A rural home nurse uses his iPAQ Pocket PC as his nurse's assistant
As a rural home nurse in Missouri my day is busy tending patients in five counties, speaking with a variety of medical professionals, and doing paperwork. I have an office, but spend most of my time traveling. For the last year an HP iPAQ 3765 Pocket PC has been my trusted nurse's assistant, helping me organize my day and keep track of important medical data. This article briefly describes how the Pocket PC has helped me in my daily nursing practice.
Size, functionality, and price
The following are the three main reasons I chose a Pocket PC to help me with my nursing practice. They are valid for other professions as well.
1. Size/weight: A Pocket PC weighs ounces not pounds, and fits easily into a jacket pocket, clips onto a belt, or can be tossed into a small tote bag (or purse). I wear mine on my belt using a Vaja clip-on case (www.vajacases.com) (Screen 1). Most of the time I don't even notice it's there until I need it. When needed I just unclip it and push the on button. I don't have to find a place to set it down as I would with a laptop. I can easily place the Pocket PC in front of my patient to show them the results of a test or other information, even if they're lying down in bed. Many of my patients are bed-bound and require visually aided instruction. The compact size fills this bill very well.
2. Functionality: The Pocket PC is perfect for busy mobile workers. I live and work in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, and engage in a lot of back-road and off-road driving. If an idea pops into my head while I'm driving on a pothole-strewn road, I don't have to pull over to write it down. I just hold down the iPAQ's voice-record button, and commit the idea to digital memory. I review my voice recordings later and take the appropriate action.
Screen 1: When I'm not in my car, I carry my iPAQ h3765 on my belt using a Vaja clip-on case.
When I'm in my car, my iPAQ sits right infront of me mounted on an Arkon CM454 Dual Function PDA/Phone Mount Kit (www.arkon.com/expansion.html) (Screen 2). This accessory attaches to the windshield and lets the user mount an iPAQ Pocket PC and any mobile phone. It does not provide connectivity between the two. However, it does include Arkon's Sound Feeder Audio Adapter, which lets you listen to the audio output of the Pocket PC through the vehicle's FM stereo system. This is great for listening to MP3 music, audio books, turn-by-turn directions from a GPS system, and more. This holder accepts an iPAQ equipped with the original CF Expansion Pack and holds it in place even on very rough roads. However, Arkon warns that it does not work with the Expansion Pack Plus or CoverPack sleeves. They offer alternate mounting solutions for those packs.
Screen 2: In my car, I carry the iPAQ in
the Arkon CM454 Dual Function PDA/Phone Mount Kit.
The Arkon mount kit ships with a cigarette lighter power adapter, but that only powers the SoundFeeder Audio Adapter. I use a Belkin USB Sync Charger for iPAQ Pocket PC (Screen 3) to power my iPAQ from the car's 12-volt system so I don't have to worry about the battery "going south." I use my auxiliary power receptacle as well as a cigarette lighter power strip to power the various electrical components I use.
3. Price: While high-end Pocket PCs aren't cheap, they're still hundreds of dollars less then most laptops, while providing most of the same capabilities. But even the low-end Pocket PCs like the $250 Dell Axim X5 are pretty capable devices. For me, a Pocket PC gives a better bang for the buck than any laptop.
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