More than 70 percent of nurses are using smartphones for their job, according to a 2012 study by Wolters Kluwer Health’s Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Some hospitals, such as Cedars-Sinai and Texas Children’s, have even equipped their nurses with the devices.

Many nurses are using smartphones to get immediate access to drug reference tools, but there are also a wide range of apps available that can be used by the nursing community to help promote better health, nutrition and fitness for their patients, as well as for themselves.

We all know smartphones can be used to download entertainment or time management apps, and every business has their own app now. With technology already being used for these purposes, and to improve access to important medical information, why not use it to improve your daily life and the lives of your patients?

Consider downloading one or more of these great apps to improve your workplace and your life.

iMuscle2

iMuscle2 is an award-winning health and fitness app ideal for nurses and other healthcare professionals to use and recommend to their patients. It provides users with the ability to zoom into an area on a 3-D human body, tap on a muscle and discover exercises and stretches meant to help rehabilitate or develop that specific muscle. Once it’s identified, all you have to do is add it to an exercise routine.

Progress can then be tracked, and achievements can even be shared. There are 152 muscles that are mapped with 600 associated exercises. It’s ideal for nurses, physiotherapists and fitness instructors.

Diabetes Nutrition and Diet Tracker by Fooducate

There are currently 25.8 million adults and children in the U.S. who have been diagnosed with diabetes, and another 79 million people who have prediabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. The Diabetes Nutrition and Diet Tracker is an excellent app to help educated patients with their food choices. The app grades each type of grocery item, and explains what’s inside each product. It also offers healthier alternatives. You’ll find diabetic-specific advice for more than 200,000 food products. Patients can discover many things about an item that manufacturers are hoping are not noticed, such as too much sugar, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, GMOs, artificial food colorings, additives and preservatives, artificial sweeteners and more.

LifeSupport for Nurses

Many nurses today are overworked and stressed. It all builds up, causing emotional exhaustion, which can lead to illness, as well as difficulty properly caring for patients. Mental health and fitness are key factors in keeping afloat personally and professionally. LifeSupport for Nurses is an app that is designed to help prevent burnout by motivating and encouraging nurses with random inspirational quotes, providing suggestions on improving patient care, offering 24/7 support and allowing nurses to share messages with each other.

FitnessBuilder

Those who work in the healthcare profession realize the importance of good health and fitness to improve quality of life, as well as longevity. It’s also important for nurses to stay fit in order to perform better on the job, as well as to set a good example for patients.

FitnessBuilder is an app that contains nearly 800 workouts and more than 5,000 exercises, in addition to providing access to a live personal trainer for a total fitness experience. It personalizes workouts by tracking user strength and cardiovascular fitness, as well as personal statistics, such as weight, BMI and BMR.

Guest Author: Robert Davidson has always been interested in the medical field ever since the first time he saw M.A.S.H.