VOLUME 29, Issue 1

EDUCATION OF OUR ANESTHESIOLOGISTS:
IS THERE AN APP FOR THAT?

Jaime Ortiz, MD
Baylor College of Medicine

Over the past decade, the use of “smartphones” and tablets for entertainment, communication and education has become the norm. Many universities, colleges, and medical schools now present much of their curriculum through these media. Some institutions either provide or mandate access to a “smartphone” or tablet in order to review assignments, complete exams, or to engage important study materials.

From the moment apps (applications) became popular, the creativity of program developers has known no bounds. These apps can be loaded into your phones or tablets after downloading them from iTunes, Android, or other websites. There is ALMOST an app for EVERYTHING. So what about Anesthesiology apps? What is available out there, and which applications appear to be especially useful?

To answer that question, we asked our residents. We found a range of apps including interfaces for board review questions, guides to ECG interpretation, interactive ultrasound and transesophageal echocardiography training, ACLS protocol refreshers, and many others. The table below summarizes a few of the more popular applications we encountered.

Lisa Mouzi-Wofford, MD
Baylor College of Medicine

Application

Description

Cost
Open Anesthesia ABA keywords list, self-study questions & answers, videos/podcasts FREE
Calculate Quick access to perioperative risk scoring systems, diagnostic criteria for a variety of diseases, and drug dosing FREE
SonoAccess Interactive ultrasound training with instructional videos & image galleries FREE
Drug Infusion Dose calculations for drug infusions - particularly helpful for the ICU setting $0.99
Instant ECGs Videos of common arrhythmias, 140 exam questions, & high-resolution ECG examples $0.99
Pedi Stat Pediatric guide to med dosing, airway device selection, & resuscitation protocol $2.99
ACLS Rhythms Teaching aid for ACLS featuring realistic videos with simulated alarm sounds and arrhythmias $9.99
Echo Views Helpful TEE views/detailed cardiac structures $9.99
MHApp Will guide you through a malignant hypertension (MH) crisis. Weight-adjusted dose recommendation for treatment of acidosis, hyperkalemia, and dantrolene. $1.99 (goes to MH research fund)
Epocrates Pharm reference with drug dosing as well as medication class, mechanism, side effects, and contraindications a) FREE basic version
b) $159.99 for 1-year subscription for full version (but often subsidized or paid for by hospital/institution)

Among residents we polled, Open Anesthesia is regarded as quite helpful for the specific purpose of ABA keyword review, and SonoAccess comes in handy for those rotating through regional anesthesia. Residents almost universally use Epocrates. Residents and staff alike who hold an interest in cardiac anesthesia, and those considering pursuit of a TEE certification appreciate Echo Views.

There are a number of other apps that can be as useful as those named above, and the list keeps growing. Consensus held that all such apps are an easy, accessible medium through which to accomplish de novo anesthesia learning and review important concepts. Best of all, these great resources are to be found, quite literally, at your fingertips.

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