Using iPad for Medical School

With the new iPad announced, I am now considering getting one for the medical school starting next year. But before I do so, I just wanted to get your opinions, like:

Do you / other students at your school us iPad in class or outside class for learning?

Are textbooks offered in eBook or smartbook formats?

Since I will be attending WesternU next year, I would love to get an answer from current WesternU student. But all responses will be very much appreciated.

Originally Posted by HybridTheory

With the new iPad announced, I am now considering getting one for the medical school starting next year. But before I do so, I just wanted to get your opinions, like:

Do you / other students at your school us iPad in class or outside class for learning?

Are textbooks offered in eBook or smartbook formats?

Since I will be attending WesternU next year, I would love to get an answer from current WesternU student. But all responses will be very much appreciated.

I have pdf copies of textbooks that I use on my iPad. Most of the books are for rotations though. I'm sure there will be more e-book versions of textbooks available in the near future. You would have to search though. Find out the book list for your school and google for e-books.

I have a lot of friends (myself included) who use tablets on rotations. You only need one product, it's relatively small, can even fit in your white coat pocket and you never had to worry about ripping pages or spilling stuff on them. The only downside is you have to make sure you don't just leave it lying around because it will probably get stolen.

I've used pdfs of books for most of med school and its worked really well...mostly cause I never have to use them. Whenever I've actually wanted to read a book, I got pretty frustrated with pdfs and even ebooks. Its difficult to annotate these, which I do extensively. I always ended up buying a hard cover.

In terms of class notes, if your school uses power point slides, it might be worthwhile to get a tablet. I'm a little biased though, I don't see a point to tablets(even though I have one) beyond websurfing or checking email in front of the TV. Not even email as I can do that on my phone. I don't see it significantly affecting your studying efficiency.

That said it's a pretty fun purchase, so go wild

near the bottom there is a technology forum that includes a thread about this EXACT thing, and I am pretty sure it has almost an EXACT title. Would have been great to search.

Edit: Here. Did it for you: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=890438

Dont get it. Totally a waste of money. You will get PDF printouts for all lectures, and you will need to write on those lectures. My school has streaming videos of all lectures. But you want flexibility (speed it up 1.5x, etc), which is much easier to do on a laptop. Also many schools are going towards doing shelf exams on laptops instead of scantrons. Ipad's may not be supported.

Specifically for westernu there are some students in our class that mainly just use iPads. Pretty much everything runs on them and they are easier to study with. However every once in a while there is something that won't run on an iPad and they just use their computers. most of those that do study with their iPads don't even bring a computer to school so it does mostly replace one

One advantage is that everything is right there and you can easily study anywhere and it's less to carry but our school is considering switching to electronic exams and for that you would need a computer that meets the requirements.

Thank you all for your comments.

You guys are right, I would never get an iPad to replace a laptop.

And I do not think I would use it to take notes either. I like handwriting my notes.

I just thought it would be nice to have it as an e-reader so I do not have to carry the text books around.

Seems like it is a better tool for rotation years, so I might just wait until iPad 4,5 or so haha

Originally Posted by HybridTheory

Thank you all for your comments.

You guys are right, I would never get an iPad to replace a laptop.

And I do not think I would use it to take notes either. I like handwriting my notes.

I just thought it would be nice to have it as an e-reader so I do not have to carry the text books around.

Seems like it is a better tool for rotation years, so I might just wait until iPad 4,5 or so haha

For something more along the lines of an e-reader, with possible WiFi internet access to look some things up, I would look at some Android based tablets. They are more affordable and you can download different e-reader apps (ie. Kindle, Nook, Aldiko, Google Books), I have noticed some books are available in one but not the other.

Some, if not all, of those same e-reader apps can also be downloaded on a computer if that is a preference.

also.... while this sentiment is changing slowly with each iPad generation... people who use them in the classroom or the wards look like toolbags. A very important thing to remember if not being mocked, and public opinion, matters a bit to you. It may not.

the exception to this are attendings, but its likely because they are not using it for medicine at all. thats just their toy they play with between cases/patients.

ipads are awesome.

Originally Posted by oreosandsake

ipads are awesome.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by oreosandsake

ipads are awesome.

my thoughts on the ipad. (assume the ipad is mr burns and the commenter above me is the moleman)



yes, i know in reality im the odd one for disliking apple products. but i cant link to the simpsons if i am loyal to reality.

Originally Posted by HybridTheory

Thank you all for your comments.

You guys are right, I would never get an iPad to replace a laptop.

And I do not think I would use it to take notes either. I like handwriting my notes.

I just thought it would be nice to have it as an e-reader so I do not have to carry the text books around.

Seems like it is a better tool for rotation years, so I might just wait until iPad 4,5 or so haha

Handwriting notes is the main reason I DO use my ipad 10x more than my laptop. There are a ton of apps that let you hand write your notes directly onto a ppt/pdf presentation or any other handout they give or (what I do) simply insert ruled pages in between each slide. This lets me draw/write to my hearts content in hundreds of different colors, fonts etc but also I can paste in figures and charts where I want.

In the end for each lecture I end up with 1-5 pages of handwritten drawings and notes plus charts and figure directly from the presentation. I usually still print these out so I can have copies in my car, kitchen etc that I can spill coffee on or leave places and not care. But then I also end up with a searchable archive of ALL my notes.

The only downside is I still haven't found a stylus I like that doesn't wear out after about a month...

Originally Posted by dexs

Handwriting notes is the main reason I DO use my ipad 10x more than my laptop. There are a ton of apps that let you hand write your notes directly onto a ppt/pdf presentation or any other handout they give or (what I do) simply insert ruled pages in between each slide. This lets me draw/write to my hearts content in hundreds of different colors, fonts etc but also I can paste in figures and charts where I want.

In the end for each lecture I end up with 1-5 pages of handwritten drawings and notes plus charts and figure directly from the presentation. I usually still print these out so I can have copies in my car, kitchen etc that I can spill coffee on or leave places and not care. But then I also end up with a searchable archive of ALL my notes.

The only downside is I still haven't found a stylus I like that doesn't wear out after about a month...

How does the stylus wear out?

Originally Posted by MuAgonist

How does the stylus wear out?

The ones with rubber tips wear out during heavy use. They often develop a crack or tear where the tip meets the stylus. I've found many protective screens speed up this process and cause the rubber tips to degrade faster.

This is only a problem for heavy use, many of my classmates that don't use it to take notes have had their stylus all year, but I replace the tip nearly every month. I must have a heavy hand.

The solution is to get the Elago one with replaceable tips or the Shapedad one that has no rubber tip.

Originally Posted by dexs

Handwriting notes is the main reason I DO use my ipad 10x more than my laptop. There are a ton of apps that let you hand write your notes directly onto a ppt/pdf presentation or any other handout they give or (what I do) simply insert ruled pages in between each slide. This lets me draw/write to my hearts content in hundreds of different colors, fonts etc but also I can paste in figures and charts where I want.

In the end for each lecture I end up with 1-5 pages of handwritten drawings and notes plus charts and figure directly from the presentation. I usually still print these out so I can have copies in my car, kitchen etc that I can spill coffee on or leave places and not care. But then I also end up with a searchable archive of ALL my notes.

The only downside is I still haven't found a stylus I like that doesn't wear out after about a month...

What app would you recommend?

A windows 8 tablet running on Intel chip could replace a laptop. However, it won't be available until later this year. I'm not a big fan of apple due to annoying compatibility issues.

Originally Posted by doublefrick

What app would you recommend?

I am currently doing a trial run of going paperless (taking some post-bac courses) before beginning my med school journey in fall.... and so far it is working well.

I use Goodreader for textbooks and large PDFs. I use Notability for lecture slide annotation and it is working out pretty well so far. I must say having all of my notes, learning apps, scheduler, and most everything else electronic based in one device is really convenient. As far as school goes, I really only use my main computer for heavy storage and dropbox management.

I must say using an Ipad (or other Tablet) works really well if you do not have to write extensively since there is definitely a speed limit to hand writing. You can utilize a wireless keyboard for typing to speed things up. There are some anatomy apps, and a plethora of reference apps that I will no doubt utilize in the future.

KYCOM also gives all their students an Ipad!

Originally Posted by FuturePharm21

KYCOM also gives all their students an Ipad!

Correction. KYCOM forces students to buy an iPad. Unless the students don't actually have to pay for it and in that case...sign me up.

It's more of a toy than something functional. I guess it could be useful year 3/4.

Originally Posted by thecgrblue

Correction. KYCOM forces students to buy an iPad. Unless the students don't actually have to pay for it and in that case...sign me up.

nope. given to us.

Originally Posted by doublefrick

What app would you recommend?

I use Noteshelf for taking straight notes, making drawings.

If I want to take quick, simple notes on pdf or powerpoint I use GoodNotes.

Both let you write in a zoomed in text box which I find key to taking good legible notes. Noteshelf is more "artistic" while GoodNotes is better for having folders full of large pdfs or powerpoints.

Originally Posted by tenndoc

nope. given to us.

"given to us" means built into the budget....it ain't free

Originally Posted by Mbeas

"given to us" means built into the budget....it ain't free

Nope the money comes from a grant. Not our tuition.