[justpoorfect]

Hello everyone! My first post here

I have read all the responses in the thread about nursing school supplies regarding PDAs, but have not had much exposure to the actual products, other than pictures and prices on a website.

I understand the value of having dictionaries and diagnostic tools available at your fingertips, but can you relate how you use one in an everyday classroom or clinical situation?

Did you purchase a folding keyboard so you can plug-in and type in lecture notes? Does it make distracting noises so your teacher will hate you or ban their use during lecture? Or do you hunt and peck with a stylus on a touch screen? I don't need any of the wi-fi or internet stuff, as I don't have a cellphone account - just dial-up available here in the sticks!! Could I benefit from an older type PDA in that circumstance?

Thanks in advance for any advice you give. I LOVE THIS SITE!!

[Nurse Ratched]

We have a whole forum just for PDA stuff - enjoy - your post is in it now .

[grinnurse]

Hello and welcome to Allnurses.

I wish that I would have known about PDAs when I was in NS, it would have been so helpful.

Here is how I use mine on a typical day at work:

I keep it in my pocket and use it when looking up drugs to know the action of the drug which also allows me to teach my patient about the drug and any adverse effects to watch for.

I also use it at discharge for again teaching about the drugs-esp if it is new to the patient, I can look up dx and teach about s/s that should be reported, I explain further procedures that have been ordered, what kind of blood work the patient can be expected to have drawn (if applicable) and what lab values mean (if asked).

I also use it to look up different names of the same drugs since some are ordered by generics vs name brand. My PDA has been so indespensable to me this first year.

[UMichSCN07]

Originally Posted by justpoorfect

I understand the value of having dictionaries and diagnostic tools available at your fingertips, but can you relate how you use one in an everyday classroom or clinical situation?

Did you purchase a folding keyboard so you can plug-in and type in lecture notes? Does it make distracting noises so your teacher will hate you or ban their use during lecture? Or do you hunt and peck with a stylus on a touch screen?

I used my Palm m505 in school for several classes, especially those where I didn't have any kind of handout or note pack from the prof to make notes on.

I invested in the folding keyboard... WELL worth the price. I typed my notes directly into the Notes program, sync'ed to my computer, and printed hard copies for studying purposes. The keys on the keyboard were no louder than any laptop, and any sounds the Palm makes can be silenced in the master set-up screen. In fact, I had several professors who were very impressed with the Palm/keyboard package, as it is many times smaller than a laptop and fits very well on a desk that's already crammed with textbooks and notebooks.

The one thing I didn't have at the time was an updated version of Documents to Go (usually comes bundled with new Palms), so I couldn't start a new document on my Palm. This would have been nice, since the Notes program is limited as far as the length of the document and it doesn't sync to MS Word like DTG does. Fortunately, the more recent versions of DTG allow you to start a new document on your handheld.

Mike in Michigan

[clee1]

Originally Posted by justpoorfect

... but can you relate how you use one in an everyday classroom or clinical situation?

Did you purchase a folding keyboard so you can plug-in and type in lecture notes? Does it make distracting noises so your teacher will hate you or ban their use during lecture? Or do you hunt and peck with a stylus on a touch screen? I don't need any of the wi-fi or internet stuff, as I don't have a cellphone account - just dial-up available here in the sticks!! Could I benefit from an older type PDA in that circumstance?

Just Friday, my instructor asked about the side effects of Indocin. While the rest of the class was searching through a THICK Nurses Drug guide, I opened my PDA, turned it on, selected the DD program, "wrote" I-N-D on the amazingly useful graffiti pad, selected "Indocin" and then selected the tab for Side effects. I had the answer in less than 10 seconds. After class, no less than 10 people were crowded around, asking where to get a PDA and software, etc.

A VERY handy device!

As to the keyboard... I bought one and returned it unopened. A PDA really is not meant to function as a full laptop; it is useful as a personal organizer and electronic bookbag. It took me all of two hours of orientation with the device to discover that fact.

A regular no-frills device that has an expansion slot will be all you should need. I bought the Palm TX because wi-fi and the other features made sense for me.

[justpoorfect]

Thank you for the replies, it sure is nice to have real-life experience stories to help decide.

I start NS on Tuesday at 7:00 a.m. and will think seriously about investing in one of these devices. My stack of books is almost 3 feet tall!!!

[West_Coast_Ken]

What you get with your PDA is a matter of choice plain and simple. Some people like a keyboard and some don't...some want wi-fi and others could care less (like me).

I'd recommend you try out someone's PDA, both Palm and Windows based, with a keyboard and wi-fi if you can. What one person finds very useful another will find very useless...it all depends on what YOU want.

I only use my PDA for reference material right now. I might use it for creating documents later but I really think I'd prefer doing that at my desk at home. As for wi-fi with a PDA I can't see the pressing need to try and use a PDA to surf the web or get email ASAP. Would rather do that on my nice big PC at home.