Comparison

Bates' Pocket Guide vs Nurse's Fast Facts

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Bates' Pocket Guide

This app provides essential information for obtaining health histories and conducting physical exams. It features step-by-step techniques, updated images, and differential diagnoses for quick and accurate interpretation of findings. Ideal for students and professionals needing a fast reference.

Highlights
  • Over 130 detailed topics
  • Step-by-step instructions
  • Updated photographs and illustrations
  • Two-column layout
  • New Algorithms for symptom approaches
  • Differential diagnoses
  • Highlighting and note-taking
  • Advanced search
Features
Read full description

*Featuring the latest content from the latest edition* ABOUT THE BATES' GUIDE: The Bates’ Pocket Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking contains the critical information needed to obtain a meaningful health history, conduct a thorough physical exam, and interpret the findings quickly and accurately. Locate answers fast and review step-by-step techniques and possible findings using the distinctive two-column format with updated images. Bates’ Pocket Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking is the ideal quick-reference resource for today’s medical, PA, pharmacy, and nursing students. FEATURES: • Over 130 detailed topics with step-by-step instructions • Updated photographs, illustrations, and references reinforce key content based on the latest evidence-based information • Two-column layout optimized for smartphones and tablets • New Algorithms provide helpful starting approaches for patients with common presenting symptoms. • Differential diagnoses for common, normal, and abnormal findings • Highlight and take notes within any entry • Advanced Search helps find topics quickly • “Favorites” for bookmarking important entries Authors: Lynn S. Bickley MD, FACP, Peter G. Szilagyi MD, MPH, Richard M. Hoffman MD, MPH, FACP, Rainier P. Soriano MD Publisher: Wolters Kluwer | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Powered by: Unbound Medicine Unbound Privacy Policy: www.unboundmedicine.com/privacy Unbound Terms of Use: https://www.unboundmedicine.com/end_user_license_agreement

About

Nurse's Fast Facts

Features
Read full description

"Try before you buy"-Download the FREE App,which includes sample content. In-App purchase required to unlock all content. Nurse's Fast Facts: Your Quick Source for Core Clinical Content, 3rd Ed. provides mobile healthcare practitioners with the latest in trusted clinical information for more accurate, confident and informed decision-making at point-of-care. Nurse's Fast Facts is a compilation of all of those hard-to-remember procedures, calculations, lab values, and interactions in a quickly accessible PDA reference. This essential reference offers the most important but difficult to remember clinical information for nine nursing content areas as well as age-specific guidelines for assessing health problems and interpreting lab values. Get speedy access to information by specialty, and the many charts, graphs and illustrations. Topics include: * Medical-Surgical * Gerontological Care * Maternal-Infant * Pediatric * Mental Health * Emergency and Critical Care * Long-Term Care * Home Health Care * Nutrition With Skyscape's patent pending smARTlink™ technology, RNFastFacts3™ can easily cross-index with other clinical and drug prescription products from Skyscape to provide a powerful and integrated source of clinical information that you can carry with you wherever you go! Content licensed from printed ISBN 10: 803611617 Content licensed from printed ISBN 13: 978-0803611610 If you have any questions or comments,email us any time:customersupport@skyscape.com or call 508-299-3000 Privacy Policy-https://www.skyscape.com/terms-of-service/privacypolicy.aspx Terms & Conditions-https://www.skyscape.com/terms-of-service/licenseagreement.aspx Author(s): Brenda Walters Holloway, RN, MSN, CFNP Publisher: F. A. Davis Company

Screenshots

Bates' Pocket Guide4 screens
Nurse's Fast Facts4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Bates' Pocket Guide at none against Nurse's Fast Facts's shown. Nurse's Fast Facts's advantage is update cadence (every 4 months vs every 14 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Bates' Pocket Guide sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Nurse's Fast Facts sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bates' Pocket Guide ships an update every 14 months, Nurse's Fast Facts every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Bates' Pocket Guide versus Nurse's Fast Facts: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBates' Pocket GuideNurse's Fast Facts
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (302 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews40.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings302 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 14 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB151 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperUnbound Medicine, Inc.Skyscape Medpresso Inc

Bugs and requests

Bates' Pocket Guide

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Sectional information is wrong
  • Topics do not correlate to information
  • Asterisk information is incorrect
  • App information needs updating and reviewing
  • Software is glitchy
Show 4 more
  • Hard to navigate between topics
  • Algorithm images are mismatched with titles
  • Doesn't take Bates account
  • Didn't work (iOS 7)

Requested features

5 requests
  • Update and review app information for accuracy
  • Improve content layout and navigation
  • Offer better preview options before purchase
  • Provide discounts for existing textbook/resource owners
  • Clarify product offerings to avoid buyer confusion

Nurse's Fast Facts

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Bates' Pocket Guide

One-time1
  • Bates' Pocket Guide 9th ed.$69.99
1 purchases

Nurse's Fast Facts

One-time1
  • Nurse's Fast Facts$37.95

Questions

Is Bates' Pocket Guide free?
Bates' Pocket Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Nurse's Fast Facts free?
Nurse's Fast Facts is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Bates' Pocket Guide or Nurse's Fast Facts have ads?
Nurse's Fast Facts shows ads; Bates' Pocket Guide does not.
Which is updated more often, Bates' Pocket Guide or Nurse's Fast Facts?
Bates' Pocket Guide ships an update every 14 months, and Nurse's Fast Facts every 4 months. Most recently, Bates' Pocket Guide was updated on October 21, 2026 and Nurse's Fast Facts on October 7, 2026.

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