Today we’re discussing the top 5 apps for NP students. As you start clinical rotations, there are endless options for clinical tools and resources you could access. There are so many apps out there that are supposed to help us as students or providers. How do you know which ones are worth it and will indeed make your life easier? Which ones will you never open again and just take up space?
I’m sharing my recommendations for 5 apps that all NP students should have on their phone. For each app recommendation, we’ll review the cost, the features, how I used it in clinical rotations, and why I recommend it.
Top 5 apps recommended for NP students:
- Epocrates
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)
- MD Calc
- Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH)
- Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy
Epocrates
More information here
Cost: Free for the basic version. $174.99/year or $16.99/month for the upgraded version. Check for student discounts through your university.
What it is and features: A drug reference including a place to check drug interactions, pill ID, clinical guidelines and clinical decision making tools (decision trees, dose calculators).
Additional features in the paid version: Disease look-up with a section for overview, history and exam components, differential diagnosis, diagnostic approach, treatment, follow-up and prevention. Lab look-up including interpretation. Alternative medication look-up.
How I used it: I started with the free version and upgraded to the paid version. I primarily used the free version to look up drug information. Once I upgraded to the paid version, I used the app for disease look-up, lab interpretation, and as a drug reference.
Why I recommend it: This app is a powerhouse of information and resources. It is easy to use and really has a lot of features that are helpful for students and providers. After using the app for several months now, my favorite two features by far are the lab interpretation tools and the disease look-up. It is so helpful to see what medications and disease processes could be contributing to abnormal lab results. The disease look-up features photos of common exam findings (which is especially helpful for dermatological conditions). I also really appreciate the fact that all components of the disease (history, exam, diagnosis and treatment) are all in one location and easy to find. I find the disease look-up on Epocrates to be way easier to use than UptoDate.
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)
More information here
Cost: Free
What it is and features: Identify screening, counseling and preventive care services that are recommended for patients based on age, sex, and other risk factors.
How I used it: Before doing a wellness visit, I put the patient characteristics (age, sex, weight, height, pregnancy status, tobacco use and whether or not they are sexually active) into the app. With this information it then provides recommendations for screening, counseling and preventive care. I usually used it for adult patients, but it can also be used for pediatric patients.
Why I recommend it: This app offers suggestions on which screening and preventive services should be offered to a particular patient. I love that this app reminds me of what I should be discussing with a patient. Each recommendation is given a grade of A-D or I (incertain). These grades refer to the level of evidence supporting the recommendation.
MD Calc
More information here
Cost: Free
What it is and features: Clinical calculators and decision making tools for a huge range of conditions. You can easily calculate risk scores, assess whether someone meets criteria for a diagnosis or treatment, and so much more.
How I used it: I often used the calculators and tools on this app to support clinical decision making around diagnosis and treatment. As an example, the CURB-65 tool is great for determining the severity of pneumonia and whether your patient needs inpatient versus outpatient treatment.
Why I recommend it: The app helps you make decisions around patient care using the best evidence. It is easy, quick and free to use. It’s nice to have a structured way to make complicated decisions when determining a plan of care.
Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH)
More information here
Cost: Free
What it is and features: Provides guidance on well woman visits. Based on the age you enter, it will provide recommendations for taking a sexual history, physical exam, STD screening, immunizations, preventative health screenings, and anticipatory guidance. There is also information specific to women on cardiovascular assessment, IBS, brain health, uterine fibroids, and menopause.
How I used it: I entered the age of the woman I was seeing for a well woman exam. The app then provided recommendations for what I needed to do and accomplish during the visit.
Why I recommend it: As a student, wellness visits were some of the most challenging to complete initially. There are so many topics to address. Additionally, what needs to be addressed changes so much based on age and other risk factors. This app streamlines the process of completing wellness visits. It will guide you through what should be completed during these visits so you don’t forget anything important. You may rely on this app more at the beginning of your clinical rotations until you become more experienced with wellness visits. The best part is this app is free so if you don’t use it forever, that’s totally okay.
Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy
More information here
Cost: $29.99/year
What it is and features: A complete and comprehensive guide to treating any infectious disease. It will provide treatment recommendations for every infectious disease, and you can search by the specific pathogen or the disease. It also provides drug reference information for all medications used to treat infections caused by bacteria, fungi, mycobacteria, parasites, and viruses.
How I used it: I found this app incredibly helpful anytime I needed to choose a medication to treat an infection. By searching for a pathogen or disease, the app would recommend the best treatment and dose. It also provided me alternative treatments in the case of allergies or other issues that would require choosing an alternative to the first-line treatment.
Why I recommend it: There are so many options when treating infections, and this app helped simplify the selection of the best medication. I also liked the ability to easily identify other treatment options. This is helpful if the patient has an allergy or to find an alternative in the event of a potential drug interaction.
Summary – Top 5 Apps for NP Students
You can access all of these resources on your phone or on a webpage. With the exception of the Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy, it is free to access at least the basic version of all the apps reviewed above. As a student, having easy-to-use and evidence-based resources is critical to your success in clinical rotations (see this post about what to bring to clinical rotations). You will be better prepared in your clinical rotations if you have the right tools on your phone or online. This way, no matter what challenge you’re thrown, you’re ready.
Comment below to share – What are your favorite apps? Do you already use any of the 5 we talked about?
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