How does a PDA help you during school and clinicals?

Nursing Students General Students

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(First of all please don't forward this to the PDA forum right away because it's way too slow. Thanks)

Hello. I was thinking about buying a PDA for school, and for anything thereafter and I was going to ask if any of you could tell me how's it has helped you during school. I hear people talking about putting programs such as medical dictionaries, drug guides, and other stuff on a PDA and how it makes it that much more convienient when they're on the floor and don't have a 5lbs book in their pocket.

Also, I've been looking at the Palm TX because they look decent and they aren't as expensive as some of the higher end models. All I really want is a PDA that has Wi-Fi and that can be used to run the programs I need. Anything else is extra. So if any of you have a Palm TX please share your thoughts about it. Thanks.

Thanks a lot for your help!

The Palm TX has a drop down keyboard?

drop down as in virtual drop down keyboard- the keyboard on the screen slides down or slides up to be hidden

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Specializes in Neuro.
I'm older and not real familiar with these devices. Can I ask if anyone worries about theirs getting stolen? Are they something you can keep on your person at all times?

Are they mostly for drug info? I don't like reading from the computer so I wouldn't use it for the ebooks. Thanks, Jules

I've never really worried about mine being stolen. I keep it in my pants pocket or in my lab coat, so it's always on me. And mine is password-protected so even if someone did steal it, they can't access my stuff.

I have epocrates essentials on mine (had to buy it for school) and I use it as a drug guide, to look up lab value norms, medical diagnoses, and a few other tools. I find it very valuable to be able to do all this on the spot wherever I am.

I had a patient one day who had been to her primary physician prior to being admitted to the hospital. He prescribed some medication, but she was admitted to the hospital before she filled it. Since her admission they did a culture and sensitivity on her (she wound up having pneumonia) and she was on an antibiotic currently. The day I cared for her she was cleaning out her purse and found the old prescription and wanted to know what it was. I simply used my PDA and looked up the drug (which happened to be a different antibiotic) and explained to her why she should not fill it at this time. My patient was very impressed with my knowledge and how I was able to access it without even leaving the room. :)

In addition to the medical stuff, I also keep my calendar on my PDA so I have an idea of what I'm doing that day. I find it to be helpful also.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Thanks Meghan!

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i got one but i cant get the updates due to my cpu

it is very helpful

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I just got my Palm TX and I've been tinkering around on it and I can already tell it's going to be super useful during school, and even outside of school!

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I use it to look up drugs all the time during clinicals, and to double check how to administer, etc. I have the nursing constellation from skyscape and the various programs are VERY useful. I also bought Tabers from there at the same time. I use the info for review during the day, and looked at it a lot when we had clinicals on a cardiac floor to review/distinguish between ecg rhythms. I am not a techie by any means, but i find this invaluable now, especially with the constant updates available. The calendar is really useful for planning for tests, etc. Also, at our clinical sites there is no secure area for book bags, etc. so having a pda that i keep with me is a huge help.

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I'm glad I bought one.. :D

I got Nursing Contellation and Tabers right off the bat and they're by far worth the money. Very, very helpful tools; especially when you're out in a clinical setting and can't carry around a 5lbs book! I also found a bunch of free software that's pretty useful too. And free is always good.

I highly reccomend a PDA for nursing students if they've got the money for one!! I reccomend the Palm TX from http://www.buydig.com because it's $45 cheaper there than anywhere else!

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.

I bought the Palm TX last week and it is GREAT! I use it every single day.

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Hi...... does anyone know where I get these programs from! Help! Are they free or......?

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Hi...... does anyone know where I get these programs from! Help! Are they free or......?

You can get a bunch of good ones from http://www.skyscape.com . Most of them cost money, but there are a few free ones.

Here's a link to some good websites that if you search around a bit you can find a bunch of freeware: http://planet.cnm.edu/jblewett/PDAlinks.htm

There are a few decent freeware programs, but if you want anything really good you'll have to pay for it. I reccomend Davis's drug guide and Taber's medical dictionary. I bought Nursing Constellation from Skyscape, which included Davis's, among a few other usful programs, so I suggest looking at that too. It can be a little pricey, but if you have the money to spend then you find that it'll prove far worth it.

PM me if you have any more specific questions.

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