Laptop/monitor for medical school

[anothermedstudent98]

Hi! I am an incoming M1 and am debating on getting a MacBook Air or splurging for a Pro. I currently have an iPad and older Macbook Air.

Also, are monitors necessary -- and if so, is there one that is recommended? Thanks!

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[PsychSike]

My favorite set-up in medical school has been a 34" ultrawide paired with my laptop screen. It allows for 3+ windows to be open comfortably and increases productivity on things like research.

I would take a look at monitors in the budget that are 34", 3440x1440, and have a built-in USB hub (most of them). Higher refresh rate is better but not necessary if all you are doing is school work.

Other options would a 32" 4k for productivity, or, if space limited, a 29" ultrawide.

As for the laptop, I think a MacBook air is perfectly fine. There hasn't been anything I recall using it for other than Anki, Zoom, and Word/Powerpoint.

 

[mistafab]

Depends.


If you are someone who will do majority of studying at school or at a library/coffee shop - that would be different than if you are more of an at-home studier.

I was a school studier so found my decked out ipad with keyboard to be clutch. However, I never studied at home so a great monitor would have been worthless.

Also, check what your school actually has on campus. Mine had monitors set up that you could connect laptop and get dual screen anytime. It was clutch, especially during step studying I would camp out there and crank out questions.

So you may want to wait until school actually starts so you know what will be best for you and what they have set up already.

 

[pazzer2]

Second monitor is useful, as is an ultrawide. Nice to have the extra real estate for windows. For what you will be doing, I don't think there is a big difference between the Macbook Air vs Macbook Pro. But the M1/M2 Air doesn't support dual monitor support. If you think down the line you might want to use dual monitors then go with the Macbook Pro (Max and Pro chips, not the standard)

Another option is to use the iPad as a second screen.

 

[PathNeuroIMorFM]

Monitors are necessary for life and for your neck. Worth every dollar. I got a brand new 30" samsung curved monitor online for like $130, I think.

If you're strapped for cash, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and pawn shops are literally overflowing with high quality, large monitors for as little as $60. Maybe less, sometimes free, if you're lucky.

 

[TheGranolaKing]

A bit overkill but I got a 27" 4k monitor and absolutely love it. It ran me around $250 new on sale.

 

[RapidEyeMovementLearning]

After getting a dual 27'' external monitor setup I can't go back. It is so nice to have Anki on one screen, and UW/Amboss library on other screen. I got the 16'' MBP and after a year with it realizing it's just too big and annoying to carry around everywhere to clinic etc. I really wish I got the 13'' with RAM/hdd upgrades instead. I already keep mine docked most of the time, so I don't really care about the bigger screen.

The new MBA looks really good but I think they only support output for one external monitor. There are some insane deals on the refurbished shop for M1 pros which are plenty for a med student.

 

[aldol16]

I think monitors are a nice addition. This is because you watch a lot of videos in med school and it's always better to watch something on a monitor than on a small laptop screen.

 

[VaultArmitage]

I'm a comp bio MD/PhD student who loves tech but take my advice with a grain of salt.

The new 15 inch MacBook Air is awesome. Big screen and has all the power you need to run an extra screen and any program you might need for med school. I think the MacBook Pros are way overkill for 99% of medical schools. If you have unlimited funds then sure why not, but I can't imagine you ever doing something in medical school that warrants the extra computing power. My MacBook Air lasted through my whole computer science degree, supporting two dual degree monitors the entire time.

 

[anothermedstudent98]

I'm a comp bio MD/PhD student who loves tech but take my advice with a grain of salt.

The new 15 inch MacBook Air is awesome. Big screen and has all the power you need to run an extra screen and any program you might need for med school. I think the MacBook Pros are way overkill for 99% of medical schools. If you have unlimited funds then sure why not, but I can't imagine you ever doing something in medical school that warrants the extra computing power. My MacBook Air lasted through my whole computer science degree, supporting two dual degree monitors the entire time.

Thank you! I was leaning toward an air with more ram/memory

 

[anothermedstudent98]

Monitors are necessary for life and for your neck. Worth every dollar. I got a brand new 30" samsung curved monitor online for like $130, I think.

If you're strapped for cash, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and pawn shops are literally overflowing with high quality, large monitors for as little as $60. Maybe less, sometimes free, if you're lucky.

Do you know which one you got by any chance?

 

[PathNeuroIMorFM]

Do you know which one you got by any chance?

It's out of stock but it's essentially this. Just keep in mind you may need an HDMI to USB-C adapter depending on what kind of computer you have and this one does not come with built in speakers. Not a deal breaker for me, but may be for some people.

Amazon product

 

[RangerBob]

Personally a monitor wouldn't have had a place for me as a med student. The last thing I wanted to do was study at a desk. I did all my studying on my couch, kitchen table, or on campus. A 13' Macbook was perfect. Very mobile and quick. I used a graphics tablet to take annotated notes. I can see why a 15' laptop would be nicer, but the tradeoffs of the increased size/cost weren't worth it to me.

Taking the advice above to just see how things go is a great start. We go into med school thinking we'll study a certain way (usually the same way we studied in undergrad/grad school). I started med school thinking I would take handwritten notes on the slide printouts like I did in my post-bac. I had them all printed/bound. But after a few weeks me and the others who did this noticed that many professors changed their slides after uploading them, the slides never got uploaded, or it was just hard to understand the graphics in a small B&W picture. So I started typing notes in the actual ppt file. I don't really learn great that way, so after a few weeks of that I learned about using a graphics tablet to annotate directly on the slides (which is now even easier to do with ipad pro and newer apps).