Is a PDA (Personal Digitial Assistant) helpful for a path. residency?

i'm in the same position you are. this topic has been discussed on here before, and it seems like the consensus is no. there doesn't appear to be much path-specific software, and the type of stuff path residents are looking up isn't the type of stuff that goes into a PDA (ie, morphologic criteria for a particular diagnosis versus the appropriate dosing regimen for a particular drug). that said, OSU supposedly gives ALL residents one, path included. not sure what i'll do with mine.

 

Since I can access the internet (and the wonders of google, pathologyoutlines, etc) on my phone, a PDA is pretty obsolete for me.

 

Iphone, I presume? A $400 committment that makes me want to cry.... I wonder, has anyone ever tried carrying an ultralight laptop around with them for internet access and word processing on the go?

 

No, I'm still rocking a Treo 650, which I love, but it's getting a little dated. I am eagerly awaiting the new iPhone and Blackberry that are expected this summer. The current iPhone is pretty cool, but it lacks a few features that even POS phones have. For such a supposedly revolutionary product, I find those omissions to be unconscionable. I want to see if the new 3G iPhone addresses some of those issues. I also have concerns about the virtual keyboard (but could probably get used to it). Currently, I can be driving down the street and pull up ESPN.com (or SDN, which has a mobile version!) with one hand without ever taking my eyes off the road. That doesn't seem possible with the iPhone. The new Blackberry (the "Bold") also looks pretty sweet, but they absolutely have to do something about their atrocious web browser. Supposedly, that's going to happen.

 

Actually you can. I've done it. It takes some practice learning where everything is and then to sharpen your mind-hand coordination. Not that different, really. Sure you have actual buttons on other phones, but how do you know which ones you're pushing, hmmm?

As an aside, the EDGE connection that current iPhones use totally blow. They're fine when you're bored and have nothing else to do (ie, airport delays), but getting actual work done or looking up stuff is an excercise in frustration.

-X

P.S. I don't condone internet surfing, txt msging, or talking while driving. Do this at your own risk!

 

skyscape has this available:
http://www.skyscape.com/estore/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductId=2273

http://www.skyscape.com/estore/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductId=707

Also some of the PDF formatted books work on PDA's

With Isilo you can convert html documents to portable ones.
www.isilo.com

But if you have access to the web it really does not make sense.

There are flashcard programs like handycards...

www.handymed.com

In general PDA's are not as useful as they would be to other residents (IM, Surgery etc.)

Lots of people just sell them on amazon or ebay after they get them from the program. Thats a quick 3-400 bucks you can use on other stuff (books, IPODs, food, gas, rent, student loans, etc).

 

I am strongly considering purchasing an Asus Eee for just such a reason. They just came out with an XP version, however I've been experimenting with Ubuntu at home, and actually think now a linux version would be pretty cool.

DBH

 

Certainly in the right price range.

http://item.express.ebay.com/New-ASUS-Eee-PC-EEEPC-4G-XP-4GB-White-Windows-XP-512MB_W0QQitemZ150253975983QQihZ005QQcmdZExpressItem

I wonder if one could sew an extra pocket in the back of the white coat to accomodate it?