Watching her students fiddle with their iPhones in class, registered-nurse-turned-associate-professor Holly Austin had her light-bulb moment. Nurses (and nursing students) need fast access to large amounts of medical data to diagnose and treat patients - but such data isn't always at their fingertips. Books and websites can help nurses assess what's wrong and what to do, but she thought there ought to be an app for that - so she took it upon herself to create a cheat sheet to do no harm.
"I knew if the app was useful to me, it would likewise help my fellow nurses," said Austin. "I was my own target market, testing the app as Sierra Bravo programmers sent me the updates." Utilizing the Nursing Process (ADPIE) for more than 200 common medical surgical diseases and disorders, Nurse Tabs briefly describes each disease and disorder, outlines assessment findings, incorporates potential NANDA Nursing diagnoses, lists potential complications and appropriate interventions, and delineates a plan.
Envisioning a simple user interface based on body systems, Austin sent pictures to programmers suggesting interface icons. The Nerdery's Matt Tonak scratched his head a bit while designing an image for the Endocrine system but purposely didn't look at other medical apps in going for an original, simple, intuitive presentation.
"My small development budget left zero marketing dollars, but Nurse Tabs has been downloaded in six countries," said Austin, citing considerable word-of-mouth social media momentum sparked by her nursing peers and students - even while school was out for the summer.
I knew if the app was useful to me, it would likewise help my fellow nurses. I was my own target market, testing the app as Sierra Bravo programmers sent me the updates.
Nurse Tabs creator
