A review of top-recommended computer and mobile apps for nurses led to this shortlist that can help you in your busy life.
Nursing Central
Nursing Central is widely hailed as the top app for nurses and nursing students. A quick look at the features shows why: It has dosage, conversion and IV calculators as well as information from more than 24 million medical journal articles. Also, it contains illustrations, video and audio pronunciations.
A one-year subscription starts at $169.95 on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
Learn more here: Nursing Central
Epocrates
A highly regarded source for brand, generic and over-the-counter medications, the Epocrates app is used by one out of every two physicians. Specialty information includes adult and pediatric dosing, warnings, contraindications, adverse reactions and drug interactions, as well as safety and monitoring, pharmacology, approval status for new drugs, and approximate retail price.
The basic app is free on Google Play and the Apple App Store; a premium subscription for Epocrates Plus starts at $174.99.
Learn more here: Epocrates
Medscape
Visually identify drugs, look up medications and dosages, consult a clinical reference database, and perform many other functions. Medscape, a WebMD company, bills the new version as “optimized for point-of-care decision making.”
The app is free on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
Learn more here: Medscape
MedCalX
This medical calculator has been available on mobile devices for more than 15 years. This iOS app for Apple iPads and iPhones is available in English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish and Chinese. MedCalX provides a large collection of formulas, scores, scales and classifications in any unit of measurement.
The app is free on the Apple App Store.
Learn more here: MedCalX
Taber’s Medical Dictionary
Billed as “the most complete health science dictionary anytime, anywhere,” Taber’s Medical Dictionary answers your medical questions fast and allows you to share images and video with patients and colleagues.
Annual subscriptions for this app on Google Play and the Apple App Store start at $49.95.
Learn more here: Taber’s Medical Dictionary
Eponyms
So many conditions and procedures in medicine are called by the names of the inventors that it can be challenging to remember who goes with what. This organized collection of more than 1,700 medical eponyms helps solve that.
The app is free on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
Learn more here: Eponyms
Drugs.com Medication Guide
It’s best to have more than one source to check and cross-check drug information, pill identification and possible interactions. This is another good one.
The app is free on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
Learn more here: Drugs.com Apps
Medical Spanish
As the demographics of the United States change, increasing numbers of patients are Hispanic and more comfortable speaking Spanish. This app can help you provide them with better patient care.
The version with in-app ads is free; the upgrade ($0.99) comes without the ads. Both are available at Google Play and the Apple App Store.
Learn more here: Medical Spanish
Symptomia
Need a fast way to check medical symptoms? For more than 50 symptoms with hundreds of medical entries included, this is it.
This app is available in the Apple App Store for $3.99.
Learn more here: Symptomia
Black’s Medical Dictionary
For more than 100 years, Black’s Medical Dictionary has been a staple of medical students, nurses and physicians. This app has more than 5,000 definitions of medical terms.
This app is available on Google Play and the Apple App Store for $14.99.
Learn more about the UAH online RN to BSN program.
Sources:
DiversityNursing.com: 2017 Best Nursing Apps
Scrubs: 9 Free Apps Every Nurse Should Download
American Mobile: The Best Apps for Nurses: Our Top 10 for 2016
NurseJournal: 19 Must-Have Mobile Apps for Every Nurse