I used my Nokia N95’s’ eBook reader, MobiReader, instead of carrying a heavy and thick Drug Reference guide in the hospital which was required for my clinicals. I saved some pocket space by having one less thing to carry around. My partner, on the other hand, carried the real book. What did I notice? The Nokia N95’s eBook reader is faster and more convenient.

Mobireader and S60

MobiReader is one of the many available applications that you can install in Nokia phones running the Symbian S60 operating system. If you are not familiar with S60 yet, learn more about S60 and be amazed at how far cellphones have become. MobiReader lets you open and read eBook files, which can be purchased at eBooks retailers like eBooks.com or Mobipocket.com.

Real-Life Usage in the Hospital

When our clinical instructor told us to look up certain medications’ types, and indications, it was the perfect time to test the Nokia N95 against a real book.

Real drug guide versus Nokia N95’s eBook reader

The eBook I used, A to Z Drug Facts, in my Nokia N95 was faster looking up the medications information. While my partner was skimming through pages, I used the keypad to enter the name of the medication. For each letter I pressed, the list of drugs narrow down to suggested results. I did not even have to completely spell the name. I can search by brand/trade names, or by the generic names.

Example. Here’s an example of what happens if I look up a common drug, Percocet. After typing ‘per,’ the drug already became the top search result. I click on the result, and it leads me to the generic name of the drug which is Oxycodone/Acetaminophen.

Looking up Percocet medication and its use.

I then have a choice to skip to the certain information about Percocet that I need to know, like what type of drug it is, what it’s for, dosage, etc. If my clinical instructor asked what the drug is used for, I click on indications. Right away, I can tell her that it is used to relieve moderate to moderately severe pain.

Conclusion

When my partner realized it was no competition to go against the eBook, he put his drug reference away and we looked up the drugs together in my Nokia N95. With eBooks, you save on pocket space, since you do not have to carry any book. It will be already in the phone. Since it is digital, indexes and searching information is also faster.

There seems to be a misconception in the medical field that drug references are only available in Palm Pilots and Windows PDA’s. Not true. I have it in my Nokia N95… which is also by the way, my phone, camcorder, mp3 player, digital camera, GPS… need I say more?