iPhones now being required?

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Omni

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http://rwjms.umdnj.edu/news_publications/news_release/student_mobility.html

This fall all entering medical school students at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School were required to have an iPod Touch or iPhone as well as a laptop computer
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This is ridiculous. I will now be required to have one of those? I'm very happy and very used to my HTC that I've been using since sophomore year in college. I won't be able to adjust to the iPhone. And if you read the article, most of the stuff that they want to use iPhones for can be done with any other smartphone.
 
As an Apple shareholder, I think this is a wonderful idea
 
As the owner of a Macbook and an iPhone this doesn't particularly effect me but I don't think that they should be able to dictate what kind of phone you get...although they are great :3
 
iphones rule! As such should be required by everyone to have one. I believe the obama health-plan has a clause requiring their purchase along with healthcare coverage, of course if you don't purchase one you will incur serious fines and or jail-time.
 
Ohio state gives incoming students (and doctors) I-Pod touches which is pretty nice (ignoring the fact that they probably pay for it in fees) but they say it is so that everyone can access the internet and not have to go researching books when they have simple questions.
 
Omni said:
http://rwjms.umdnj.edu/news_publications/news_release/student_mobility.html



This is ridiculous. I will now be required to have one of those? I'm very happy and very used to my HTC that I've been using since sophomore year in college. I won't be able to adjust to the iPhone. And if you read the article, most of the stuff that they want to use iPhones for can be done with any other smartphone.
Click to expand...

Flexibility is a highly valued characteristic. If you can't adjust to a new electronic device, perhaps I should worry that you won't be a very good med student.:meanie:
 
LizzyM said:
Flexibility is a highly valued characteristic. If you can't adjust to a new electronic device, perhaps I should worry that you won't be a very good med student.:meanie:
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lol. Hahahaha
The reason why I won't be able to adjust to the iphone is because it makes things overly simplified. This is the phone I'll be getting: http://www.htc.com/europe/product/hd2/overview.html
Going from the iPhone to the HD2 is almost the same thing as going from a super nintendo controller to a commercial boeing 747 cockpit. So who do you think is more flexible 😛? Besides, HTC provides a better web-surfing experience than Apple.
 
I hope their students aren't paying sticker price. If they have 120 (idk how big their class is) students buying $300 phones, there better be some nice discounts. Also, with an iphone, can't you only use AT&T? What about all those with contracts with other companies? Verizon, please let me out of my contract so I can get an iPhone and join AT&T like my school has mandated. :laugh:
 
I just love the fact that LizzyM used the "meanie" face, hahaha nicely done!
 
I can see how iPhones might be useful for 3rd and 4th years. But first and second years?
 
shiftingmirage said:
I hope their students aren't paying sticker price. If they have 120 (idk how big their class is) students buying $300 phones, there better be some nice discounts. Also, with an iphone, can't you only use AT&T? What about all those with contracts with other companies? Verizon, please let me out of my contract so I can get an iPhone and join AT&T like my school has mandated. :laugh:
Click to expand...

Those people would get the touch instead of the iPhone
 
BlueElmo said:
I can see how iPhones might be useful for 3rd and 4th years. But first and second years?
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maybe for joining chat rooms with your classmates during exams? iPhone probably simplifies that. Or for playing that paper flicking game during lectures?
 
Omni said:
lol. Hahahaha
The reason why I won't be able to adjust to the iphone is because it makes things overly simplified. This is the phone I'll be getting: http://www.htc.com/europe/product/hd2/overview.html
Going from the iPhone to the HD2 is almost the same thing as going from a super nintendo controller to a commercial boeing 747 cockpit. So who do you think is more flexible 😛? Besides, HTC provides a better web-surfing experience than Apple.
Click to expand...

😕
 
Omni said:
maybe for joining chat rooms with your classmates during exams? iPhone probably simplifies that. Or for playing that paper flicking game during lectures?
Click to expand...

Touche.
 
Omni said:
maybe for joining chat rooms with your classmates during exams? iPhone probably simplifies that. Or for playing that paper flicking game during lectures?
Click to expand...

Hey, that game requires a lot of concentration. 😀
 
LizzyM said:
Flexibility is a highly valued characteristic. If you can't adjust to a new electronic device, perhaps I should worry that you won't be a very good med student.:meanie:
Click to expand...

Sorry, but I think i have to respectfully disagree with you there LizzyM, because doesn't it show inflexibility on the schools part that they are requiring it? Now don't get me wrong, if the school is giving it to the students, I feel then that such a requirement is perfectly acceptable, and since there are so many iPhone apps geared towards medicine, it is a good thing to reccomend. However, when did medical school become a place where I would expected to be subject to coporate advertisements? I could be wrong, in fact I probally am. But isn't it expected that pre-meds are already on the bleeding edge of technology, and such a requirement is unnecessarily a burden?
 
Got my IPhone last week. I am in love. Makes sense to me.
 
Omni said:
lol. Hahahaha
The reason why I won't be able to adjust to the iphone is because it makes things overly simplified. This is the phone I'll be getting: http://www.htc.com/europe/product/hd2/overview.html
Going from the iPhone to the HD2 is almost the same thing as going from a super nintendo controller to a commercial boeing 747 cockpit. So who do you think is more flexible 😛? Besides, HTC provides a better web-surfing experience than Apple.
Click to expand...

no, its absolutely nothing like that..the iphone is intuitive..I'm no apple fanboy, I refuse to buy an apple product (htc user myself) but to say you can't adjust is bull

it has wm 6.5, with their honeycomb feature and the rhodium, theyre trying to simplify things themselves

requiring an itouch or iphone is meh..I wouldn't like it, but I'd get over it..its just $200 (itouch) in the grand scheme of things

yoman786 said:
Sorry, but I think i have to respectfully disagree with you there LizzyM, because doesn't it show inflexibility on the schools part that they are requiring it? Now don't get me wrong, if the school is giving it to the students, I feel then that such a requirement is perfectly acceptable, and since there are so many iPhone apps geared towards medicine, it is a good thing to reccomend. However, when did medical school become a place where I would expected to be subject to coporate advertisements? I could be wrong, in fact I probally am. But isn't it expected that pre-meds are already on the bleeding edge of technology, and such a requirement is unnecessarily a burden?
Click to expand...

they can either give it to students and charge extra fees, or not charge an extra fee and make the student get it
burden? yea, that extra $200 is really going to make a difference in the 6 figure loan most of us will have to take out

redsquareblack said:
Palm Pre, baby.
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🙂
 
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Just sell your laptop or something and buy a macbook in august before school starts. It comes with a free ipod touch after rebate.
 
vman51 said:
no, its absolutely nothing like that..the iphone is intuitive..I'm no apple fanboy, I refuse to buy an apple product (htc user myself) but to say you can't adjust is bull
Click to expand...

I don't think I explained myself correctly. Its not that I can't adjust, its just that I refuse to adjust. I like the amount of freedom winmo gives me on a highly capable HTC phone. Changing roms, playing with the registry, etc. etc.
Apple, which I do respect, takes the saying "you don't need to know how a toaster works in order to use it" a little bit too literally. Almost all of their products' inner workings are shielded from the user. WinMo, on the other hand, gives flexibility.

vman51 said:
it has wm 6.5, with their honeycomb feature and the rhodium, theyre trying to simplify things themselves
Click to expand...
Not exactly getting simpler. With 6.5 and beyond, WinMo is just becoming more finger friendly, eliminating the need for a stylus. Almost everything else is the same. The UI is whats seeing most of the change.

vman51 said:
(htc user myself)
Click to expand...

👍👍 HTC Leo, baby! Can't wait to upgrade my touch pro!
 
Is the school going to pay for your 100 some odd dollar cell phone service a month? Doubtful. Better get ready for an extra $1200.00 a year for a cell phone . . . ridiculous. I prefer my family plan where I pay only 25 bucks a month. I want my phone to do 2 things; answer calls and send texts. That's it. I don't need to be connected to the internet 24 hours a day.
 
I wonder how many students will be carrying both a smartphone (or regular phone) and an iPod touch.

They should not create mobile solutions that are dependent on a specific operating system. Instead, they should use a web-based platform that will be accessible across all mobile smartphone web browsers.
 
Omni said:
I don't think I explained myself correctly. Its not that I can't adjust, its just that I refuse to adjust. I like the amount of freedom winmo gives me on a highly capable HTC phone. Changing roms, playing with the registry, etc. etc.
Apple, which I do respect, takes the saying "you don't need to know how a toaster works in order to use it" a little bit too literally. Almost all of their products' inner workings are shielded from the user. WinMo, on the other hand, gives flexibility.
Click to expand...
Well then, we're on the same page, lol. I have the touch pro, been using wm for a few years now, and I don't support apple for that exact reason. I think they make great products, just not for me.

Omni said:
Not exactly getting simpler. With 6.5 and beyond, WinMo is just becoming more finger friendly, eliminating the need for a stylus. Almost everything else is the same. The UI is whats seeing most of the change.
Click to expand...
Yea, theyre trying to simplify their UI. Hopefully with 7 they really get things right. They do want to make it more finger friendly, and more intuitive as well. Blame (or thank) the iphone for that one

Omni said:
👍👍 HTC Leo, baby! Can't wait to upgrade my touch pro!
Click to expand...

no keyboard 👎 lol


Birdsbeak said:
Is the school going to pay for your 100 some odd dollar cell phone service a month? Doubtful. Better get ready for an extra $1200.00 a year for a cell phone . . . ridiculous. I prefer my family plan where I pay only 25 bucks a month. I want my phone to do 2 things; answer calls and send texts. That's it. I don't need to be connected to the internet 24 hours a day.
Click to expand...
reading is key
 
It's a great phone. i think the apps are especially where the schools see potential
 
That's great, let's use a "smartphone" (more like play toy) that has barely any security protection to be transmitting possibly classified information, if patient information is to be on there. Sounds like someone signed an agreement with Apple to make a buck. AT&T must be enjoying the deal too. UMDNJ can have fun with their iPhone unproductivity apps and rocking out to some music, I'll be not applying there and enjoying my blackberry thank you very much.
 
We get our laptop AND pda from the school here. It isn't an iPhone, but much more painful for me really. After years and years of dealing with windows machines for school, business and outside I was tired of it and got my macbook. Now that I'm required to use this lenovo my stress level has gone up exponentially. Heck, I've been on a loaner for 4 months since it broke a few months in and Lenovo is just that slow.

Everyone has their preferences. I think people should be given a list of suggested machines that run the required software and let people choose for themselves. If they are worried about that machine breaking and the student be out of luck then they can buy 10 or so of whatever they want and allow the student to check it out for a limited time while repairs are done on the other.
 
vman51 said:
reading is key
Click to expand...

No where does it say that the school will do this free of charge. That cost goes straight to the student. When they say provide they mean they will bill you for the cost. Nothing is free.

You need to learn to read between the lines.
 
That's pretty damn ridiculous. Something like that would actually stop me from applying there.
 
I didn't read your article (I'm in a rush, class in 10 mins), but i interviewed at rwj last year and they said they were going to make either the ipod touch or iphone mandatory. So, basically, you can think about it like an additional 200-300$ to your 6 figure loans. I'm not sure on this, but this is what I was told last year. If they are forcing you to buy an iphone (which means you must get a plan) that's ridiculous, but an ipod touch i can definitely understand. Also, as a person with the ipod touch in med school... to me, Netters + medabbreviations + Eponyms + SpeedMuscle + ePocrates = 👍👍👍👍
 
redsquareblack said:
Palm Pre, baby.
Click to expand...

I'm with you, here. I have a Palm Centro, but six months ago, I got an iPhone. If I could afford it, I think I would have both. The AT&T coverage is lame, but I am loving the iPhone. I would love to try the Pre, but can't afford both.

For the record, I have had Palms since the Earth was still cooling. (And I do love my Centro.)
 
I like my current LG phone. I hope I don't have to buy iPhone just for med school.
 
netminder said:
I'm with you, here. I have a Palm Centro, but six months ago, I got an iPhone. If I could afford it, I think I would have both. The AT&T coverage is lame, but I am loving the iPhone. I would love to try the Pre, but can't afford both.

For the record, I have had Palms since the Earth was still cooling. (And I do love my Centro.)
Click to expand...

WebOS is the shiz.....
 
chessknt87 said:
Someone correct me if im wrong, but dont iphones have certain medicine-related apps that are unavailable to other phones?
Click to expand...

I feel like the apps always come out for the iphone first and slowly are made for other devices.

Also I believe PDA devices were the standard ones used a few years back before BB/iphone/smartphones starting becoming popular.
 
as an owner of iPod Touch and iPhone, this dont affect me..

to the guy using HTC phone... upgrade, my friend... lol
 
Birdsbeak said:
No where does it say that the school will do this free of charge. That cost goes straight to the student. When they say provide they mean they will bill you for the cost. Nothing is free.

You need to learn to read between the lines.
Click to expand...

I still stand by my original statement that reading is key

This fall all entering medical school students at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School were required to have an iPod Touch or iPhone as well as a laptop computer.
Click to expand...

ipod touch - no monthly plan
 
People are still missing the fact though that an iPhone or iPod touch isn't secure so the "patient interactions" that UMDNJ wants to put on there is a liability. Two major hospitals I've worked at so far don't allow their employees to sync an iPhone with their system because it presents a security risk. Making students pay more, and potentially take out more loans, is an unnecessary burden on incoming students but the greater evil is using a system which anyone with malicious intent has an easy window to view patient information or your own information that you may put on there.
 
netminder said:
Is this the Palm Pre platform?
Click to expand...

Yes, and let me tell you, as soon as the Palm app store starts carrying more apps (and it's getting better every day), iPhone will have some incredibly stiff competition. WebOS is faaaaaar superior to iPhone's OS, hands down, and I happen to like the iPhone.
 
My medical school required that we get Palms for our rotations... I don't see how being required to get an iPod Touch is any different. In fact, they're probably much nicer and considerably more functional than my old Palm, which doesn't even really work anymore, and it's only 2 years old. In fact, I have an iPod Touch now (got it for free with a new computer) and I like it a lot more than my Palm. We've never used them for patient information, we used them for the applications (epocrates, medcalc, antibiotics guides, etc). I can imagine UMDNJ has similar things in mind.

The nice thing about having a Palm or iPod on your rotations is that you can check your email and look like you're looking something up. This is particularly handy when rounds get exceedingly long and boring.
 
Longshanks said:
People are still missing the fact though that an iPhone or iPod touch isn't secure so the "patient interactions" that UMDNJ wants to put on there is a liability. Two major hospitals I've worked at so far don't allow their employees to sync an iPhone with their system because it presents a security risk. Making students pay more, and potentially take out more loans, is an unnecessary burden on incoming students but the greater evil is using a system which anyone with malicious intent has an easy window to view patient information or your own information that you may put on there.
Click to expand...

Erm...

Medical school.

I don't think anyone is expecting a student to broadcast patient notes, especially considering that the "patient interaction" at most medical schools with REAL patients is pretty limited. I'm not reading anywhere that patient information would even be WRITTEN on the device. Let's be honest; iPods of any variety are not known nor commonly used for their word-processing capabilities...

This would be more for getting notes, downloading possible lecture podcasts, using the internet on the fly, downloading certain apps that may be necessary or useful for class, etc.

And the iPod touch does NOT require a plan. The price for one is hardly visible within the range of medical school expenses. I would imagine that most students, were they accepted into medical school, could easily acquire an iPod touch as a celebration gift.

It's no big deal. Much better than lugging a laptop around, when most laptops don't have a whole lot more useful features than the iPod touch.
 
From what I've heard, they'll be using them to have copies of their books uploaded to it.
 
the iphone is dominant- a couple thousand bucks w/ the plan over 4 years in comparison with the hundreds of thousands for med school is not a big deal... but they still shouldn't require students to buy a certain phone through a certain company😉
 
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