrid – A nurse’s schedule can be quite hectic. NurseGrid helps nurses in scheduling meetings, training sessions and classes. It allows nurses to add shifts, share availability with managers, sync information with other calendar apps, swap shifts with other nurses and more. You can customize your view with different colors and icons. It provides separate logins and dashboards for nurses and managers. This app is also available for the web.
Available on – The iTunes App Store
Cost – Free, but it comes with in-app advertisements. - Nursing Central – This app holds a database of 5,000 drugs and a dictionary of over 65,000 terms. It is an ideal study guide for nurses and students on diseases and drugs. It saves you valuable time in finding answers using helpful algorithms, tables and charts.
Available on – The iTunes App Store, Google Play Store
Cost – Free, but it comes with the in-app advertisement. - Emergency Nurse Essentials – This helps nurses and students with situations that arise on a day to day basis in ERs. This app provides common concepts and principles for different types of emergencies and can serve as a guide.
Available on – The iTunes App Store, Google Play Store
Cost – Free, but it comes with in-app advertisements. - Pedi STAT – This app is useful for healthcare professionals who work with pediatric patients in ER environments. It helps in critical situations where you need information quickly and accurately – with drug dosing app material in a clear, easy-to-understand, color-coded format to eliminate any uncertainties in stressful environments.
Available on – The iTunes App Store, Google Play Store
Cost – Paid - PEPID – This app is regularly updated to provide the latest information from the healthcare industry. It provides access to a large drug database (herbal, nutrient and allergy), a medical calculator, high-resolution photos of pills and content from different health associations.
Available on – The iTunes App Store, Google Play Store, Windows phone
Cost – Free trial version. The paid version comes in different packages suitable for different medical professionals. - Pocket Anatomy – This app provides easy access to information on human anatomical structures. Its 3D technology and over 100,000 words of learning content, clinical facts and quizzes that help students in understanding parts of the body better.
Available on – The iTunes App Store
Cost – Paid - Pocket Lab Values – Get access to over 320 common and uncommon lab values in categories such as endocrine, respiratory and toxicology. It is an excellent reference point for professionals and students for training.
Available on – The iTunes App Store, Google Play Store
Cost – Paid - Skyscape Medical Library – This app is a great decision-making support tool with over 400 resources and titles from medical societies, publishers and authors. It is a trusted source for both medical practitioners and students.
Available on – The iTunes App Store, Google Play Store
Cost – Free, but it comes with in-app advertisements. - Taber’s Medical Dictionary – This is a mobile version of Taber’s medical dictionary with thousands of terms, photos, full-color illustrations, in-depth appendices, audio pronunciations and videos to give users a well-rounded supply of information. This could be very helpful when you are taking an online nursing program and need quick references.
Available on – The iTunes App Store, Google Play Store
Cost – Paid
With the growing popularity of medical apps for nurses, today’s professionals and students may meet you with a tablet and stylus in hand rather than a paper pad and pen – giving you accurate information quickly.
At West Coast University, we take pride in knowing that our students are well prepared to become successful professionals. For more than 100 years, we have been educating and preparing students for their professional careers. We have both campus programs and online programs to suit all our prospective student’s time constraints and needs. Explore our programs today to learn about our commitment to the nursing profession.
WCU provides career guidance and assistance but cannot guarantee employment. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or position of the school or of any instructor or student.
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