Anyone use PDA or hand held PC?

i will be starting the spring '08 rn program soon and wondering if any of you use a pda, palm pilot or hand held pc? i really know nothing about these devices and can't help but wonder if they're a good idea. if you do use one, what brand do you have and what do you like/dislike most about it? your thoughts, please...thanks a bunch!

Palm tungsten, use it hourly at least in clinical, and very often in class. Am a junior BSN student and couldnt live without it. I have mosby's drug guide and RN Notes from skyscape.com. Lots of cool other applications for it as well.

I haven't started my nursing program yet (start in Dec), but I use my PDA all the time for Pharm and Micro. It really depends on how tech savvy you are, and whether or not you would rather look something up in a book, or have it in your pocket. If you're pretty good with computers, a PDA may help a lot, and if not, it may seem like a useless expense.

I could not survive school without my PDA. I have a Palm Tungsten E2 with Nursing Central installed and I just don't know what I would do without it. My back would hate me a lot more than it does already, that's for sure - my PDA replaces about 4 textbooks on a daily basis and it is SO nice to be able to look up a med fact or lab result quickly at the bedside without having to go search for a book.

[laurainri]

pda is one way to save your back. I love nursing central & use all of them in there. also IV med book I got also. anything that is required for school and i can get it in palm version I do

Palm Tungsten here too. I love it! I use it all of the time and it was definitely the best purchase I bought for school.

[Danish, MSN, APRN, NP]

I have the Palm Tungsten too. I wasnt allowed to use it at clinicals until my third semester, but I couldnt have made it without it.

i got a palm lifedrive as a birthday gift a couple of weeks ago & i really like it. i've only had one clinical since i received it & it was really helpful with drug interactions & looking up drug info & terms that my clinical instructor asked me to find out about. it's not really necessary to have a PDA (i'm the only one in my clinical group that has one & only one other person in our entire class has one) but it's definitely helpful. i'm only in my first semester, but i'm guessing i'll use it more as i go farther into my program.

[Sillynicunurse]

I love my Palm. I am in my last semester of nursing school. My husband has a windows based PDA and I find it more difficult to navigate but it could be that I am used to my Palm. I carry it to clinicals to replace my drug guide and Tabers. Love it, love it, love it.

[mvanz9999, RN]

It would be helpful if you could say which model you had as well. Tungsten E2, T3, T5, etc.

[APBT mom, LPN, RN]

I have a Palm E2 and I love it. I don't have to worry about carryig the books I need to clinicals and having to find a spot for them. I have all kinds of programs on it. I'm the only one in my clinical group that has one but I know of a few other students that do and we all use it everyday.

What's the learning curve on PDAs? If I'm kind of a technophobe, how hard are they to figure out how to lose? I do like the idea of having one, since we're required to bring 1-2 textbooks to clinical each day yet we aren't given anywhere to put them, so I'm always afraid of them walking off. I only know one person who has one, and she hasn't really used it at clinical yet since we're only in Fundamentals.

[marilynmom, LPN, NP]

Oh my god I literally couldn't survive (well I guess I could...lol) without my Palm TX! There is no way is heck I would have time to look up drugs especially now that I'm doing clinicals in the ICU. I used it on all sorts of drips I was hanging today....because I did all my preclinical paperwork/drugs last night and when I got there today everything was different.

To me it is a a great investment and everyone is always wanting to use my Palm (especially the RNs!) because it is that awesome.

I have Davis Drug Guide and Tabers, a lab guide, my powerpoints and notes from class, pictures, music, games, etc on that sucker and there is still a ton of room left over (definately make sure you get a PDA with a memory slot).

[Satori77, ADN]

How much do they cost? (a range is fine)

Palm TX, life saver, but has was stated previously, if you are not tech savy, not worth it. If you need to read it and highlight it, not going to help. I have a couple of people in my class of 24 that would never be able to use them, they don't "work" that way!!

[mvanz9999, RN]

Well, that settles it. I'm getting a Palm TX. (A PDA is required for school).

The TX sells for around $270 - $300. Maybe you can find one cheaper on ebay, but I prefer one new.

[mattwilson]

We were required to buy a PDA. The school put everything together as a package for us. (Palm TX, Epocrates 2 year subscription, Tabers medical dictionary, Nursing diagnosis handbook, aluminum case) It was about $500 for the package. We use it allllll the time. Really a great thing to have. TX is easy to use and easy to figure out.

[APBT mom, LPN, RN]

What's the learning curve on PDAs? If I'm kind of a technophobe, how hard are they to figure out how to lose? I do like the idea of having one, since we're required to bring 1-2 textbooks to clinical each day yet we aren't given anywhere to put them, so I'm always afraid of them walking off. I only know one person who has one, and she hasn't really used it at clinical yet since we're only in Fundamentals.

IMO they are as easy to use as a computer. They're basically set up the same with accessing programs.