Top 10 Nursing Apps You Need to Download Today

It seems that there is an app for just about everything these days. I mean, there's even an app that tells you if it's a good time to run to the bathroom during a movie and one that will help you find your car - in a pirate voice! So, it's not surprising that there are hundreds of apps out there made just for nurses.

Here are a few of the best for every nurse.

Symptomia

When you need to check symptoms quickly, access this medical diagnostic tool that was created for medical students and healthcare professionals. Symptomia offers a fast, easy-to-use resource of selected medical information. The next time you're dealing with that one patient that nobody can pinpoint a diagnosis- pop their top symptoms into this resource and receive a list of differential diagnoses with only a few taps of the screen.

Medical Spanish

You arrive at work and receive report on Mr. Lopez - a Spanish speaking male who seems to be getting more agitated by the day because he can only speak to his care team when the interpreter is on the unit. Well, you're a bright nurse - so, you whip out the Medical Spanish app by Mavro. This app was created for non-Spanish speaking healthcare professionals to obtain vital medical information from Spanish speaking patients quickly. Hola, Amigo - let's get to work!

Pocket Lab Values

Science continues to discover new ways to diagnose and treat illness through new lab values. This is challenging when you're trying to remember lab value norms. Try downloading Pocket Lab Values. It provides thirteen simple categories that range from electrolytes to immunology, to toxicology. It contains over 200 lab studies and provides reference ranges for each along with a brief description explaining the test in detail

Pill Identifier

Now, you take the popular medication resource, Drugs.com with you on your phone. Pill Identifier is a searchable database with more than 24,000 prescription and over-the-counter medications at your fingertips. This app comes with a free and a paid version, to make it even more specific to your needs.

Calm

You run into work with just enough time to take off your jacket, grab your stethoscope, and slide into a seat to receive report. As you look at your colleague, you see their mouth moving, but all you can concentrate on is your busy home life. You think to yourself, "I need to focus and be more mindful."

This is where Calm comes to the rescue. Use the new Daily Calm meditation that's uploaded each day, or practice one of the many guided meditations that help with focus, stress, and anxiety - three things you can feel just during report, right?

Nurse Tabs

When you need med-surg, fundamental, or pharmacology information, you probably need it in a hurry. Nurse Tabs provides these three concepts in an easy-to-use app format that focuses on the data that nurses need to know. Students can also review for the NCLEX exam and sharpen critical thinking skills.

Epocrates

Over a million healthcare providers use Epocrates when they need support making clinical decisions. This app saves time and helps you keep the focus where it should be - on the patient. You can review evidence-based guidelines, find peer-reviewed content, send texts to other colleagues, and even check for harmful interactions.

Nurse's Pocket Guide

Nursing diagnoses can stump even the most tenured of nurses. The Nurse's Pocket Guide by unbound, helps you make accurate nursing diagnoses and create patient-specific care plans. With this app, you'll have others on the unit asking for your care plan expertise in no time.

Cozi

Nurses have lives outside of work - busy ones, at that! That's why you need Cozi, a free app that's won the Mom's Choice Award three times! You can store recipes, plan your meals, and even create and share your grocery list. Cozi will keep your work and home-life schedules organized so that you get to work, the game, and that upcoming ballet recital on time.

Med Mnemonics

Have you ever used a short rhyme, phrase, or other mental technique to remember complex information? If these quippy mnemonics help you, you're going to love Med Mnemonics. This app gives you almost 2000 clever memory tricks that cover topics from anatomy to surgery.

What are you go-to nurse or medical apps? Share in the comments.