What software should you have on your laptop for nursing program?

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I was wondering and hoping that some current or past students of nursing program could give some insight/advice on what type of software we should have on our laptops for blocks 1-4.

Any information would be helpful and appreciated.

Thanks. :)

I haven't used Skyscape at all, so I can't comment on it. Is it free? I only use the free Epocrates applications.

No Skyscape is not free...I wish!

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I chose the 8gig touch because it's relatively cheap ($170~ish @ Costco), and there's about a billion apps for it, and like you've noticed - many clinical sites don't want phones or cameras on the floor. Our student handbook says that phones, cameras and even pda's could be prohibited by the clinical site, or the clinical instructor, so even a touch isn't a sure thing - in my case I went to the instructor before we began and showed her my ipod and the apps loaded on it, making sure to let her know there was no camera, no phone, and no games loaded on it - then I showed her how fast I could pull up drug info, medical abbreviations, and nursing notes, and I think she may be buying one before too long. :)

Unfortunately, you've got to assume that your clinical instructor has had at least one student lay up in a corner and chat or text, or play games on their phone instead of doing nursing stuff at clinicals. So you're probably climbing uphill with any portable device. Just like your patients, you have to explain the purpose and the value before you can do anything.

As you've seen, ipod apps aren't really very big, so no need to go crazy with the size. Lexi complete is 200mb, I believe the whole skyscape suite is under 100mb, and the nclex practice test software is usually under 5mb. If all you're using it for is nursing-stuff, you really can't fill even an 8-gig ipod up. If you want to play games, music, or movies, the ipod touch isn't the best solution anyway - the ipod classic can hold 100+ gigs and has a better interface for music, and a psp will do better for games and movies. I'm a techie, so there was a strong temptation to buy the biggest touch out there, but the idea of possibly losing or breaking a $400~ish Itouch was a little too much risk for me.

As far as the blackberry and palm, they're neat machines and I couldn't say a bad word about them - you can get good nursing apps for both if that's what you choose.

Just FYI, you will not be able to have your handheld/phone during clinicals in block I. Most LTC facilities, at least all of the ones we were at, absolutely forbid them on site. That said, the hospitals are much more accepting, especially since this is how we communicated with our instructor and other students, since we were all over the place. Also used my blackberry to look up diff drugs, diseases, etc. So very helpful. All in all though, the best investment I made was a dell mini to take to hospital when picking patients. I was able to fill 3/4 of my careplan out at the hospital and then finish up at home. Made things a lot easier as I didn't have to lug my full size lap top around.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Emergency/Trauma.

i agree ask your instructor before purchasing a PDA. i never had a problem with it in block 1, and each clinical instructor actually highly encouraged having them. however, not will not be the case for every school/site/instructor.

also, the only app i really used on my iphone was the free version of epocrates. it's pretty awesome.

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Just FYI, you will not be able to have your handheld/phone during clinicals in block I. Most LTC facilities, at least all of the ones we were at, absolutely forbid them on site. That said, the hospitals are much more accepting, especially since this is how we communicated with our instructor and other students, since we were all over the place. Also used my blackberry to look up diff drugs, diseases, etc. So very helpful. All in all though, the best investment I made was a dell mini to take to hospital when picking patients. I was able to fill 3/4 of my careplan out at the hospital and then finish up at home. Made things a lot easier as I didn't have to lug my full size lap top around.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for the info. Question...I too have a Blackberry but have been told by many to get ipod touch since it has no phone features as the instructors were strict about phones, texting etc.

So I'm torn...take chance and use Blackberry or invest in seperate PDA like ipod Touch and put apps on that.

Any further thoughts?

Thanks for the info on the mini laptop...I was actually considering that, so it's good to hear from someone who has personal experience with that in clinical setting. I have big hands so I'm kind of worried about going that route. Can you and did others bring their regular full size laptops with them?

Maybe I should get both...LOL. A full size for class and a mini for clinicals...yikes!

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i agree ask your instructor before purchasing a PDA. i never had a problem with it in block 1, and each clinical instructor actually highly encouraged having them. however, not will not be the case for every school/site/instructor.

also, the only app i really used on my iphone was the free version of epocrates. it's pretty awesome.

Thank you for the response...very much appreciated. I have gotten from others that its case by case instructor by instructor decision regarding PDA's. But I am going to definitely invest in one regardless (rather have it than not).

I'm still torn regarding software though...from all that have responded and those I have spoken to it's pretty much a 50/50 split on Epocrates and Skyscape...uggh! Decisions, decisions...lol.

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Thank you for the response...very much appreciated. I have gotten from others that its case by case instructor by instructor decision regarding PDA's. But I am going to definitely invest in one regardless (rather have it than not).

I'm still torn regarding software though...from all that have responded and those I have spoken to it's pretty much a 50/50 split on Epocrates and Skyscape...uggh! Decisions, decisions...lol.

Don't forget "nursing central" - another suite with similar content & pricing...

All we really need at clinicals for block 1 is a drug book - there is no need to buy one of the "suites" to get that, there's alot of unnecessary and inaccessible info(some of the info is online and requires internet access) included in the "nursing suites", and they're pretty expensive for what you get. Basically, you're getting a drug book, a medical encyclopedia, a med calculator and possibly an app for lab values , depending on the suite.

The free version of Epochrates is a primarily a drug book with interaction checker, pill id, and a med math calculator - it's quite possible you could skate by with JUST the free epochrates, and possibly something along the lines of pocket lab values ($2.99), also, skyscape has archimedes & rxdrugs for free -

Pick up the free stuff and kick it around before buying a suite - you may not need the suite, or like how it is formatted, or, it's possible your clinical instructor may not even allow an ipod on the floor.

FWIW, My class has three clinical instructors, one instructor is requiring everyone to do a care plan every week, and the other two are requiring three care plans for the entire semester - but they also came right out and said that "copy'n'paste" care plans would not be received favorably.

As it is, if your primary purpose for buying a device is to use at clinicals, it's probably best to go to clinicals at least once and talk with your instructor before buying anything - costco has plenty of ipods on any given day, and you can download a truckload of apps in an hour if you need them.

In my case, I would have been happy even if I couldn't use my ipod at clinicals, because I can still use it to review my evolve textbook notes, and practice nclex questions no matter where I am.

As for netbooks, alot of the other students are using them in class, and if you're allowed to go to the site the evening before clinicals to pick a patient, they could be awesome, however, during clinicals where I'm at, there's no lockers or secure storage available, and they probably wouldn't fit in the med cart, based on the ones I've seen, so using them on the day of clinicals prolly wouldn't work too well. Again, every clinical instructor is different.., ymmv..

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Thank you so much for the info. Question...I too have a Blackberry but have been told by many to get ipod touch since it has no phone features as the instructors were strict about phones, texting etc.

So I'm torn...take chance and use Blackberry or invest in seperate PDA like ipod Touch and put apps on that.

Any further thoughts?

Thanks for the info on the mini laptop...I was actually considering that, so it's good to hear from someone who has personal experience with that in clinical setting. I have big hands so I'm kind of worried about going that route. Can you and did others bring their regular full size laptops with them?

Maybe I should get both...LOL. A full size for class and a mini for clinicals...yikes!

I didn't use anything 1st block clinicals as we were not allowed by our clinical facility. We were told if anyone even saw a phone, PDA or otherwise on our person we would be asked to leave the site and not allowed to come back. So, I didn't even bring ANYTHING of mechanical origin with me to clinicals...LOL! However, in block 2, again, we were at Good Sam and we had to text and use our phones to communicate as we were spread all over the place and that was only way to get in touch with instructor if we needed her. Honestly, none of the students in my class had anything fancier than a Blackberry. Personally, I never had use of any of the apps. I looked at getting them but in reality it just wasn't practical. Again, that is my observation based on my experience. It sounds like others had different experiences and they were useful. It really does depend on your instructors and the facility you are at.

In regards to the computer, yes people brought full size computers to class. I have both. For block 2, in my case, we were required to go to the hospital the night before to pick a patient and then our careplan was due morning of clinicals. Then we had to update the careplan throughout the day based on care of the patient. So, it was EXTREMELY helpful to me. Again, each instructor is different. Some require a careplan every week, some don't. For me it is just easier to type than it is to write stuff down, especially since I sometimes can't read my own handwriting...LOL! My careplans were usually pretty extensive and at least 10-20 pages, especially if you get a patient with a million meds. I ALWAYS seemed to pick the patient with the most meds...:D. Never failed. But, they were also the most interesting cases.

Yes, the minis are a little hard to type on as everything is condensed. Full size is definately much better to navigate, I will say.

All in all it just comes down to personal preference. I would say wait until class starts before you make any big purchase. That way you won't waste money on something you end up not using.

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Specializes in Med/Surg/Tele/Acute Rehab.

If you prefer to write down your patient info and type it up at home in your underwear, you can use this form to make gathering the info simpler:

CP-PT INFO FORM.doc

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Specializes in Med/Surg/Tele/Acute Rehab.

Once you have your patient information and you are ready to go high tech, use this form to create your care plan:

EVOLVE CP CONSTRUCTOR TUTORIAL.doc

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