I can remember as a resident some of my mentors throwing up their hands in despair when I couldn’t remember the normal respiratory rate for a 3 yr old. Now, I do think there is a databank of key information that you need to be able to recall at a moment’s notice, but with the advent of the mobile peripheral brain (iPhone) I’ve begun to rethink what is actually important to keep in my brain.

Now I know there are purists out there who will be chagrined at my saying this, but not remembering is liberating.  With the purchase of my iPhone I have found I spend less time worrying about things like medication doses and how to calculate ideal body weight, and spend more time on higher order thinking (like about my patient and what’s wrong with them).  Sure, if there’s an electromagnetic pulse over the United States I’m screwed, but for now I’m going with it.

So here is my all time favorite Peds ED app in the peripheral brain category.  Like most ED docs with a sick kid, my brain goes out the window, does a couple of laps around the ED,  and then needs a good slap to calm down.  Sick kids are scary.  So in the first 30 seconds of the resuscitation I would rather have my eyes on the kid and be working on what’s wrong, than trying to figure out the dose of atropine.

Enter Pedi Stat, this lovely app needs only one little bit of information like weight, age, height, or Broselow color to give you everything you need to effectively care for your patient.  All the vital signs, medications, equipment sizes and essential algorithms for seizure, PALS, hypoglycemia and more at your fingertips.  Whew!!!  Now I can get back to the patient, and when the nurse calls out for the next medication I won’t be stressed.