Gadget - What is the best make/model PDA for a nursing student, and the approximate cost?

What is the best make/model PDA for a nursing student, and the approximate cost?

I need enough memory to load diagnosis/assessment information and pharmacology dosages onto it, although I'm not sure how to do that. (Never had a PDA before.) Thanks very much. Do you have any medical programs to suggest to download (besides Stedman's, Tabor's)? Thank you.

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if you check ebay for palm pda, some were owned by people in the medical field. They already have medical software included. btw kind of pricey. http://cgi.ebay.com/Palm-Pilot-MEDICAL-Tungsten-TX-PDA-NEW-w-free-512-SD_W0QQitemZ170037385264QQihZ007QQcategoryZ38331QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Palm-MEDICAL-ZIRE-72-PDA-MP3-Camera-BlueTooth-W1gb-SD_W0QQitemZ170036862017QQihZ007QQcategoryZ38331QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Palm-Pilot-MEDICAL-Tungsten-E-PDA-W-Free-512MB-SD-Card_W0QQitemZ170037454818QQihZ007QQcategoryZ38331QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem good luck!
Since you are a medical student, here is a FAQ that will help you out. THERE IS NO PERFECT PDA Whether you use a Palm or a Pocket PC, there is no perfect PDA, but there is one that will fit your needs best. Doctors are a particular group with special needs. Whether you are a busy Consultant, General Practitioner, Medical Officer or frantic House Officer, you want a PDA that will fit your workstyle. PALM or POCKET PC? If this question was asked 1 year ago, the forgone conclusion would be a Palm of course. I have used both platforms and am currently using a Pocket Pc Phone, the MPX. Both platforms offer almost the same range of medical software, in particular Skyscape and Epocrates and many medical calculators. Battery life is now comparable as both Palms and Pocket PC's utilise high resolution colour screens. However at this point in time, I would still recomend a Palm to most doctors because of 3 reasons : 1. Fast Data Retrieval -Most of the time, Doctor's tend to look up things like antibiotics and it's side effects. I used to lookup my Frant Shann Paeds Formulary in Tomeraider format all the time. Palms still feel snappier compared to PPCs. However this may not be true of the Palm LifeDrive. 2. Simpler to use. - This is to save me answering tons of questions and time trouble shooting problems. Not all doctors are that savvy with computers, most rarely hotsync/activesync (huh...whats that?). Most just want to keep reference data, some images, contact data. Thus the Zen of Palm prevails. 3. Generally better battery life - This may not hold true as my Ipaq Rx3715 lasts 3 times as long as my Tungsten T3. I believe the Palms have marginally better battery life because they aren't used for multinedia much. However I can't understand why Palm does not make the batteries removable like the PPCs. To most doctors who are buying a PDA for the first time, I would recommend the Palm Tungsten T5, the Tungsten E2 or the Silver Zire 72 (not the blue one coz the colous peels off). The Palm Lifedrive is just out, but I will reserve judgement till I have had a chance to play with it. PDA + PHONE COMBO or Separate Devices? Being contactable is important for Doctors especially when you are on call. A reliable phone that does not hang or miss calls is essential. Therefore for Doctors I would recommend 2 devices instead of a convergent phone-pda combo. Currently most pdaphonoes are still buggy and prone to hang. If you are on call and your PDA dies, you can still rely on your phone. This is doubly true for battery life as all phone combos can barely make it through 1 day without a recharge. If you really must go for a phone combo, I would recommend the Palm Treo 650 which is quite stable. Where do I get the best Free Medical Software? Back in Med School, I realised that I would never be able to remember all the medical information thrown at us. More importantly you must know where to look and obtain credible information. After all what we learnt in Med school is obsolete the moment we leave it. OK so here are some useful resources for free medical software. Epocrates Rx This is a very good, albeit American based, drug reference that is consistently updated each time you sync your device. It is available for Palm and Pocket PC. Takes up a lot of space though as it has to be in the main memory. Medcalc This is a useful medical calculator for everything you might ever want to calculate..from EDD to GFR. MIMS Beta Mims for Asia, is a useful tool which is still in free beta, but can be a bit slow to load up. John Hopkins Antibiotic Guidelines Another excellent free resource available for the Palm and Pocket PC Memoware Memoware has an extensice free collection of medical documents that can be downloaded and read in various formats. FreewarePPC FreewarePPC and FreewarePalm have a comprehensive Medical section on the latest freewares for both platforms. Worth a check now and again to keep updated. Medical Software for PDAs Medical Pocket PC Healthy Palm Pilot These are also very exhaustive guides to medical software, some freeware and shareware for the pocket pc and palm. So what PDAs do I actually recommend you to buy? Here are my top current selections. I have put them in a Hot List on the right column below my profile. Click on them to see their pros and cons and current prices in Malaysian Ringgit.(1USD=3.8RM. I would still recommend a Palm for most medical doctors for it's ease of use and good battery life. My top picks would be : 1. Palm Tungsten T5 2. Palm Tungsten E2 3. Palm Zire 72 This may seem strange as I myself prefer to use a pocket pc, in fact I have used most Palms and Pocket PC's to date. But this selection is geared towards a medical doctor who may have not much experience with a PDA, in which this is the most practical selections. With new high resolution screens and memory card support on most PDAs, you can now store your own images for review or for patient education on your PDA. I find that Google Images Search is a quick and easy way to get the images you want. The following are useful directories of medical images you can access online through your PDA. You can download them on your computer then store it on your PDA for later acccess. You can even download videos or short animations that can help a lot in patient education. A picture, after all, is worth a thousand words. Good Luck