7 Best Nurse Practitioner Apps

blog post np student on the job learning role transition May 16, 2023
An image of nurse practitioners looking at an app in a tablet.

One of the number one questions I see from new NPs and NP students is: what are the best nurse practitioner apps to use? A pitfall I see a lot of those same people doing is downloading ALL THE RESOURCES and then feeling completely overwhelmed by all of them.

No judgment. This was absolutely me. I was terrified and feeling unprepared, and I thought more resources would protect me.

Today the NPs and I at Real World NP want to share our 7 favorite nurse practitioner apps with you. We aren’t an affiliate of these apps, just fans! Also, we know that we don’t know it all— so we also want to know what your favorite nurse practitioner apps are. I love learning about new resources I haven’t heard of, and NPs are nothing if not resourceful, smart, and helpful (hence why I’m asking you, smartie pants!). Below, you’ll see a form where you can submit your faves to share with the rest of the Real World NP Community!

Also, you may have seen some of these in the Ultimate Resource Guide, but some you probably haven’t. Aannnd with your submissions, we’re going to be making some updates to resources inside that guide, so it’s even better than before. Let’s get into it.

Best Nurse Practitioner Apps

Up-to-Date

This is my first love in medicine… ok, I know I just made it weird, but for real. I use this thing every single day in clinic. I cannot tell you the number of times I printed out the “Abnormal Liver Enzymes” article and posted the algorithm on my office wall. Annoyingly, it’s over $500/year for a subscription but here are two pro-tips: one, you can usually get access through your employer, or negotiate for them to pay for it. Two, the student rate is only $219 per year if you’re still an NP student.

Epocrates

Since I’m clearly obsessed with Up-to-Date, I don’t use this as much since my brain needs one go-to resource, but this is a super close second. It’s got a few features that make it shine— pill ID is still my FAVORITE aspect, but it also has a new feature called Bugs & Drugs. You can search by zip code to find antibiotic resistance patterns. Plus it also has an easy drug interaction check, and CME opportunities (AMA, PRA category 1, applicable for AANP and ANCC). Most of those features are free! Awesome! The paid version is about $240/year and has additional features.

Dynamed

This is basically a cheaper “dupe” of Up-to-Date. Evidence-based, high quality, and my long-time, stickler physician friend swears by it-- and feels like it’s even better than Up-to-Date. I haven’t used it much myself, but it’s $199/year for NPs and $99/year for students, AND you can do a free trial.

EMRA Antibiotic Guide

Memorizing which antibiotics go with which microbes makes my brain melt. This app is fantastic— you just plug and go. You enter the infection, and it gives you the antibiotic to prescribe, the duration, and alternatives. It also incldes pearls of practice, too! It’s about $10/year, compared to Sanford Antimicrobial Guide which is $34/year. Sanford has the advantages of caring for patients with comorbid HIV, since they need other options and have other infections at times.

MDCalc

Don’t sleep on this one.  It'll help you stop googling Wells Criteria, Chadsvasc, and Sodium correction scores, and all the other calculators you use in clinic. Best of all, it’s free as either a website or phone app, and you can favorite all the ones you use day-to-day for easy access.

ASCCP

Never get your pap results turned upside down again. I despise following that pap management algorithm, it’s SO confusing. Luckily this app is SO easy to use— you just plug in the results and it tells you when they need to retest, and if they need a colposcopy or not. It’s $10 but well worth it for the time and brain space it saves.

ASCVD Risk Calculator

When to prescribe statins for high lipids? Look no further than this app— not only will it tell you your patients risk for things like heart attack and stroke, but also give treatment recommendations. It also has resources for when you need to decide when someone is on the fence of whether or not they need statins. So helpful.

What are your favorite apps for nurse practitioners?

Now we’d love to hear from you— what are your favorite resources that we haven’t listed here? Things like apps, podcasts, books, or other references you wish you’d know about earlier, or recommend to other NPs? Let us know here!

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