iPad for Med School

[frosty42]

I know posts like this have been made before but I wanted to see if anyone had any opinions.

I’m an incoming M1 and I’m debating between the 11” and 12.9” iPad Pro.
I’ve never had a tablet before, but I definitely want to go paperless for med school and I will probably have a more practice question & ANKI based study method than I did in undergrad.

I pictured using the iPad to make ANKI cards, draw out mechanisms, review anatomy, etc. I thought having the 12.9 screen would be nice for those functions bc it’s essentially the size of a piece of paper but it seems so huge in person.

I do have a 14” Macbook Pro so it just seems like a lot to have a 12.9” iPad on top of that.

The 11” is obviously more portable and would be more useful in any situation where I’m not sitting at a desk. But I do think I’d mostly be using it at a desk while studying.

Any thoughts? Or anyone who has used one or the other in med school?

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[whataweirdo]

I bought the iPad Pro 11” recently and have been playing around with it before medical school starts in July. Seems like the perfect size, 12.9” would be HUGE especially considering I also own a 13” Macbook Pro.

I have also heard that people actually prefer smaller iPads for rotations so that they can fit them in their white coat pocket. An MS2 at my school has an iPad MINI and they have loved how portable it is.

 

[whataweirdo]

But again, I haven’t actually started med school yet so take my advice with a grain of salt lol

 

[deleted1065184]

If you like to take handwritten notes and need to draw out pathways to learn them, then would definitely recommend getting one. But you can use anki just as easily on your phone or laptop, so I don't think that should be a factor. I got a tablet and started out using it for taking notes and drawing out pathways, but realized that those strategies weren't effective for me for med school. So now I have an expensive tablet that I rarely use haha

 

[chilly_md]

Thread moved to Medical Students forum.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

I use an iPad for movies and TV on occasion and it’s too heavy to browse or study for long periods so I would keep that in mind. A stand can help

 

[WeChoseThis]

I’m an MS3 using an iPad 11” since MS1. The 12.9” is just too big to maneuver, especially in cadaver lab where we all placed the iPad in a ziploc bag to keep it from getting dirty. I’ve used it everyday in rotations and it’s a solid size, big enough to be productive on the go, not too big to where it looks unprofessional in clinic. I do have a 13” MBP where I do most of my Anki though.

 

[zorcandpals]

I personally have an ipad mini and a 12.9 ipad pro. I find for note taking you want something as big as possible and the 12.9 is roughly the size of a legal pad and the mini is more for studying on the train or in clinic where I'm consuming instead of making 'content'. I strongly reccomend getting them used as it will be alot cheaper and you probably aren't pushing your ipad to the max for med student things

 

[seanm028]

I just watched a video on this exact question:

 

[ilovevegetablez]

can anyone speak to a 2 in 1 laptop/tablet versus a traditional iPad? my program provides a laptop/tablet but I have always been more familiar with apple and was planning on getting an iPad, but I'm unsure if its worth the money. is anyone partial to one over the other?

 

[deleted1079620]

can anyone speak to a 2 in 1 laptop/tablet versus a traditional iPad? my program provides a laptop/tablet but I have always been more familiar with apple and was planning on getting an iPad, but I'm unsure if its worth the money. is anyone partial to one over the other?

I have both, I use one as a second screen to watch lectures and take notes on the other. Which one you use for which purpose is personal preference.