PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANTS (PDAs), are handheld minicomputers used for tasks such as referencing, documentation, and data storage and retrieval. THESE DEVICES can help perioperative nurses solve problems associated with updating, maintaining, and retrieving surgical preference cards and accessing treatment and medication references. CHOOSING A PDA and accessories, finding basic software, and writing a perioperative nursing program can be painless, even for a novice. NURSING DOCUMENTATION can be accelerated and streamlined with the use of PDAs, which leaves perioperative nurses more time for quality patient care.