PDA's

RNinJan04 · Dec 14, 2003

Hi:

I have been reading some of your posts and I keep trying to download freebies but it's not working...

How do you download ePocrates for free??

Thanks:confused:

LydiaGreen · Dec 14, 2003

I tried getting epocrates at this time last year. All of my classmates were telling me that they had downloaded it for free, what a great deal that is, etc, etc, etc. I went to download it. It isn't free for pocket pc... only for palm OS. I don't know if that is still the way it is, but it was a year ago. Doesn't seem fair to me but honestly, I like the programs that I have now and my classmates have all gotten rid of epocrates and purchased other programs. There are some decent free ones out there, but the majority of the time you get what you pay for.

RNinJan04 · Dec 15, 2003

Thanks for replying..

I think that is probably right....However, I found another one with a free trial is pepid.com and so far it looks great with calculations and drug interactions...

:)

opalmRN · Dec 15, 2003

Hi Mona,

I just recently replaced my old Palm with the Tungsten E. The main reason was the older model was the monochrome screen (green and black) and these old eyes were having so much trouble reading it I was gonna just give up on using it during clinical and then a friend suggested getting a color screen.

I went to Best Buy, checked it out and bought one. Gave the old one to my daughter who is also in nursing school and her eyes don't seem to mind!

I had the ePocrates 1 month trial and found it so helpful when the trial ran out I opted for the 1 year subscription. For me the money will be worth it.

As for word documents, the Tungsten E came with "documents to go" which allows me to download documents from my pc or create them on the PDA. I have not actually created any because I presently do not have a keyboard and to tell you the truth "pecking" my way with the stylus for an entire document will surely fire up my carpal tunnel syndrome!! Keyboard is on my wish list.

My Christmas present this year is a memory card. I plan to transfer epocrates to the card.

The only draw back with many of the new PDA's to include many brands is the recharageable battery. Because most of the PDA's recharageable battery is solder to the main component board, they are not replaceable at least not like traditional rechargeable batteries. The guy at BB told me "IF" the battery should need to be replaced, it requires the PDA to be returned to the manufacturer. I assume he is correct as my PDA has no visible battery compartment. So I rue the day I need to replace it.

Incidently, I can use my PDA nearly an entire week without recharging the battery. With my old one I constanly needed to keep AAA batteries in every pocket I had because they died so quickly.

The color is a God send. It is so clear and yes I did the unthinkable and downloaded some family photos on it. It's my brag book of sorts!

I have looked at some of the "free" or "shareware" out there but so far I have not had success in downloading them. This could quite possibly be me and not the program or it could be my pc. At any rate I'm always open to any PDA suggestions from anyone.

I also have a laptop for work and I always choose to take my PDA along for dr.s appts, or anything where I know I will have some time to kill.

I have also heard some folks talk about PEPID for nurses although again, I haven't been successful in downloading.

Hope Santa brings you one!

(Give me a call sometime, been very busy with one kid severe upper resp infect and another with L lung pneumonia. I tell you I'm getting quite the bedside practice around here !!)

Cathy

mona b RN, BSN, RN · Dec 15, 2003

Hi C,

I was wondering when you would jump in. I'm so sorry to hear about kids being sick. Good Lord, there is alot of nastiness going around, hope they get better soon.

I'll call you this weekend. I am going to be calling hospitals to talk about clinicals. I will let you know how it goes. I'll also fill you in on the latest saga from DCN.

BTW, thanks everybody for your input about the pda's, I can't wait for my new toy.

mona

tdg_rn · Dec 15, 2003

Originally posted by EyesForward
Has anybody tried the Taber's Medical Dictionary on their pda?

I have Taber's Med Dictionary on mine. I think it's great.

I am going into nursing from an IT background so using a PDA is pretty natural for me. I know a whole lot more about the technology than I do the nursing. (I start classes in January.)

I use a Palm Tungsten C which has plenty of memory to run Taber's and the Davis Drug Guide from internal memory.

LilRedRN1973 · Dec 15, 2003

My Christmas present this year is a memory card. I plan to transfer epocrates to the card.

If you figure out how to do this, please let me know. On my Palm, it tells me it's a "locked" program and cannot be copied to the card. And it sucks because I have a 256mb memory card, but only 8mb internal and Epocrates takes up a LOT of memory.

EyesForward · Dec 15, 2003

Hi TDG_RN, I was an internetworking consultant before I quit work to stay home with my newborn. When he was old enough for school I decided to try something new too (nursing), instead of returning to routers, DNA databases, etc. I also start my program in Jan. BTW, welcome to the boards.

1973 - Why not just remove Epocrates from your PDA, and reinstall it to the memory card? That would bug me too...almost like having your primary application in the root directory on your pc. Just an idea! :)

opalmRN · Dec 15, 2003

Originally posted by RNnTraining1973
If you figure out how to do this, please let me know.

I was going to also suggest reinstalling it to the memory card.

When I get my card, I will let you know how I make out. If all else fails, we can take a road trip to "Eyes Forward's" house!

C:D

opalmRN · Dec 15, 2003

Originally posted by EyesForward
1973 - Why not just remove Epocrates from your PDA, and reinstall it to the memory card? That would bug me too...almost like having your primary application in the root directory on your pc. Just an idea! :)

You read my mind!

Just curious, were you ever in the military? Your screen name is intertestingly familiar to a boot camp phrase I remember!

C

EyesForward · Dec 15, 2003

Originally posted by opalm
If all else fails, we can take a road trip to "Eyes Forward's" house!

C:D

Please come! I make a wicked Cosmopolitan (weekends only after Jan 6th!!!), plus the pool is heated, and ready for swimmers. :cool:

EyesForward · Dec 15, 2003

Originally posted by opalm
Just curious, were you ever in the military? Your screen name is intertestingly familiar to a boot camp phrase I remember!

C

Not exactly, but I worked for the DOD at Patuxent River, MD for 10 years in IT before going private sector. Does that count? I suppose not, since I never went to boot camp! My screen name serves only to remind me to ignore all the distractions and discouragement that comes my way during this trek forward into school (again!) and nursing.