Top 5 Apps for ER Nurses
To work in emergency medicine, you have to be quick on your feet, efficient, and knowledgeable. Smartphone apps built for emergency nursing can save you brainpower and give you a fast, reliable reference at the bedside.
Sure — googling is always an option, but apps designed specifically for nursing and medical information greatly improve the accuracy and usefulness of what you find. Here are five worth keeping on your phone.
1. WikEM
WikEM is an online wiki and database of emergency-medicine knowledge. It's primarily aimed at clinicians like physicians and advanced practice providers, but it's a great resource for any nurse who needs to look up a new disease, refresh an old one, or update their knowledge on procedures, labs, or medications.
Every entry is specific to emergency medicine, so it draws out the need-to-know information. Just like a Wikipedia article, a convenient table of contents helps you navigate, and topics are kept concise and easy to read.
2. Critical — Medical Guide
Critical — Medical Guide is a one-stop shop for all things critical care. It works for nearly any hospital nurse but caters especially to the ED and ICU. It provides crucial guidelines and references to use on the fly, including ACLS algorithms, EKG interpretation, fluid and blood products, lab values, hemodynamics, ventilator management, and assessments.
One of the most useful features is the critical drips function. For each drug you enter the patient's weight (kg), total dose, dilution amount, and infusion rate, and the app returns mg/hr and mL/hr — with a slider to titrate the medication. The RSI tab gives dosing calculators for common rapid-sequence-intubation meds, and there's a pediatric tab covering Broselow weights, medication doses, and ET tube sizes, plus a pharmacology section.
This app is not free — it's a one-time payment of about $9.99 — but it's a genuinely helpful tool for managing a critical patient.
3. IV Medications (Gahart)
IV Medications bills itself as "the #1 IV drug reference for 40 years," and it's your go-to resource for IV medications and drips. It provides comprehensive information on dosing, dose adjustments, dilution, compatibility, rate of administration, drug actions, indications, contraindications, precautions, interactions, side effects, and antidotes.
It also offers dilution and rate calculators (a little clunky to use) plus a favorites option for quick access. The app is free to download but requires a paid unlock to use. You can often find the same information elsewhere, but this app is specific to IV meds and offers convenience in the critical setting.
4. Eye Chart HD
Eye Chart HD is great in the emergency setting. Any patient with an eye complaint usually needs visual acuity tested, but most exam rooms don't have a Snellen chart handy — which means walking the patient to a common area for a less-than-ideal assessment.
The app detects which phone you're using and recommends an appropriate distance (such as 4 feet), making it ideal for testing at the end of the stretcher with the patient in high Fowler's position. It includes a "randomize" option, a mirror mode, and additional charts (Tumbling E, Sloan, Landolt).
Free Is Enough Here
The core Eye Chart HD app is free. There's a paid tier for near-vision charts, an Amsler grid, and line isolation, but that's overkill for routine ED visual-acuity checks.
5. Lab Values Medical Reference
Lab Values Reference offers comprehensive lab information, organized by body system with a search function. Each lab lists common normal values in both SI and US units, a description of the lab and its pathophysiologic significance, a differential for abnormal levels, and which tube color to draw.
