Medical students are one of the highest user groups of smart phones. With the use of Smart phones (e.g. iPhone, Android, Windows) medical students have access to thousands of resources right at their fingertips. Whether it be native apps such as, Medscape, Epocrates, even mobile textbooks like Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine or web apps. There are a huge range of options available. Each with their own degree of usefulness (some apps that are still my favourites are listed in Top Medical Apps for the iPhone).
If you want to skip the Back Story which contains a degree of fluff, then head on straight to The Situation.
The Back Story
Many universities globally have developed an app for their students and staff. These are generally broadly targeted, with features such as timetables, news, events, contacts and so on. Some are good, whilst some are just plain bad or fail to provide enough services. As far as I'm aware though, there are hardly any apps developed specifically by a university, for their medical program.
Which leaves me thinking that there is a huge wasted opportunity.
As some of you may know I developed my own unofficial app for my medical school, known as UQ Med Lite. I developed this app, mainly because I felt there was a huge gap in what the school was offering. I'm a regular user of my iPhone, and I found that daily tasks like checking my timetable were a hassle under the existing system.
So with a few nights learning the basics of coding I developed my app. The original app solely acted as a portal, and simple provided links to important websites or contacts. I quickly realised that with all the materials I had built up on this blog, I could quite easily turn it into a quick reference tool as well. So that's what I did.
Now the app provides a range of features summarised below.
- MBBS Timetable
- Clinical Skill Guides (History Taking & Examination)
- Drug List (Drugs needed to know by Year 3)
- Pathology (Robbin's Pathology, UQ Resources & related resources)
- Inbuilt access to mobile versions of Up to Date, Pubmed & Access Medicine
- Help you get connected. (Set-up Eduroam profile, mobile email & much more)
- UQ's My Library and Library resources for the MBBS Program
- Information on UQ's Clinical Schools with maps.
- Information on the School of Medicine and related student societies.
The Situation
Like many people I would have rather seen my own medical school make an app. Unfortunately, they did not, so I went ahead and gave it a crack. But now I ask you this,
If your medical school had an app what would you like to see in it?
It can be anything that comes to your mind.
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