Handheld computer software for school nurses.

School nurses used computers in the 1980s, the Internet in the 1990s, and are embracing handheld computers in the first decade of the 21st century to improve their practice. The purpose of this article is to provide information about handheld computers and software applications that school nurses can use in day-to-day, emergency, and disaster situations. Handheld computers help school nurses to make decisions based on accurate and up-to-date information, and to practice evidence-based nursing. Evidence-based nursing is the process by which nurses make clinical decisions using the best available research evidence, their clinical expertise, and patient preferences.