As nurses and other healthcare workers battle the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s more important than ever for technology and the mobile app industry to catch up and create tailor-made apps that facilitate the loves of those working at the frontlines.

In this blog post, we’re highlighting the top nursing apps in 2021. These apps – available on iOS and Android – are designed to assist nurses during their work shifts. Additionally, these apps help nurses juggle the demands of their work environment and personal life, improving their work-life balance.

Med Mnemonics

Mastering complex medical terminologies can be challenging. This is where Med Mnemonics comes in. This handy app has a growing list of mnemonics, acronyms and medical facts, and prides itself in rolling out updates every six months to include more mnemonics and facts. The paid version enables the user to have access to mnemonics from all the major healthcare disciplines.

Epocrates

Epocrates is consistently ranked as one of the best healthcare apps in the biz. According to Epocrates’ official website, this app is used by more than 1 million healthcare workers worldwide. Its user-friendly interface enables users to access tools such as pill identification, drug information, interaction check and clinical practice guidelines. The paid version – Epocrates+ – is perfect for clinical teams, as it includes additional content such as alternative medicine practices and disease information.

NurseGrid

The NurseGrid app helps nurses and healthcare workers improve their work-life balance. It empowers nurses by providing 24/7 access to work schedules. It also syncs with other calendar apps and enables you to send private messages to colleagues and mentors. Other functions include credential management, shift swap capability, and the ability to share your work schedule with family members and friends, ensuring that you won’t miss those all-important life events because of lack of proper planning. App reviewer Angelica Galvan commented, “The app makes it very easy to add my schedule and keep track of my workdays. I love that you and your co-workers can see each other’s work schedule.”

Pill Identifier by Drugs.com

This pill identifier app has a database of more than 24,000 medications. It’s particularly useful when a patient hands over a pillbox without knowing the name of the medication that they’re taking. Save time and resources by using this app’s powerful search tool. It enables healthcare workers to search for medicines according to filters such as brand, colour, shape and drug name. It’s important to note that Drugs.com is a professional, peer-reviewed and independent website that continually updates information and confirms its sources.

Nursing Central

Nursing Central markets itself as an “all-in-one clinical solution for nurses” – and it’s easy to understand why. Five mobile application developers (Davis’s Drug Guide, Taber’s Medical Dictionary, Davis’s Laboratory and Diagnostic Tests, Diseases and Disorders, Prime PubMed) joined forces to create a comprehensive app that provides up-to-date information on diseases, medicine, tests and procedures.

The database includes more than 5,000 medications while the dictionary has more than 65,000 entries. What’s more – thanks to the incorporated Medline/PubMed database, you can also explore unfamiliar topics and expand your knowledge. App reviewer Ryan Williams commented, “Nursing central is perhaps the best tool that any nursing student can use. I also love the fact that you don’t need internet to use the app actively!”