PDA for nursing, Want Advice

[Judyd]

I have decided to purchase a PDA for assistance with working on the floor. I want it to store information like all the phone numbers we need, and the steps needed for a death and where to go, what steps needed for HNS etc. I also want to be able to use it for quick look ups for compatibility and proper mixes and length of time needed for pushes of drug. I have a HP pc at home and would like it to be compatible, would like to be able to have fun with it too. I have a 2 wire modum for wireless at home. I have been studying and would like advice on types of PDA's others are using and all they have found them useful or fun with. Some say Palm OS is the only one that has available stuff for nursisng to download on. Does anyone know and can I get any more advice from someone who is using them. Thanks in advance.

[Cammer]

There are a zillion different PDA's out there made by many different companies. Sony, Palm, and Handspring are some of the more popular brands. About a year ago I picked up a Sony Clie and I love it, but there are many good ones so do your research to be sure what you are buying will fit your needs, and pay attention to Battery Life. Nothing is more annoying than having a PDA go dead just when you need it.

When it comes to the operating systems there are two main divisions of them - Palm operating system and the Pocket PC operating system. The brand name of the PDA will dictate the type of operating system installed, i.e. HP and Compaq will always use Pocket PC and Sony, Palm and Handspring will always use Palm OS.

The Palm OS has the most applications available for it BY FAR and most folks seem to like it better for that reason. The Pocket PC OS is decent but the applications really limit it. Palm is the more popular of the two and you will find many, many people write software for it to fit their own individual needs. Quite a few of these people are in the medical profession. Usually they make their programs available on various websites and charge very little, if any, money for them. This makes Palm the most versatile of the two.

Don't worry too much about compatibility with your home PC as either operating system will work fine with Windows, as long as you are running Windows 95 or later. Possibly Win 98 in some cases. Compatibility with your home PC is nice when it comes to scheduling using Outlook, synchronizing files that you are working on, to do lists, etc.

To give yourself an idea of what's out there for Palm try a search using your favorite search engine for Palm software. Contrast that to the Pocket PC. It's very unlikely that you will find any useful user written applications for the Pocket PC family. As far as I'm aware the only software available for the Pocket PCs is from the large companys out there that charge quite a bit and don't always have what we specialized people are looking for.

I hope this helps and it's not too much info. Feel free to email me if I can help you out further.

[Corynne]

What are some good sites to down load the PDR from or other downloadable sites? Can you download them for free or do you have to pay a fee for the information?

[mercynurse]

Hi Judy,

I just got a PDA (the first I've ever had) I love it!. I had thought about putting mine on the site and doing an evaluation, but haven't done so yet. Got it as I started a family practice clinical rotation, I'm not familiar with a lot of the drugs used as I've spent the past 25 years in critical care!! Also, I have to write the scripts now.
I had a friend who was knowledgable about such things go with me. Told him what I was looking for and he helped me decide.
I got a Sony Clie. It has 16 K memory. Cost about $100.00. Now I only wanted mine for medical stuff and the addresses and date book. It also has the capability of expansion for games, pics, videos etc. ( I don't intend to use it for that so haven't even looked into the price of the expansion cards).
So far I've downloaded ABG Pro, eponyms, ePocrates, Herbal zone, Med Rules, and med calc--all free versions I might add!! I'm still only using 6K of my memory!!

My friend got a Palm I think it might be the OS with like 64K of memory...but it was $400! He has music and listens to it with earbuds. (He got a gift certificate and decided to use it for that- said he'd never have paid that much otherwise.

You can always do an internet search for free PDA software and you'll get about a gazillion hits!! Then you can at least see what's out there.

I do like his computer connector better than mine. His is a docking station , where mine is a small connector. I see more of a potential for problems with mine (loose wires etc) but as I'm the only one that uses it, I'm just careful when I connect it up to hot sync.

If you need specific info, I could go get my sites that I looked at and send them to you.

Good luck! Hope this helped. Bonnie

[Pat]

Hi Coryenne and all interested parties. I've been compliling a list of software that's available for nurses and other medical staff. They are part of a new search engine and Internet Explorer program I have been developing since last year. I've already added over 100 free software titles that may be of interest, some are quite good. There are also links to commercial products too. I've divided them in to logical categories and platforms. You can see the Nursing Software directory by going to:

http://www.nursingbar.com/nursing_software.htm

Just click on the "Free Nursing Software" link. From there you'll find links to PDA, Internet, PC, and MAC based software that are all free!

If you know of a source, please be sure to share it with me so I can add it to the site. While you're there, if you use Internet Explorer to surf the web, please download our free toolbar. It has hundreds of instant links to top nursing and nursing related websites, several built-in search engines including Google, Rx, Medical Encyclopedia and a free online personal organizer. All free and designed specifically for nurses.

Hope that helps!

Pat Mahan
pmahan@cox.net
Focus Health Network, LLC
www.nursingbar.com
www.recruitingware.com
www.nurse-education.com
www.inurses.net

[kegbat]

I have a Toshiba Pocket PC and as above have found tons of free stuff but please be careful. www.skyscape.com has a good selection of medical/nursing programs - some are free like archimedes. You may also want to check out Diagnosaurus - a free program from McGraw-Hill. I believe it can be found at wwwunboundmedicine.com but won't swear to that if you just search Diagnosaurus you can find it. Another good nursing program that is subscription and is constantly updated is Pepid. It can be found at www.pepid.com and you can get a free 30 day trial. The ER Doc suggested it to me. He uses it on his PDA. I have used that program alot. Hope this helps you some.

[CCHADWI]

Crdentia will be giving away a New Sony Palm Pilot during our nurse chat. They are hosting a contest, and some lucky memeber will get it shipped right to their home. As soon as we get the program up and running, the contest will begin.

[mercynurse]

Judy, Told you I have the Sony Clie and I love it. Have gotten all my programs fro free, and I have a number of thenm. Just type in free software for handheld PC as a Google search and you will be amazed at the number of things that come up!! I need peds info as that is my weak spot and I've found growth charts, med calc, and shot schedule all for free! Love it!!

[MidlifeMaleNurse]

I purchased a Palm Pilot Tungsten E2, thinking it would be a tremendous asset as an RN on a Med-Surg floor--have information at my fingertips and so on. It was handy to study for NCLEX because I could buy programs (ie Billings-Lippincott) and review anywhere and anytime. It's nice to jot quick notes to myself, store books-on-tape (Gilbert & Sullivan & Dostoyevsky), family pictures, addresses, etc. As for patient notes, it's more labor intensive than a small memo book.

At work I carry the small paperback "Nurse's Pocket Drug Guide 2007" by McGraw-Hill. I can look up meds in a heartbeat, instead of pulling out the PDA, turning it on, fishing out the cursor and pointing around. Lab values and other nursing information can be accessed on our Intranet, and there are reference books. The idea of loads of data on a card the size of a thumbnail is enticing, but costly and not necessary.

Carrying around a PDA might be a godsend for other types of nursing, pharmacy or medicine (those who make rounds--as opposed to me on one Unit), but I'm just stating my opinion. I'm glad I have a PDA - if fits in my billfold and has it's uses, but so far for me, not in nursing. I hope this is helpful.