Organise the local contacts, clinical sources and learning tools you need by the work they help you complete.
The most useful medical apps for your first NHS job are the ones that help you find the right information in the setting where you will work. That may mean an employer's approved system, a current local document, an official guidance website or a learning tool. Downloading more apps does not establish where a local policy lives, who maintains it or whom to ask when access fails.
For an international doctor, the practical task is to build an induction index: a short, organised set of routes into information and support. This article provides an original template and three fictional tests of it. It is published by iatroX, with primary sources checked on 26 October 2026. The index is a proposed learning aid, rather than an employer's induction procedure.
Start each entry with a question you need to answer
An app list begins with product names. An induction index begins with questions: where is the current departmental guidance, how do I reach the appropriate team, where do I find approved medicines information, and how do I turn an unfamiliar concept into a learning task? A product belongs in the index only when you can explain which question it helps answer.
Keep the index separate from patient records. Its contents should be links, document titles, service roles and access instructions permitted by your organisation. A list of routes to information is useful without collecting histories, identifiable examples or copies of confidential clinical documents. The GMC's confidentiality principles support minimising and protecting personal information; your local policies establish the working arrangements you must follow.
Before starting, divide your questions into information you can find publicly and information the employer must supply. Public preparation can familiarise you with national sources. Local induction must establish the actual systems, contacts, responsibilities and access relevant to your post. Keeping those columns separate makes your first meeting more productive.
Build five layers rather than one crowded home screen
The first layer is local: approved clinical systems, departmental documents and contact routes. The second is national and professional guidance. The third is medicines information. The fourth is learning and examination preparation. The fifth is professional support. These layers can include websites as well as installed apps; the format matters less than reaching the correct destination reliably.
| Layer | What your index should point to | Who can confirm the route |
|---|---|---|
| Local working information | Approved systems, departmental guidance and team contact routes | Employer or departmental induction lead |
| National guidance | The issuing body's current document or topic page | The source itself, with local interpretation where needed |
| Medicines information | Product documents, specialist advice and local medicines policy | Pharmacy team and relevant source owner |
| Learning | An appropriate exam bank, reference explanation or study record | Official exam materials and current product information |
| Professional support | Supervisor arrangements, induction teaching and relevant professional resources | Employer, educator or professional body |
For example, NICE provides a route to its guidance, while SPS describes professional medicines advice. Neither supplies your individual department's login or rota arrangements. A concise index makes these different roles visible instead of hiding them behind a folder labelled "medical apps".
Start with a short, named resource set
These examples are useful front doors for the index. Choose the exact resource and access route that fit your role; a website can be as useful as an installed medical app.
| Resource | Useful index entry | What to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| NICE guidance | Find a national recommendation | Document scope and the relevant local implementation |
| eMC | Open regulated product information | Exact product and current document |
| SPS | Find professional medicines advice | The practical question and scope of the advice |
| BMJ Best Practice | Read a structured clinical topic overview | Relevant topic and current personal or institutional access |
| GMC e-learning | Explore professional scenarios | The learning objective, followed by local discussion where relevant |
| iatroX | Referenced explanation and question-based learning | The specific clinical-reference or educational task |
Put employer-provided systems and directories beside these public resources. The public shortlist supplies reference and learning routes; your employer supplies the approved local working arrangements.
Give every link an owner, an access check and a reason to return
A useful entry contains six fields: the question, the source or system, the owner, how you access it, when you last checked the route and the unresolved local question. The owner may be an organisation or team rather than a named person. The check date records that you could reach the source; it is not a claim that you clinically reviewed everything in it.
Here is a fictional starter index. Replace the placeholders with information confirmed during your own induction.
| Question | Front door | Owner to identify | Check to perform |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where is the department's current guidance? | Approved local portal | Department or governance team | Open the correct version and locate its review information |
| How do I contact the relevant service? | Employer-approved directory | Local service or switchboard team | Confirm the role and current contact route |
| Where is the local medicines policy? | Approved pharmacy or formulary page | Local pharmacy team | Confirm its organisational scope |
| Where can I check product information? | The relevant product document | Document publisher or manufacturer | Match the exact preparation and revision |
| Where can I review a learning gap? | Chosen learning platform | Product and official exam framework | Try the question-to-feedback journey |
Add one sentence explaining why each destination is there. "Useful medical website" is difficult to assess. "Find the current document for this recurring information question" gives you a clear maintenance test. If two entries do the same job, retain both only when their distinct roles are useful.
Rehearse three tasks before relying on the index
First, imagine that a public guideline summary refers to a local process you cannot find. Your index should lead to the national source and identify the local team or portal needed to resolve the implementation question. It should not tempt you to replace an absent local document with a plausible AI-generated process.
Second, imagine that a bookmarked document opens but its title, organisation or version differs from the one described at induction. Check the route with the source owner and update the index. Saving a PDF without its provenance can make an outdated copy feel authoritative; a direct route with clear document identity is easier to maintain.
Third, choose an unfamiliar term from a fictional teaching case. Use a reference or learning tool to explain it, then close the explanation and state the distinction yourself. That tests whether the learning entry helps you do something beyond collect information. None of these rehearsals requires a real patient's record.
Record where each test stalled. An inaccessible portal, an unclear owner and an explanation you did not understand are different problems. Bring the precise problem to induction or supervision so it can be resolved efficiently.
Use induction to establish the arrangements an app cannot infer
Ask where authoritative departmental documents are stored, how changes are communicated and which systems are approved for each task. Establish what access is available on personal devices and where to seek help if a link or account stops working. Confirm the local approach to handover, supervision and information sharing rather than assuming it matches your previous workplace.
The GMC's Welcome to UK practice workshop offers practical discussion of professional scenarios for doctors who meet its stated criteria. It is one source of support alongside employer induction. Check the current eligibility and booking information directly instead of assuming every pre-arrival doctor can attend immediately.
During the first few weeks, keep a short list of recurring questions that your index does not yet answer. Discuss these with the relevant colleague, then add the confirmed route. A useful index grows from the tasks you encounter rather than an ambition to bookmark the entire NHS.
Give clinical AI and exam tools a defined place
iatroX's product description distinguishes referenced clinical lookup, structured reasoning and question-based learning. In an induction index, those are separate entries with separate purposes. Use a synthetic question to assess whether an explanation helps you understand a source or repair a knowledge gap. Keep the local policy destination alongside it when the question depends on your workplace.
For doctors preparing abroad, iatroX's standards distinguish UK guidance-led clinical use from international educational use. Studying UK material before a move is different from applying a UK answer in your current country's practice. Label the educational purpose in your own learning record.
The international-doctors pathway page can help you navigate relevant study routes, while the exam catalogue lets you check exact coverage. Choose a destination because it fits a task in your index, then review whether you actually use it. That is a more practical basis for selecting medical apps than the length of a ranked list.
Once the index is in place, use the first NHS handover rehearsal worksheet to practise a defined communication task and the UK medicines source map to organise medicines-information routes.
FAQs
Which medical apps should I install before my first NHS job?
Start with the tasks you need to complete and the systems your employer approves. Build routes to local guidance, contacts, medicines information and learning, then install an app when it improves access to one of those routes.
Can clinical AI tell me my department's current process?
Only the actual local source can establish that process. Use AI to clarify a general concept or prepare a question, then confirm the workplace arrangement through induction and the responsible team.
How often should I update an induction index?
Review it when you change post, a source moves or your employer communicates a change. Recheck entries that failed during use, recording the source and access check rather than copying unverified instructions.
Build your index around your next learning task, then explore iatroX's international-doctor pathways for the exam and study resources relevant to your plans.