Good Drug Information Resources for Rotations
Started by Sparda29
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Unfortunately it's Canadian, and therefore may not have some of the meds/dosage forms that you have in the USA, but http://www.RXfiles.ca is pretty sweet. It's available in pocket, normal, and legally blind versions. Sample charts are here: http://www.rxfiles.ca/rxfiles/uploads/documents/1A-CHT-book-Samples-for-RxFiles-Website.pdf
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Many of my classmates used Lexi on their PDA/smartphone. I'm not sure there is a good drug info source that could fit in your pocket, the good ones have too much information to be that small.
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At tOSU we all got Palms pre-loaded with Lexi our 3rd year. Got used to manuevering to what I needed quickly and when on rotations 4th year it was crucial. I recommend using either Lexi on your Palm or smart phone, you can usually get a free activation code while you're a student based on your school's subscription.
ipad with skyscape/epocrates/lexi would imo be ideal. great apps, awesome pdf reading ability, and interwebs.
for something more realistic...depends on what you're trying to answer.
i can say for a fact that tarascons was very superficial and not very helpful, except when looking up arcane drugs or weird brand names. for medical students/residents, i can see it being awesome, but anyone with hospital and retail experience should know most of the stuff.
rxfiles is really cool (i <3 charts) but ive never used them on rotations
for something more realistic...depends on what you're trying to answer.
i can say for a fact that tarascons was very superficial and not very helpful, except when looking up arcane drugs or weird brand names. for medical students/residents, i can see it being awesome, but anyone with hospital and retail experience should know most of the stuff.
rxfiles is really cool (i <3 charts) but ive never used them on rotations
All 3rd year students at our school get an Ipod touch with Lexi loaded. This is where things are going.
Yeah, I already have Lexi on my phone. Only thing is, my professor told me that the text versions have these uber cool charts in the back.
I bought so many pocket books and I had an Iphone with all the apps. And I hardly ended up using them.
It depends on what rotations your are on internal med, community, hospital etc. But for me, most of my rotations had computers with resources in them or had internet access. And since I needed to look up the patient charts on the computer, I just used the computer and when I was in the hospital they always had references at hand near the nurses stations that was communal.
For me most of my preceptors dont find the pocket books or Iphone apps credible at ALL... all they want is primary resources. Even if you knew a simple answer that is a no brainer, they always wanted me to have primary resources to back up my reasoning.( ... blah I hate looking up journals and guidelines)
It depends on what rotations your are on internal med, community, hospital etc. But for me, most of my rotations had computers with resources in them or had internet access. And since I needed to look up the patient charts on the computer, I just used the computer and when I was in the hospital they always had references at hand near the nurses stations that was communal.
For me most of my preceptors dont find the pocket books or Iphone apps credible at ALL... all they want is primary resources. Even if you knew a simple answer that is a no brainer, they always wanted me to have primary resources to back up my reasoning.( ... blah I hate looking up journals and guidelines)
Lexi complete on a smart phone or PDA is the way to go. Definitely don't be one of those students that has to use it to look up everything you do.... You'll become way too dependent on it. A lot of places also have up-to-date subscriptions which is more for physician reference but if you're doing clinical pharmacy rotations rounding with the team its a good source to brush up on current guidelines/recommendations for disease states and is considered the gold standard by physicians. A friend of mine is in his md residency and uses it all the time.
