Talk to the handheld
The basics
Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are also known as
palm pilots, palms, or handhelds. These small computers generally include
an address book, a to do list, a memo pad, and a calendar. As well as these
basics, customised medical software is available. Ever thought of questions
when you are on the wards or in busy clinics? Do you scribble down those
nuggets of information consultants teach you in a note pad, never to be
found again? PDAs can help medical students in these common scenarios.
Getting started
When you start to look at PDAs, you will be boggled by
the options (box 1). Even before adding medical software, your PDA can
become invaluable. In one small device, you can store your addresses,
diary, alarm clock, and a task list.
You also have a memo pad, which can become a useful
tool. When you are taught a pearl of information, note it down in the memo
pad in organised categories (medicine, surgery, paediatrics, etc) and build
your own mini-library for quick reference and revision.
A computer with internet access is necessary to
download software onto your PDA. Make sure that you download the free trial
versions before you decide to spend money because prices vary from free to
hundreds of pounds (table and box 2).
Box 1: Choosing a PDA: important considerations
- Palm or Pocket
PC - The two main operating systems available. Pocket PCs tend to be
slightly more expensive, less medical software is currently available for
them, and do not synchronise with Macs. They are more sophisticated, and
look just like Windows so are easy to use
- Price - A basic PDA
can be purchased for £70-£100 ($130-$185; a100- a145). Get sufficient internal memory. Budget for the extras
(a case, expansion card, and medical software)
- Memory - Medical
software can quickly use up lots of memory, as can music and games. Choose
a PDA with at least 16 MB of internal memory
- Ease of use - Try it
out in the shop or borrow one from a friend. Can you work out how to use it
intuitively, or is it a struggle?
- Optional
extras - MP3 players for music, a camera, WiFi, or Bluetooth increase
the price. Decide which you really need
What are the problems?
Although PDAs are probably more reliable than desktop
or laptop computers, they still go wrong. In particular, some freeware can
cause your PDA to crash. If you regularly hotsync your PDA, your data is
automatically saved on your computer. In this way, you prevent catastrophic
loss of all your data. Consider buying software such as Backup Buddy (Blue
Nomad, Santa Monica, CA; www.backupbuddy.com) which restores your PDA in
the event of a total memory wipe-out.
Visions for the future
Still not tempted to buy a PDA? Well, medical students
in the United States may have no choice. Several universities, such as the
University of California at Los Angeles make it compulsory to purchase a
PDA.w1 Others have undertaken trials providing PDAs free or at a subsidised price
to students.w2
UK doctors and medical students are less enthusiastic.
Cambridge's medical school initiatives to prepare students for
medicine in the 21st century have included the trial use of PDAs to keep an
electronic log of clinical experiences.w3 There also, students' collect clinical titbits of
information on their PDA that are added after a hotsync to a database for
others to upload onto their PDAs.w4 In Nottingham, students can now download timetables and
learning resources onto their PDAs.w5 As more medical learning is provided remotely, this
technology is likely to become increasingly important.
Soon, we can expect that electronic patient records and
laboratory records will be accessed in hospital through wireless internet
onto handheld computers. New patient notes may be recorded on these
handheld computers; prescriptions could be sent electronically directly to
the pharmacy. Electronic clinical decision support may also be provided by
hospitals through PDAs. Doctors might "beam" information at the
end of their shift to the incoming staff, as an electronic handover. Does
this sound far fetched? Well it happens already in the US and may come to
the United Kingdom soon. And you will be those doctors of the future. So is
it time you started preparing?
Glossary
- Beam - Infrared
transmission of a program or file from one PDA to another
- Bluetooth - Short
range wireless connection
- Cradle or dock - A
device in which a PDA sits to synchronise with your PC (often also charging
the PDA battery)
- Expansion cards - Extra
memory. Different PDAs use different expansion cards. Also called secure
digital (SD) cards, compact flash (CF) cards and memory sticks
- Freeware - Software
available at no cost
- Graffiti - Handwriting
recognition system used by Palm OS to write characters to your PDA
- Hard reset - If your
PDA crashes badly, this returns it to the factory default settings with its
memory wiped clear. Not a catastrophe if you have backed up all your data.
Occurs when your battery is completely empty (do not let this happen)
- Operating System (OS) - The
built-in, underlying software that is the foundation for programs to run on
a PDA, eg, Palm OS, Pocket PC
- Reader - An
application that reads documents on a PDA
- Soft reset - Like
restarting your computer. Sometimes necessary after installing new software
or after a crash. Programs and data should be unaffected
- Stylus - A pen-like
device used to tap on the screen of your PDA and to input characters
- Sync or hotsync - How
information on your PDA and PC are transferred, usually through the dock or
cradle
- WiFi - A wireless way
of accessing the internet or other devices, like Bluetooth but works over
longer distances
Jessica Watson, final year medical student
Email: jh9848@bristol.ac.uk
Genevieve Thueux, final year medical student
Julian M Jenkins, consultant senior lecturer in reproductive medicine
David J Cahill, consultant senior lecturer in reproductive medicine, University of Bristol Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, St Michael's Hospital, Bristol
studentBMJ 2005;13:221-264 June ISSN 0966-6494
- UCLA PDA requirements. www.medstudent.ucla.edu/pdareq (accessed 18 May 2005).
- Moffett SE. Preparing doctors for bedside computing. Lancet 2003;362:86.
- Alderson TJ, Oswald NT. Clinical experience of medical students in primary care: use of an electronic log in monitoring experience and in guiding education in the Cambridge Community Based Clinical Course. Med Educ 1999;33:429-33.
- Cambridge University Project Palm. www.cbcu.cam.ac.uk/handhelds (accessed 18 May 2005).
- Nottingham University. NLE timetable in pocket PC. www.nottingham.ac.uk/nle/about/pocketpc_timetable.html (accessed 18 May 2005).
