Do I Need A PDA For Nursing School?

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I will be starting school in a couple weeks and am gathering materials. In my book list I've noticed many pda versions of the texts. Should I buy a PDA for school? If so, which is the best?

Did I really need a PDA for nursing school? No.

Did it make nursing school relatively easier? Absolutely.

Anything that made nursing school more manageable was totally worth the investment for me.

:typing

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Specializes in Med/Surg < 1yr.

I'm in my first semester of nursing school and I have a Tungsten E2. I love it! As everyone who loves them have said, they are not a crutch for learning it's just that when you have to look up something in a big medical dictionary instead you can just whip out your palm, type in the info and voila! Now comes the hard part. I bought a computer with Windows Vista Home Premium. It can be a nightmare at times because Windows Vista is not compatible with Palm. I cannot put music on my palm using my computer. I have to use a computer that has Window XP or higher but lower than Vista. It gets on my nerve. Another thing is that my palm comes with very little memory but thankfully they come with an expansion slot so all you need is a memory card. Whenever you buy some software for your palm or pocket pc, you save it to the memory card. Tungstens can only take up to a 1 gb memory card which is plenty enough memory for the software that you will need. I honestly charge my palm once every other week or so. I definitely recommend getting Tabers Medical Dictionary, Davis RNotes2 and Davis Drug Guide. Also, when you get to clinical it will be helpful to have the phone numbers and pertinent info about your site in the palm to be able to refer to.

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Specializes in ER, Occupational Medicine.

itoo wondered if i should get a pda, i start school aug 2007 and have not yet recieived my follow-up letter to tell me what i'll need. if anyone know pls help!:rolleyes:

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I've been using my Treo 680 for two semesters now, and I don't know how I ever got by without it. It makes everything so much easier! No having to look for the right pages or what not, everything is right at your fingertips. It's definitely been a big help.

I recently had to do a hard reset, and although I was able to re-sync everything, my reader wont work, and I've been going nuts without being able to use it!!!

Suggested programs:

Taber's

Davis' Drug Guide

PedsDrugs

PktPeds

RNDiseases

RNDx&Int

RnLabs

RNAssessments

EssentDx

SignsSx

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Specializes in Cardiac/Telemetry.

You don't necessarily need it, but it does make your clinical experience a whole lot easier; especially if by some off chance you forget your drug book. I'm not sure which is the best one, but I do advise the purchase of a PDA. It is highly useful and worth the money. :)

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Specializes in Cardiac/Telemetry.
itoo wondered if i should get a pda, i start school aug 2007 and have not yet recieived my follow-up letter to tell me what i'll need. if anyone know pls help!:rolleyes:

hi, 2bnurse4life! i recommend this thread: https://allnurses.com/forums/f50/what-item-s-you-need-most-nursing-school-111796.html to get a general idea of what is needed for nursing school. i hope this helps. :)

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Hey, could new posts include what programs people are using...that way those of us who are PDA illiterate can compare and contrast models and programs.

What someone like me is looking for, is if most everyone lists such and such program...then it will be something I'll definiately include when I purchase it....YA'LL HAVE CONVICED ME!

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