So a few weeks ago, the hashtag #TipsForNewDocs was trending on Twitter. A portion of those tips were recommending apps for new medical interns who were due to start their orientation and “Buddy Week” (in NSW). Next week, at the beginning of February, they’ll be starting work proper, at least in New South Wales.
A lot of the apps that were recommended then, were, in my opinion, irrelevant and totally useless for interns. No intern needs to know the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, as they will be calling their registrar for any and all strokes. Similarly, the Oxford Handbook of Anaesthesia, while useful for anaesthetists and anaesthetic/critical care registrars/SRMOS, would be overkill for the brand new intern.
Those apps are useful. Extremely useful. But not for an intern in their first term. They will trying to find their legs in the brave new world that they’ve entered. They have the stems of knowledge, but not the experience of how to use all that they have learned in university. As any doctor can tell you, it’s one thing to read about it, it’s a whole different ball game when it’s in front of you. They have the lives of people in their hands and they will be afraid of making a mistake that could end up severely injuring or killing a person. I know. I was an intern once.
The apps I recommended are, in my opinion, the most useful that any intern can have available at the beginning of their career. In fact, these apps would be useful for the rest of their careers too. They’re simple, but extremely useful apps. Of course, there may be someone out there scoffing at my choice of apps. I would be happy to hear their point of view.
The following apps are available on iOS, and may be available on other mobile operating systems too.