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Discussion

Question for those w/ PDA's

Hi everyone,

I am very PDA-illiterate but was thinking that I would find one very useful during my clinicals. What PDA's would you recommend? What programs do you use? I was looking at the PDR for pda's but it costs $100... or free to already prescribing individuals.

Thanks for the advice!

Featured Replies

  • Expert

Check further down under "Various Nursing...." and you'll see a thread on PDAs.

  • Expert
Hi everyone,

I am very PDA-illiterate but was thinking that I would find one very useful during my clinicals. What PDA's would you recommend? What programs do you use? I was looking at the PDR for pda's but it costs $100... or free to already prescribing individuals.

Thanks for the advice!

PDA's is kind of Coke and Pepsi. I use palm because it had programs early on. Our whole class went in a got a deal on Handsprings back when they were in business. Now I use a Treo since I have to have a phone and PDA. Windows works OK but I like Palm better.

For programs one word Epocrates. It's $200 for the full boat but way worth it. Especially the drug interaction part. You may need another book for peds or specialties but this works great. There is also an ID part and symptoms part that is all linked. As a student you get 35% off if your school signs up.

http://www.epocrates.com/products/

David Carpenter, PA-C

  • Expert

I too have the Palm Treo and love it! I like it very much. My problem is that I have a tendency to play on the internet and that can get expensive if you are paying by the MB - lol!.

  • Expert
I too have the Palm Treo and love it! I like it very much. My problem is that I have a tendency to play on the internet and that can get expensive if you are paying by the MB - lol!.

That's why you get your practice to pay for it.

David Carpenter, PA-C

  • Author

For programs one word Epocrates. It's $200 for the full boat but way worth it. Especially the drug interaction part. You may need another book for peds or specialties but this works great. There is also an ID part and symptoms part that is all linked. As a student you get 35% off if your school signs up.

http://www.epocrates.com/products/

David Carpenter, PA-C

Ok... so when you say the "full boat" what do you mean? What does this program offer?

  • Expert
Ok... so when you say the "full boat" what do you mean? What does this program offer?

I have the essentials deluxe. This includes the drug guide, disease guide, and diagnostics. It doesn't have everything but usually has the basics. So if I see something that I haven't seen since school I can remind myself of the basics. It also has the coding module and medical dictionary. A student problably doesn't need the coding module, but the medical dictionary might be helpful.

The minimum I would get is the RX pro which has the drug guide and ID guide. I would recommend the essentials which gives you disease and diagnostic guides. The Rx Pro is $60 per year. The essentials is $149 (both before any discount). You can also add the dictionary for $20. I will be going back into pediatrics so I will probably need a pediatric drug guide (epocrates has some off label info but not as much as a dedicated pediatric drug guide).

I used both epocrates and another drug guide in school. You can never have too many drug guides. In practice I use epocrates and the Washington GI manual.

David Carpenter, PA-C

Dell x50v Axim user here. I love it, and it can handle Epocrates (I've been meaning to pick up a copy). It is on the more expensive side ($400ish, though I got a good deal on it)

*So, after a bit of poking around...Dell stopped selling them?! *

Nevermind.

-t

  • Author

Oh my goodness, these little devices and the programs are pricey! How do we poor grad students afford such luxories? And to think I was also considering a laptop as well!

Thanks for the advice and tips!

  • Expert
Oh my goodness, these little devices and the programs are pricey! How do we poor grad students afford such luxories? And to think I was also considering a laptop as well!

Thanks for the advice and tips!

You don't need a full bore palm to run these. They run pretty good on the mid grade like the Tungsten. Or you can get a refurb Treo for about 200 thats also a pretty good cellphone.

David Carpenter, PA-C

They don't have to be, I just picked a high-end one. As PDA's go, the Axim is excellent...most people can get by with the x30. I got the x50v because of an awesome deal ($450 or so down to $250ish) ,had wireless, more memory, etc.

You should be able to find Axims out there...they are still supporting them (until 2009), though they aren't making or shipping any more directly from Dell. Eventually I'm going to replace mine with a PDA phone...but for the interim, great device.

-t

i just thought i'd put my two cents in. i had a pda for about a year that i never even touched... but now that i started my practicum and clinicals for an acnp program, i decided to brush the dust off of it and see if it'd help.

now? it is the #1 thing i always have with me, even when i'm working in the er.

and i am going to step out on a limb here... everyone swears by epocrates...

i had it, and did not find it near as user-friendly, up to date, and inclusive as pepid (http://www.pepid.com). i think it is $200/year... yes, pricey but i tell you what, it is well worth it!!! it has everything in it. the version that i have, since i'm in school and will be doing inpatient rounds, is the crc suite (they offer probably 8 more including nursing versions). it is the only program i use to access stuff now. i used it yesterday at work to look up the dopamine flow rate for a patient. it has drip rates, pediatric dosing, disease processes, diagnostics, differentials, od mgmt, and everything within a single click. all of the information is integrated, i.e. disease processes, treatments, differentials, testing, etc. so you can access all of the information needed no matter which area you are in. (does that make sense? *lol*)

so far, there is nothing i havent been able to find in pepid. and i have paid/tried subscriptions to epocrates, the 5 minute clinical consult, and tarascon. pepid has everything i need in one place. and i love that! before, i was going to 5 min cc to look up treatment options for something, then going into tarascon to get more information about the drug, and then going to epocrates for something else.

as for my pda itself, i have a palm t5... not the most current version of palm products (and i'm not even sure you can still buy this one), but it works. fine. and you can get a 2 gb sd card at wal-mart for like $65. i do not find that my t5 is slow or difficult to manipulate at all.

best of luck!!

I have a Palm LifeDrive and love it. It was expensive, but I asked for it for a Christmas present then purchased the software myself.

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