From looking up drug info to getting help with clinical decision-making to finding jobs and setting your own schedule, here’s how to find today's best nursing apps — and a few reasons why the HWS Go Mobile App stands above the rest.
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Ready to get the best nursing app? Download the HWS Go Mobile App here
Finding the Best Apps for Nurses: 5 Key Categories
So, what makes a good nursing app? That depends on what you need it to do. Here’s how to find the best app in five key categories — job search, schedule management, drug info, clinical decision support, and all-around nursing info.
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Note: Except for the Go HWS Mobile App, HealthTrust doesn't endorse any app listed on this page. Check with your supervisor before choosing any medication or clinical support app, or see what apps your facility may already offer.
#1: Best nursing apps for drug & medication info
Apps that provide quick info on drugs and medication are now widely used by nurses, and it’s easy to understand why — they can save time while also helping support patient safety, clinical outcomes, and your own job satisfaction.
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What should you look for? The best nursing apps for medication use deep, evidence-based libraries that combine drug monographs, formularies, FDA data, and off-label indicators to provide accurate, up-to-date info.
Other important features include dosage calculation based on age and weight, and the ability to identify pills, tablets, or capsules by color, shape, or imprint code and check toxicology, interaction with other medications, safety warnings.
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What’s the best choice? While Lexicomp and Micromedex are both widely used and highly regarded, Epocrates is the clear leader in this category. It’s free, with the option to pay for premium features.
#2: Best nursing apps for clinical decision support
Also called medical calculators, these apps pull from a huge clinical database to deliver instant info you can use to make the best decisions as quickly as possible, on the floor, at the bedside, in the ICU, or wherever you need it.
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What should you look for? The best apps also include basic drug functionality like dosage and interaction calculators, but as part of a much larger library of constantly updated, evidence-based clinical information.
Other features to look for include instant calculations for BMI, MAP, and GFR; risk calculators based on important scales like Braden, CHADS2, and NEWS2; and the ability to enter your specialty to get customized info.
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What’s the best option? While UpToDate and QxMD are both popular, MDCalc is probably the leading choice, and claims to be used by more than 80% of clinicians in the United States.
#3: Best general nursing apps
Designed for busy nurses rather than doctors or advanced practitioners, general nursing apps combine basic drug and clinical info with features like nursing news and the ability to earn continuing education (CE) credits.
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What should you look for? The best options include medication calculators, medical dictionaries, lab test info, disease references, symptom checkers, and tools to help you more quickly identify and address patient complaints.
The best nursing apps are also designed to keep you up to date with both clinical info and your own career competencies, offering features like news on FDA approvals, new nursing best practices, and options to earn CE credits.
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What’s the best choice? Medscape is widely considered to be the leading free app for health professionals, while Nursing Central is more geared for nurses.
4. Best nursing self-scheduling apps
Self-scheduling apps are a game changer, giving nurses like you more control over when and how often you work by letting you easily manage your schedule at any time, right from the palm of your hand.
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What should you look for? In addition to letting you view and adjust your schedule, the best apps will enable you to set preferences for future scheduling, and search all open shifts in real-time and instantly book the ones you want.
The best self-scheduling apps also let you book multiple shifts at once — with a smart-check function to catch potential conflicts — and give you priority access to shifts before they’re available to non-app users. You should also be able to set up alerts so you’re notified when shifts you want become available.
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What’s the best choice? The Go HWS Mobile App from HealthTrust Workforce Solutions gives you all of the above features and more.
5. Best nursing apps for finding & applying to jobs
On top of helping you do your job more efficiently, some apps can also help you find a better one! But with the enormous number of job search apps and jobsites for nurses, finding the right one can be tricky.
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What should you look for? The best nursing job apps connect you directly with employers to give you early access to new jobs (plus ones that others don’t see at all) and the chance to earn more without third parties taking a share.
Other important features include the ability to set up job alerts and search jobs in real-time, filtering by specialty and location (with a radius map to see a specific area) and then instantly apply without having to call or email anyone.
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What’s the best option? The Go HWS Mobile App from HealthTrust gives you all of this and more! It's also available for free, right now. Download it today!
