Comparison

Nurse's Pocket Guide vs Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests

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

Head to head
About

Nurse's Pocket Guide

This app assists nurses in creating accurate nursing diagnoses and care plans. It provides detailed information for over 400 medical conditions, including definitions, interventions, and documentation guidelines. Users can also search by patient symptom to find related diagnoses.

Highlights
  • 400+ medical conditions with nursing diagnoses
  • NCSBN Clinical Judgment Measurement Model updates
  • NANDA-I and ICNP diagnoses
  • Prioritized actions/interventions with rationales
  • Care plan guides
  • NIC and NOC labels
  • Full text search
Features
Read full description

Make accurate nursing diagnoses and develop effective care plans with this comprehensive app. Each diagnosis listing includes a definition, related factors, defining characteristics, prioritized actions/interventions, NIC/NOC classifications, and documentation guidelines. Or, choose by patient symptom and link directly to associated nursing diagnoses. Features of Nurse’s Pocket Guide include: • 400+ medical conditions with associated nursing diagnoses • NEW! Each diagnosis updated to incorporate the NCSBN Clinical Judgment Measurement Model (NCJMM) terminology • NEW! Completely up to date with diagnoses from the latest NANDA-I and ICNP (International Classification for Nursing Practice), broadening students’ understanding of the standardized nursing languages they’ll encounter throughout their careers. • Defining characteristics presented subjectively and objectively • Actions/Interventions organized by nursing priority with rationales. • Care plan guides • Icons for cultural, collaborative, community/home care, diagnostic studies, pediatric/geriatric/lifespan, and medications • NIC and NOC labels for each diagnosis • Full Text Search helps you find topics quickly • Highlight and make notes within any entry • “Favorites” for bookmarking important entries • Personalize your app with highlights and notes Authors: Marilynn E. Doenges, APRN, BC; Mary Francis Moorhouse, RN, MSN, CRRN, LNC Publisher: F.A. Davis Powered by: Unbound Medicine

About

Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests

This app serves as a portable reference for nurses, providing essential information on over 400 lab and diagnostic tests. It includes details on preparation, patient care, panic levels, and visual aids, with offline access after initial download.

Highlights
  • Covers 400+ lab and diagnostic tests
  • Includes radiography, imaging, and endoscopy
  • Identifies panic lab levels and nurse alerts
  • Features patient education guidelines
  • Offline access to content
  • SmartSearch technology for quick information retrieval
Features
Read full description

"Try before you buy" - Download the FREE App, which includes sample content. An in-App purchase is required to unlock all content. A Davis’s Notes Title! Lab Notes: Nurses' Guide to Lab & Diagnostic Tests, third edition is the portable reference you need to explain, prepare, and care for patients before, during, and after common lab and diagnostic testing. Key Features * Covers essentials for more than 400 lab and diagnostic tests. * Includes lab tests, radiography, arteriography, nuclear- and non-nuclear imaging, endoscopy, organ function and electrophysiology tests. * Identifies panic lab levels and nurse alerts. * Features illustrations that show positioning and views, specimen tube top colors, and examples of X-ray, mammogram, CT scan, MRI, ultrasound, whole skeleton bone scan, and lung scan images. * Offers patient education guidelines and tips. No internet connection is required to access the content after the initial download. Find information quickly using powerful SmartSearch technology. Search part of term for those hard to spell medical terms. Content licensed from printed ISBN 10: 0803644019 Content licensed from printed ISBN 13: 978-0803644014 SUBSCRIPTION : Please choose an auto renewable subscription plan to receive content access & continuous updates. Your subscription automatically renews as per your plan, so you always have the latest content. Yearly auto-renewing payments-$29.99 Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Subscription may be managed by the user & auto-renewal can be disabled at any time by going to your device “Settings” and tapping “iTunes & App Store”. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription, where applicable. If you have any questions or comments, email us any time: customersupport@skyscape.com or call 508-299-30000 Privacy Policy-https://www.skyscape.com/terms-of-service/privacypolicy.aspx Terms and Conditions-https://www.skyscape.com/terms-of-service/licenseagreement.aspx Editor(s): Tracey B. Hopkins, BSN, RN Publisher: F. A. Davis Company

Screenshots

Nurse's Pocket Guide4 screens
Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Nurse's Pocket Guide at 55% against Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests's 0%. Nurse's Pocket Guide also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (179 vs 8). Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 9 months). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. Nurse's Pocket Guide sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $29.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nurse's Pocket Guide has 179 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 55% of Nurse's Pocket Guide's written reviews are positive against 0% of Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nurse's Pocket Guide ships an update every 9 months, Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Nurse's Pocket Guide versus Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNurse's Pocket GuideLab Notes & Diagnostic Tests
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (179 ratings)5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.5% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings179 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB46 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperUnbound Medicine, Inc.Skyscape Medpresso Inc

Customer experience

Nurse's Pocket Guide

All ratings179 ratings
Positive87.7%
Neutral2.2%
Negative10.1%
Written reviews22 reviews
Positive54.5%
Neutral4.5%
Negative40.9%

Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Nurse's Pocket Guide

One-time2
  • Nurse's Pocket Guide$49.99
  • Nurse's Pocket Guide$59.99
2 purchases

Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests

Subscriptions1
  • Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests$29.99

Questions

Is Nurse's Pocket Guide free?
Nurse's Pocket Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests free?
Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Nurse's Pocket Guide or Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests?
Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests is rated higher. Nurse's Pocket Guide averages 4.5 out of 5 from 179 ratings, while Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests averages 5.0 from 8 ratings.
Do Nurse's Pocket Guide or Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests have ads?
Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests shows ads; Nurse's Pocket Guide does not.
Which is updated more often, Nurse's Pocket Guide or Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests?
Nurse's Pocket Guide ships an update every 9 months, and Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests every 4 months. Most recently, Nurse's Pocket Guide was updated on November 1, 2026 and Lab Notes & Diagnostic Tests on November 2, 2026.

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