Stated Purpose

“The RCH Emergency Nurse Practitioner App is an informative resource for clinicians who have an interest in paediatrics. The app provides in-depth guides on paediatric assessment, common diagnostic findings, and important red flags to observe for in practice.

Throughout the app there are useful tips and tricks to help you with your assessment and interpretation of investigations as well as useful guides about performing procedures on children. It can be used as a learning resource or a quick access guide in practice

This resource has been developed by a group of specialist Nurse Practitioners and Senior Clinicians at RCH to provide the user with a culmination of expert information about emergency paediatric patients.”

“The app provides in-depth guides on paediatric assessment, common diagnostic findings, and important red flags to observe for in practice. Throughout the app there are useful tips and tricks to help you with your assessment and interpretation of investigations as well as useful guides about performing procedures on children. It can be used as a learning resource or a quick access guide in practice.”

(RCH Mobile Apps Page, Mobile apps : Emergency Nurse Practitioner (rch.org.au), 2020)

Features

Useful as an offline point of care tool for practice guidelines for pediatric emergencies.

With internet access, users can check the references used to inform the guidelines

Screenshots

Image Source: RCH Emergency Nurse Practitioner. Retrieved on July 5, 2022 from: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/emergency-nurse-practitioner/id1364319462?ls=1

Specialties/Disciplines

Emergency nurse practitioners (pediatrics)

Nurses, nurse practitioners, medical clinicians, nursing staff who work with pediatric cases

Residents, nursing students

Notes

“The RCH Emergency Nurse Practitioner app is an informative resource for clinicians who have an interest in paediatrics.” (App Store, 2020)

From hospital website

Could also benefit students

Part 1: Editorial committee, content updates, and evidence grading

No grading system is identified for this app which makes it hard to evaluate the standards used for creating the resource. However, this app appears to be a recreation of the guidelines and practice resources used by the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, and there is a robust process documented on their website for the development of the guidelines.

Part 2: Source and authorship information for 3 entries

The About Us section of the app contains a brief history of how the all originated from a set of lanyard cards, followed by a laminated pocket-sized book.  As the Disclaimer clearly states, the app “does not constitute a text book, and offers little explanation or background to the conditions outlined. [It is] however designed to provide practical advice and assist clinicians with the clinical management of paediatric patients presenting to an emergency department.”

Entries are well laid out, it is easy to follow the flow of information, however no references are given in the app version of the guidelines or clinical resources which makes it impossible to check the validity of the recommendations or procedures.  If this information wasn’t from a reputable source and didn’t have the online version to back up the information, all the information would be rightfully treated as suspect.

Organization of information

The ENP app is comprised of 3 key features 

• Systems Guide
  • Main focus of app (provides assessment guide to user)
  • Alphabetical listing of physiological systems
  • Informative charts, tables and images to aid learning or practice
• Clinical Resources
  • Links to clinical practice guidelines, websites, and resuscitation resources as well as pediatric resus drug dosing
• Paediatric Assessment 
  • Developmental milestones, physiological differences (age specific vital signs), as well as a guide on interpreting x-rays and child positioning images

Information within entries follows the natural progression of clinical practice: background information, examination, body systems to look at, clinical practice points for differential, potentially dangerous signs, and management

Navigation

Immediate navigation forces the user to the guidelines, at which point they can search content in a search bar the top or use a navigation menu in the top left to navigate to other sections.

Extras

User Account required: No

Internet connection required for use: Yes - Internet access is needed to retrieve certain documents in the app

Text search field: Yes

Browsable content: Yes

Advertisements: No

Pop-up advertisements: No

In-app purchases: No

Devices 

Compatible with: iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, Mac

Requires: iOS 8.0 or later. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/emergency-nurse-practitioner/id1364319462?ls=1
Last updated (as per App store listing) : January 29, 2020

Compatible with: Android smartphones & tablets

Requires: Android 4.0 and up. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.org.rch.Ednpguide
Last updated (as per Google Play listing): January 28, 2020

Size

77.3 MB (iOS);

Size not listed on the app page for Android (71.29 MB on device)

App Developer

The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Melbourne 

Employees at RCH: Terry Carroll, Melanie Turner and Dhanuka Kaluarachchi

Country of Origin

Australia

Contact

Telephone: +61 3 9345 5522

Mobileapp.team@rch.org.au

50 Flemington Road  Parkville, Victoria 3052 Australia

Melanie.turner@rch.org.au

Terry.Carroll@rch.org.au

Dhanuka.Kaluarachchi@rch.org.au