Today’s nursing student is a little bit old school and a little bit new school — equal parts book-learner plus tech-savvy to boot. What has stayed a constant in nursing school for decades, however, is a general feeling of being overwhelmed. Take heart; it’s only natural to feel this way! After all, you’re immersed in a strange new land with a strange new language. A lot of the time, as you put your book knowledge into practice, you’ll begin with a sense of familiarity, an I know I read about this…somewhere feeling. Wouldn’t it be great if you had a one-stop shop where you could easily access subjects on the fly, reinforcing your hands-on training in real time? Well, get your bookmark ready and welcome to this blog—a compilation of the best resources for nursing students around, plus a bonus list of tangible resources too! 

New School—digital resources:

Med Mnemonics — Quick, throw out the proper name for reciting rainbow colors: Roy G. Biv, remember? If you can recall that acronym, it’s because this mnemonic was cemented  in your brain in elementary school, where it will happily occupy space until forever. There is simply SO MUCH info that needs to be learned in nursing school, and a large chunk of it just needs to be memorized, plain and simple. This handy searchable app gives you all the medical mnemonics you could ever want, plus—nerd alert!—the ability to add your own! If you find yourself stuck on a concept, say Blood Gasses for example, simply head over to Med Mnemonics and find one that speaks to you!

Nursing Central — Coming in at just under $20, for the price of a couple caffeinated beverages you’ll have access to one of the best umbrella apps for nursing resources. Instead of hopping between multiple places to search for nursing concepts, drug databases, diagnoses, care plans and the like, Nursing Central provides a searchable database that organizes all that info for you. Making your life a little bit more streamlined = 5 stars // highly recommend. 

Epocrates — If you feel like you’re hearing the phrase “evidence-based care” on repeat, you’re right! That’s because solid nursing care comes down to repeatable science and proven outcomes. It’s one of the things that makes nurses such valued members of the healthcare team—what we do works! By the time you reach clinicals, you may be wondering about certain interventions that you’re seeing at the bedside. Although this app has a ton of  resources besides its clinical guidelines feature, it really gets it right with explaining patient-centered care in a way that’s easy to understand—and retain.

Davis's Drug Guide for Nurses — Medication administration is one area that nurses stress over the most. And there’s good reason for that—medication errors are common, yet completely avoidable! Enter Davis’s Drug Guide for Nurses—it present drug information in an uncomplicated format, complete with photos, interaction info, route info, side effects…even thorough information on OTC drugs and supplements. 

Old School— in-hand resources:

Stethoscope. This is probably the one tool that you ought to splurge on. A good stethoscope means the difference between assessing for rhonchi, crackles, wheezing, and stridor and “those lung sounds…don’t sound right.”  If a pricey Littman isn't in the cards for you during nursing school, either save up for one for graduation, or appeal to your supporters to go in for one for you as a sweet grad present. Your future patients will thank you. (In the meantime, FriCARE and Omron both make decent stand-ins.) 

Bandage scissors. Bandage scissors (or trauma shears as the cool kids call them) serve a dual purpose for the nursing student. They cut things when needed and—maybe more importantly—they make you a super handy student to have around for nurses who chronically forget their own trauma shears. Cue lots of front row observation opportunities! Just make sure they have an impenetrable label attached to them—bandage scissors have a sneaky way of walking into other people’s scrub pockets…

Quality Footwear. Another “resource” that’s awfully important—and one that your nurse arches are going to be gunning for! You’ll soon have a taste of what 12 hours feels like on your feet from clinical rotations, and that’s only going to intensify once you’re working regularly.  Bonus points if you pair your quality footwear of choice with compression stockings. 

Pocket Reference Guide. One of the best ways to learn is in context. That’s why you’ll soon be spending hours upon hours in clinical rotations (if you’re not already). While some nurses attempt to memorize lab values, rhythms, and common medications in their downtime, you’re far more likely to upload that information to the mothership (you!) if you learn it in context. And while the apps mentioned above are definitely swifter and more convenient than flipping through a book, cell phone use on the floor is definitely frowned upon. In these cases, a pocket guide will be your best friend. Get something slim—you can always go back to review concepts in depth later on in your text books. Any bookstore should have a decent selection, or you can go with this one from Amazon. 

Bonus: Smart Watch. Technically, this crosses back over into the land of digital resources. But now that you have some super help apps at your disposal, a place to subtly access them without reaching for your phone would sure come in handy.