iPad Apps for Medical Students

Since its release in 2010, the iPad has been gaining popularity among medical students and practicing physicians.

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A handful of medical schools, including Stanford, UC Irvine, and Yale, immediately began pilot programs in which incoming students received an iPad (preloaded with textbooks and medical apps) along with their white coat. Today, it appears that the investment has paid off: the first medical school class at UC Irvine to receive and utilize iPads scored an average of 23 percent higher on their first USMLE exam than previous classes.

For medical students, the iPad provides a long list of benefits, including quick and easy access to information, superior visual clarity, and lighter weight. As students begin their clinical rotations, they can use the iPad to access electronic medical records, find information about dosing and drug interactions on the spot, and communicate with patients through interactive visuals. New apps are appearing on the market every day. To keep up with the most updated list of everyone’s favorite medical apps, check out the following sites:

• iMedicalApps.com: Physicians and medical trainees provide “reviews, research, and commentary of mobile medical technology”
  
• Mobihealthnews.com: “The company works hard to deliver one of the best curated and most insightful publications focused on digital health today”

Here are a few medical apps that topped several “favorites” lists in the last year:

• Medscape: Consistently the highest-rated free medical app, Medscape provides a vast array of clinical resources including a database of drugs and diseases, a medical calculator, drug interaction checker tools, and procedure videos.
  
• Skeletal System Pro III: Clear, detailed, and interactive 3D visual of the human skeletal system. Other apps for the muscle system and heart by 3D4Medical.com are highly recommended.
  
• Radiology 2.0: One Night in the ED: Teaches students how to approach and interpret CT scans.
  
• Draw MD: Provides doctors with interactive visuals, which can be used to walk patients through a complex medical procedure. Available for several medical specialties.
  
• MedPage Today: An online medical news service for physicians and healthcare professional

More on medical apps

Read more about essential apps for medical students and medical software in general.