Friday, August 6, 2010

more apps I'm using in clerkship

As far as organizational apps I've added, my favourite are calengoo and toodledo, but not just for their fun names.

CalenGoo:
Made to sync with your google calendar. I use this instead of the native calendar because I love my google calendar. You can set it up to text you before appointments, colour coordinate different aspects of your life, set up repeating appointments. Information is stored so you can access it off line, sync when you have an internet connection. There is an option for including details of your events. I usually cut and paste the information from emails into this space, e.g. 'don't forget to bring your midterm evaluations to this teaching session'. There are many more features, these are the ones I like most. The designers update the app on a fairly regular basis with improvements.

Definitely worth the price tag.
C: $6.99

Toodledo: I love that I can type up my to do list on my computer, organize it into folders depending on what the tasks are and sync it to my iPhone. Then I can tick off everything as I get it done.

I love ticking off that things are done!

Some of the features include setting up a repeating task (e.g. laundry qweekly), entirely customizable folders, lists tasks according to when they are due or by folder, you can add notes to tasks. They've added a notebook feature for the folders but I haven't really taken advantage of that yet. I can see it being useful for putting in contact information for a research project though.

Tasks can be organized into high to low priorities, or even star the ones you simply can't miss doing. The Hotlist automatically fills up with your most important tasks based on how you have organized them.

You can set up reminders with a series of fun sounds.

C: $3.99

File App:
This is a great way to store pdfs and word documents onto your device to save for later. I've filled mine with the lecture slides for this block so I can refer to them during lectures or review during down time. It really is all about being able to keep learning during downtime.

I also have my own versions of 'complete history and physical' sheets in it for 03:00 when I know I'm forgetting something, but can't remember what.

It's easy to set up sharing with your home wifi network so that you have your documents native to the device.

Some documents are just too big (my pdf version of the First Aid series), but it can still hold some large documents (my pdf version of the Case File series). I wouldn't bother getting the pro version since the free is so useful just as it is.

Free!

iFlashcards study helper:
This is another app you sync with your online account to have information native to your device. You can even share your login with someone you study with to enhance your pack of 'flash cards'. It's easy enough to make up the questions you know you'll need to review. I use this app for things like drug doses and uses, hormones, structures in anatomy. You can also put photos in.

When studying, you can mark cards you want to go back to or shuffle the deck and go through the whole thing again. You can also reverse how the cards are presented (i.e. given an answer, what was the question).

C: $3.99

PubMed On Tap:
Exactly what it sounds like. You need an internet connection for this one. By typing in keywords to the search engine, the app gives you a list of abstracts to peruse - the entire abstract. You can save the abstracts you want to look up in a file. If you have a mac you can sync this list with your computer. If there is a free article available, it will connect you with the resource.

I love it.

Even with just the abstract, you can get information on the latest research in whatever question is being discussed. I've used it to find the current guidelines on dosing of meds not commonly used and why paediatricians don't know about Octaplex.

The only real problem with it is a problem with me, my spelling. There is no autocorrect and it will only search for exactly what you put in.

The Lite version only gives you 20 (or 10?) abstracts at a time. I upgraded to this version within a day of using the Lite.

C: $2.99

Dragon Dictation:
This is an indulgent, not always useful app, good for when I'd rather talk out loud than type though. I'm impressed with how well it picks up my voice and converts it to written words.

The latest update adds to the keyboard that was available for editing. Now you can email, text, facebook, copy your dictation for use in another app or on your home computer.

Great for thinking out loud about research papers. It's a program I've seen for computers while at conferences and one that I plan on using in my own practice when I grow up.

Free!


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