PDA/Cell Combos OK??

mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 21, 2007

I have a PPC6700 with Wi-Fi.

I didn't have it during school - so I don't know if it would've been an issue. I would double check before spending lots of $$$$ though to be told you can't use it.

As far as work - I work at 2 different facilities and it has never been an issue at all whatsoever. My phone portion turns off, if necessary, but usually I just have the ringer off and it's not a problem.

GadgetRN71, ASN, RN · Jun 21, 2007

I'm already looking into buyinig a PDA before I start my nursing program. i'm hoping it will keep me organized and besides it will always be good to have references right at your fingertips. I'm leaning towards getting a smartphone (a cell and PDA combined) my only concern is that because it is a cell I won't be allowed to use it in clinicals/class or when I get a job after!! Does anyone have a smartphone?? Did you have any issues with your professors or anything??

I always wondered myself about the whole smartphone thing..I asked a rep in the OR about it because he had a Blackberry, and it turns out on many of these phones, you can turn the "phone" part off when you are in the hospital. Explain this to the school before you get one although I might wait until you graduate to use a smartphone(some of the professors are a bit skittish about technology-some can barely use a computer!)or just go with a regular PDA.

GilaRRT · Jun 21, 2007

Smart phones have their place. Remember that different devices have different operating systems. Three systems are currently very popular. They include; Windows Pocket PC (Treo 700), Windows Mobile (Black Jack, Motorola Q), and Palm (Treo 650). Be sure that the third party applications you seek to load onto the device will work with the device's operating system. Just a bit of advice: Windows Pocket PC and Windows Mobile are not the same operating system.

I would be careful about PDA's and Nursing School. I would bet many nursing instructors do not look kindly on students using these devices during clinicals. PDA's were not popular when I was a student, but electronic devices were not allowed during didactic or clinical rotations. Who knows, perhaps things have changed.

As far as employment, I have never had a problem using my smart phone at work. Turn the phone off or place the device on airplane or vibrate. I would strongly suggest you have a hard copy of easy to access information at your finger tips. PDA's always seem to crash when your patient crashes and you need to find out how to calculate a drip that you have not mixed or infused in 9 months.

happybunny1970 · Jun 21, 2007

Ewww... SmartPhones... Yuck

Sorry, that's just me -- I hate the combo. I have a Palm that I LOVE and a cell phone that I LOVE, but would never marry the two. Part of it is the fear that if one part goes out, I've lost both items, and I'm way too techy to cope with that. Like this new iPhone thing coming out? Wouldn't touch it!

Having a PDA really shouldn't be a problem for school -- I originally bought my first one so that I could carry my drug book in my pocket (my favorite is ePocrates.com), and with it being a subscription item, I can get it updated every day just by connecting it to my home PC. There are LOTS of programs out there that can help you. As someone mentioned, some of the older instructors are a bit technologically phobic, and this causes them to frown on PDA use.

While you may have an issue with carrying any type of mobile phone during school clinical rotations, working as a nurse it is extremely unlikely to be an issue. I don't even see those 'cell phones must be turned off' signs anymore in the hospitals -- everyone has them. First it was just the doctors, then the patients, and now the rest of the staff have them on them all the time. I keep mine set on vibrate.

GilaRRT · Jun 21, 2007

I woud caution people against going with the IPhone if they want to use third party medical applications. The IPhone is a combination cell phone, i-pod, and net browsing device. Third party applications are very limited with this device.

RNDude · Jun 21, 2007

I used a PDA/phone combo throughout my nursing program (PPC-6600, then PPC-6700). It was very useful to have, but not so much for the reasons I had originally expected.

I had planned to get a lot of use out of a computerized drug reference on the PDA. However, I found my Epocrates drug reference software to run too slowly on it for it to compete with flipping open a drug reference book, but sometimes I actually found information in it that was not in the book. A classmate had Davis on the same model PDA phone and didn't complain about speed, though.

Where I really benefited was in being able to Google a topic any time, any place. This came in handy in both lectures and clinicals. At times, I had fellow students, instructors and nurses asking me to do an internet search for something relevant and helpful.

Cell phone/PDA combo devices are a reasonable value, especially when you consider the price of the two devices purchased separately. The biggest advantage of having a single device is having Internet anywhere that you have cellular coverage. Prices for unlimited Internet vary from carrier to carrier, so shop around before you purchase. Remember that you can keep your phone number now even if you switch carriers. I happen to be on Sprint.

If you find yourself on a unit that enforces a rule about cell phones being actually off, you can put it on airplane/flight mode, as was previously mentioned. I have a hard time imagining somebody not taking your word that the device's radios are off, as requested, and giving you a hard time.

As a side note about cell phones in hospitals, I've noticed most places are rather lax about these rules, or even relaxing them officially. Close proximity to monitoring equipment is where a problem is supposed to be most likely to occur. Many nurses keep their phones on, on vibrate, and may text on their phones occasionally but not speak on the phones on the unit. Cell phones do have to transmit occasionally when on standby (though not in flight mode) and certainly transmit when sending a text message. Doctors seem to be increasingly using their cell phones in hospitals in order to service their spread-out patient loads.

There has been some press about privacy issues posed by the cameras on cell phones (which most PDA phones will also have). There's probably a thread in here somewhere about this (I haven't looked).

GadgetRN71, ASN, RN · Jun 21, 2007

Thankfully, while most instructors gave me strange looks at first when I pulled out the PDA, no one really had an issue. As a matter of fact, one of the older teachers was fascinated and I gave her a little inservice on how they worked. She said she was going to try to talk her husband into buying one for her. :lol2: Some programs are actually requiring them now..I think it's the phone part that makes some of them nervous, so I always had a separate phone and PDA.

bekindtokittens · Jun 21, 2007

My program requires all nursing students to buy a PDA. I haven't started yet but I am all ready with my Palm TX. I considered the smart phone, but like others who posted, I don't want all my eggs in one basket. My cell phone IS my home phone, so if it went down, I would be SOL.

tiredfeetED · Jun 21, 2007

I have a older treo 650 that uses palm. I would be lost without it. It has my calendar synced with my computer and also has epocrates which is a must for me while in my clinicals of NP school. Also have a few other programs such as harrisons, five min consult and ed suite.

Aquarian · Jun 21, 2007

For HP iPAQ, one tap on the screen for all wireless to be off (wi-fi, bluetooth, phone). You still have the PDA function.

jadedgreeneyes · Jun 21, 2007

Thanks guys for all the quick responses!! I too am worried that with the smartphone I would be "putting all my eggs in one basket". I think I'm just gonna keep my cell and get a standard PDA. Now if I can decide between the Dell Axim X51, Palm TX or the HP IPAQ. Decisions, decisions!!