Ipad/Tablet usefulness

[officedepot]

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[cpants]

Hey everyone,

so I'm starting rotations next year and I was wondering how useful a tablet pc or ipad is on rotations. I can imagine it can be put to some use but I have some questions:

1. Is there anything it can do significantly better than a smart phone?

2. How do/can you keep it secure in a hospital environment? e.g. what if you have to go to a procedure and you can't take your pc with you but you don't want it stolen.

3. Would any of you recommend it and do you think it is worth a purchase?


I would really appreciate some advice on this issue.

Thanks!

There is really no use for a tablet/ipad. You will literally be the only person in the hospital using one. A phone will be fine for a quick lookup, and for anything more detailed you just sit down at a computer station. Also, you rightly point out there is no place to secure it during the frequent situations where you will be unable to bring it with you. Buy a decent smartphone and save the rest of your money.

 

[herewego]

I am in a very similar situation and have been debating buying a tablet pc for a while now. I asked a friend who was finishing up his 4rth year and he said he WOULDN'T buy one for 2 reasons.

1) Sanitation issues- Makes sense to me, if I pay for a tablet pc it's also going to be my personal computer, and I don't particular want to keep cleaning it and cleaning it and cleaning it.

2) Speed/Pace- He said that things happen very quickly, and sometimes you can't afford for a computer to lag or freeze

Again this is just my friends opinion so I'm still open to more options. I was originally going to purchase a tablet pc with a carrying case or handstrap so I wouldn't drop it while writing things, which really limited my choices. But now I'm considering picking up a tablet pc just for note taking purposes.

Anyone else want to chime in?

 

[officedepot]

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[cpants]

I've heard that at some places they give ER residents (for example) an ipad to use. I'm not sure what they use it for but I have heard this.

I've also seen docs carrying around an ipad.

I think the main thing I'm worried about is security or availability to bring with you into certain situations. For example, how often on your internal med rotation will you be running off to go do something and maybe you won't want to wear your white coat (the place the ipad/pc would be kept)?


Yeah I know stuff happens fast and that's what I was worried about. Thanks for the advice guys.

Please if anyone else has anything to say I would greatly appreciate it!!

The ipad is a toy. There really isn't any clinical use for it right now, unless you work in a place which is already set up to work with the ipad hooked into the EMR. And I've never heard of a place like that. Any functional apps are already available on smartphones. Go ahead and buy one, but realize you are buying a toy, not something which will be of real use to you on the wards. Anyone who sees you using it on the wards, including attendings, residents, and other students will assume you are playing with a toy, not doing work.

Security-wise, it probably won't be much of a problem on medicine, but anything which will require you to go into an OR will be an issue.

 

[islandCrazy]

office depot is right. There was an article a while back about several hospitals using iPads. I believe that they gave them to the attendings and residents.

 

[ussdfiant]

The ipad is a toy. There really isn't any clinical use for it right now, unless you work in a place which is already set up to work with the ipad hooked into the EMR. And I've never heard of a place like that. Any functional apps are already available on smartphones. Go ahead and buy one, but realize you are buying a toy, not something which will be of real use to you on the wards. Anyone who sees you using it on the wards, including attendings, residents, and other students will assume you are playing with a toy, not doing work.

Security-wise, it probably won't be much of a problem on medicine, but anything which will require you to go into an OR will be an issue.

I am a Medicine attending and use my iPad on the floors all the time. It can log on to the network and I can access EMR through it and print as needed. One of my partners actually is an informatics guy in our hospital (and iPad user as well) and has made sure that that we have complete access.

 

[cpants]

I am a Medicine attending and use my iPad on the floors all the time. It can log on to the network and I can access EMR through it and print as needed. One of my partners actually is an informatics guy in our hospital (and iPad user as well) and has made sure that that we have complete access.

That's great. The OP doesn't seem to be in that situation, since he is wondering what an ipad would even be used for on the floor. Without a setup like yours, an ipad is a toy, plain and simple.

 

[ACSurgeon]

That's great. The OP doesn't seem to be in that situation, since he is wondering what an ipad would even be used for on the floor. Without a setup like yours, an ipad is a toy, plain and simple.

And many schools don't give students access to the EMR on their personal computers.

OP: your hands and white coat pockets will be too full to have to worry about where to out your Ipad. I second the opinion that it will have little application for a med student on the wards. Plus, you want to spend the majority of your time focused with the team, not glued to your computer screen on rounds.

 

[MCAT guy]

Has anyone used the iPad in general as a learning tool for M1/M2?

 

[islandCrazy]

Its been popping up in my classroom but I don't think its useful for class. Everyone who has one is just scrolling through the slides as oppose to typing notes. While that may work for them I think it would have been cheaper if they just print slides and bring them to class.

 

[bomgd3]

iPads for studying is a solution looking for a problem.

 

[itellitlikeitis]

Has anyone used the iPad in general as a learning tool for M1/M2?

Stanford gave their entire current first year class an iPad

 

[ArcGurren]

One of my friends uses his iPad on the floors to access the EMR and to do his writeups while waiting between rounds/reports. It's a fairly useful tool in the hospital.