Save Time, Reduce Errors and Slay Stress with These 15 Must-Have Nursing Apps
Need to calculate a dosage? There’s an app for that.
Want to recheck a drug interaction, interpret a diagnostic test, make a schedule or hone your skills in a virtual ER? Yep, there’s apps for that.
How about an app to help you manage all the stress that builds up after a hectic 12-hour shift – there’s definitely an app for that.
Today’s smartphones have more computing power (way more) than the computers that took us to the moon.
Why not put these tech wonders to work helping you save time and reduce errors on your nursing shifts?
We’ve gathered the 15 most popular nursing apps that thousands of nurses use daily in every type of clinical setting and every type of nursing.
Whether you’ve got an iPhone or Android, with these apps you’ll take your nursing game to the next level while helping you improve patient outcomes.
There are even some apps that’ll help you conquer stress and get better sleep.
Epocrates
Rated the top medical app 10 years running.
Epocrates offers real-time info on pharmacology, dosing calculators, drug interactions, pill identification, insurance information and more. Premium content includes alternative medicine monographs, peer-reviewed content from the BMJ, labs, ICD-10 codes and more.
Nursing Central
The ultimate nurse’s helper. With information on drugs, diseases and procedures, this app is a must-have. Includes a medical dictionary with more than 65,000 entries, help interpreting labs and diagnostic tests and the ability to search the PubMed database.
Included in the app:
- Davis’s Drug Guide for Nurses
- Taber’s Medical Dictionary
- Davis’s Laboratory and Diagnostic Tests
- Diseases and Disorders
- Prime PubMed
Check out more useful nursing apps at Unbound Medicine, Inc.
Medscape
This free app from WebMD give you access to a wide range of resources, including reference articles, clinical tools, calculators, continuing education, medical news and more.
MDCalc
One of the most widely used medical reference clinical calculators. It includes more than 500 clinical decision tools including: dosing calculators, risk assessments, formulas, classifications, diagnostic criteria and more.
Nursing Dictionary
This free (yes, free) app by Farlex was created specifically for nurses. You get access to more than 60,000 up-to-date medical terms, medication entries, images and more all from authoritative sources.
Pocket Anatomy
Get a full 3-D interactive model of the human anatomy. Go layer by layer throughout the body with thousands of anatomical structures including every major tissue, organ and system.
For Android users, try 3-D Anatomy on Google Play
Full Code – ER Simulator
Take control of an ER to diagnose and treat everything from common occurrences to rare diseases. Do you have what it takes to save your patient? You can also earn CME hours.
Pocket ICU
This app is indispensable for ICU workers. Quickly find information on every aspect of critical care with detailed images, figures and decision support algorithms.
The Chief Complaint
Have ultimate confidence in the ER with this app in your pocket. Its algorithms analyze the top 50 most common complaints and what the next step in treatment is. Compiled by peer-reviewed leaders in emergency medicine. Used by the Residents of LA County and the USC emergency medicine program.
Relief Central – COVID-19
A free disaster relief app. Get news, guidelines and the latest medical journals with content from the WHO, CDC, Johns Hopkins and more.
NurseGrid
Keep your schedule in your pocket. Sync it with your calendars, swap shifts, know who’s working and keep up with your credentials.
BONUS APPS
You take care of people every day – don’t forget to take care of yourself. Here’s some apps to help you conquer stress, annihilate anxiety and get better sleep.
- Breethe: Meditation
Needing to de-stress after a 12-hour shift? Feel the worries and anxieties melt away with guided meditations, mood music, personalized recommendations and programs.
- Sanity & Self: Stress Relief
Practice mindfulness, meditation, work on yourself, get better sleep or chat one on one with real experts.
- White Noise Lite
Never have trouble falling asleep – and staying asleep – ever again. Or just shut out the outside world with soothing sounds of a forest rainfall.
So, go to the App Store or Google Play and start downloading. You’ve got the sum total of current human medical knowledge at your fingertips – put it to work for you.
Have an app you love but don’t see here or want to share some tips of your own? Join us at The Buzz, our online community, and connect with fellow nurses who are just as passionate as you.
You can also check out NurseHivePrep.com for vital nursing news, education, resources and more.