Get Used to the PDA
in Clinical Practice
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Take it with you!
Try to keep the device with you wherever you go (home, hospital, clinic, party, travel ...etc), this way you
gonna feel the device and will have time to play with it and therefore you will learn the corners and hitches
faster.
Some people they do bring it over but they leave it at the office or in the locker! Don't do that.
Also it's better to be a phone edition device because if you have both a cell phone and a PDA then you will
certainly drop the latter in favor of the former, get them both in one.
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Make it your organizer
Before indulging into the vast array of available medical programs start with some basic functions. Make it
the place where you keep you contacts list and address book, your appointments, your notes, your
documents, videos, photos, and emails [what's collectively known as Personal Infomration Management
PIM]. If you do this your PDA will be indispensable and you'll get used to it in a matter of few days.
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Keep the stylus in
Perhaps having to take the stylus out and using it to look up information is an obstacle (two hands
needed) and so to avoid that get a device with touch technology (recent Windows Mobile and Palm
devices and iPhone) which will eliminate the need for the stylus.
Try using the navigation button in stead and try using programs that allow navigation using your single
thumb.
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Free Tools
Let's face it, many of us are just reluctant to top-up their handhelds with medical software just because of
the price it entails so here's the solution get free applications on your phone and pay nothing.
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Choosing the device ...
Get a device that suits your needs (read this article) and get an OS on which you can install the medical
programs (read this article).
One of the reasons that medical professionals stop using their PDA is the small screen size and the
difficulty encountered while reading the small text, to get around this get yourself a device with a large
screen.
Another tip here is to buy a device that has an OS "like Palm, Windows Mobile, iPhone" similar to your
colleagues at work so that you can share thoughts, discuss, exchange ideas, transfer documents, and get
help from each other if problems arise.
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Pediatricians and physicians may get easily discouraged and abandon or avoid their handheld in
clinical practice, specially the senior colleagues.
This guide helps to ensure the adaptation of the handheld into the daily clinical life.
Here's the 10 things that you should do to get accustomed to the PDA.
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Don't be embarrassed
Use it in front of your patients and their parents they will
like it and you will look more of an oriented, concerned, and
an updated hi-tech physician.
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Normal values
In addition to looking up drug dosages try to check your
patient normal values (like the appropriate weight, height,
blood pressure, laboratory values ...etc) at his/her specific
age. This task can be done with each and every patient
and it will empower you with the expected background of
the patient and it will familiarize you more and more with
the PDA on a daily basis.
The Growth and Development and the Labs and Tests
categories will help you find programs to this.
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Your CME hub
You don't need to fly or to drive just to attend that conference to build your CME record. Just take your
device and have your CME while in the train or at spare times! See the CME category for more details.
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Visit this website often!
Pda4peds.com maintains an updated list of pediatric applications on the handheld with the latest news
and some tips and tricks on how best to use the PDA. Subscribing to the Newsletter and the Blog can also
help keep you entertained in the subject.
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Instant Answers
Just before seeing the abdominal pain patient in ER
review the causes using a DDx program , and check out
whether your in-patient cholesterol level is really
abnormal for his age using a lab application, and what
could be the possible drug interactions in a child on
multi medications!
If you train yourself on these and similar simple tasks
that have to be answered at the bedside then with
time you will feel that your PDA is actually your secret
weapon and you will never abandon it.
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General Pediatric
Categories
Pediatric Specialty
Categories
More Pediatric PDA
Resources
