Medical students and residents are expected to absorb staggering amounts of information on an almost daily basis. Thankfully, app-based resources are rapidly emerging to ensure that the most important information can be accessed with a few swipes on a smartphone.
ENT Handbook is an app that will appeal particularly to ENT residents and medical students with an interest in ENT. ENT Handbook is available for free and is compatible with various devices (iPhone / iPad / Android). The app was designed specifically as a guide for medical trainees in Australia and Victoria, though much of the information is general enough to be relevant within other medical systems.
ENT Handbook begins with five major headings: ‘Airway concerns’, ‘Resident duties’, ‘Common operations’, ‘Common emergencies’, and ‘About this app’. Each heading contains various subcategories.
The content within ENT Handbook is focused and practical. For example, every listing within the ‘Common operations’ category includes an outline of the procedure, indications and contraindications, must-do steps, logistics, risks to go over with the patient, guidance for post-operative care, and discharge orders. Medical trainees will no doubt appreciate that the information is laid out in such a logical fashion.
I found the ENT Handbook to be fairly straightforward to navigate. However, it would surely benefit from a search function; there is a risk of getting quite lost in the various categories and subcategories within the app. Additionally, some of the information within the app contains a reference, but the majority of it does not. This is a concern as there is no guarantee that the content within the app is current or even accurate. As with most medical apps, the ‘About this app’ section contains a disclaimer reminding users that the information is intended as guidance and should not supersede local practices.
Overall, ENT Handbook is a useful reference for ENT residents and medical trainees to have on hand.
