From smart phones to tablets, technology, in some form or another, has become integral to both our personal and work life. In recent years, health care professionals have begun to utilize modern mobile technologies to readily access information and more efficiently care for their patients.

Here are 10 phone apps that you may find helpful in your nursing practice:

MedCalc Pro (iPhone)

This medical calculator provides easy access to medical formulas, classifications, scores and scales. The MedCalc remembers patient information including height, weight, and other lab results ($4.99)

Infuse (iPhone)

The Infuse app is a medication infusion and bolus calculator that provides healthcare professionals the tools needed to quickly calculate drug dosing. You can add, edit, or remove medications so doses and their rates can be easily modified. ($0.99)

Nursing Central (iPhone)

The Nursing Central app helps nurses and health practitioners find information on diseases, drugs, tests, treatment and procedures. Users can type in keywords to look up definitions, lab and diagnostic tests, and consult an array of nursing journals, studies and research domains. (FREE)

Medical Eponyms by Skyscape

This thoroughly updated app provides over 1700 common and obscure medical eponyms with cross-indexed descriptions used in over 20 health profession areas. ($1.99)

Nurse Net

The Nurse Net app provides a series of interactive tools for nurse practitioners in a variety of specialties. The news reader offers health-related updates from several different trusted sources and gives you the ability to email articles to friends and colleagues. In addition, this app also displays an array of different health abbreviations. (FREE)

Mini-Nurse (Android)

This nursing app offers general information for medical terminology, different medical calculators, IV rates, etc. Mini-Nurse is particularly helpful to brush up or keep up-to-date on general information. ($2.99)

Medical Spanish

Offering over 5000 Spanish phrases including basic conversational Spanish and Medical Spanish translations, this app is designed to help you easily and quickly communicate with your Spanish-speaking patients. ($5.99) 

MyScript Memo

This app converts handwriting to digital text making it easier for nurses and health care professionals to take their notes on the go and decipher hard-to-read handwriting. With MyScript Memo you can choose from a multitude of recognition languages and are given the ability to transport notes to SMS, email, and Evernote. (FREE)

Pill Identifier

This app offers a searchable database of over 10,000 Rx/OTC medications. Users have the ability to search by drug name, imprint, shape and color. The Pill Identifier app displays drug images, descriptions, dose, warnings, and indication. ($0.99)

Epocrate’s Essentials (iPhone/Android/Palm/Blackberry)

Epocrate’s Essentials is a clinical reference suite offers drug and disease diagnostic tools including monographs, treatment guidelines, and lab test accessibility. (1yr membership for $159)

If there are other medical apps that you like, please tell us in the comment box below!