Laptop or not for incoming student?

[TideDoc]

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Any advice on this issue? How often do students use them for notes during lectures and how often are they useful outside of class?

TIA for any thoughts. I'd much rather type than write if both are available.

 

[flsweetlady]

There are several pros and cons

PROS:
1. Labtops are wonderful but especially since many teachers rely on powerpoints for their lectures...so you can download them the night before and preview the lecture for the next day..
2, you can also use them to take notes...
3. If you are in class all day then it gives you the oportunity to pay your bills on line during your breaks
4. its easy to share notes when you and your classmates all have labtops and are online

CONS
.1. They can also be a big distraction during class if you are not disciplined....our class got laptops and immediately half the class downloaded kazaa and the other half checked their email....
2. when lectures get pointless or boring a lot people were IMing other people in the class...which can also be distracting...so you have to be disciplined....

 

[jbish]

I never use mine during lectures and out of the 189 students in my class I've only seen two people ever use a laptop for class purposes and this was only sporadically. What I do use it for, however, is as the other poster said--I download the powerpoints and take it with me to the library so that I don't have to stand in line for a library computer and can sit comfortably at my cubicle reading the notes. Also, if it has wireless capabilities, you can skip the downloading and just log in and read off the notes. This saves a lot of paper and ink cartridges (esp. for histology!). It's not a necessity but a nice added bonus of having my home computer be a laptop rather than a desktop. I've also taken it with me to coffee shops and I've seen some people bring them into exam holding rooms to continue reviewing anatomy x-rays and MRI's...although this probably shouldn't be happening.

 

[ItsNotATumor]

IF you already have an adequate computer (desktop or laptop) for e-mail, writing papers, surfing the web... I'd hold off on buying a new laptop. You really don't use your own computer for a whole lot during the first two years of medical school, and it could be argued that by the time you hit the wards, you'll need a PDA that will probably be packing as much power as a low-end pc.

 

[mikedc813]

IF you already have an adequate computer (desktop or laptop) for e-mail, writing papers, surfing the web... I'd hold off on buying a new laptop. You really don't use your own computer for a whole lot during the first two years of medical school, and it could be argued that by the time you hit the wards, you'll need a PDA that will probably be packing as much power as a low-end pc.

In regards to the PDA, I'm wondering why you'll need such a powerful PDA. In other words, what are the PDAs used for in rotations? I've heard of using them to look up medical reference info and tracking patients. What else?

 

[IlianaSedai]

Here are my thoughts.

1. You don't need a PDA. At all. Please note that if you have one, it will cost you 2-3x as much to get your drug and clinical references in software form than it would to get books and carry them in your coat pockets.

2. You don't absolutely need a computer if money is tight, but it is handy. My med school is extremely email dependent, which means that if you don't have a computer and Internet at home, you have to take yourself to the school's computer lab to check your email and do your online stuff. That is a pain. After a month of not having one, I bought a laptop a month into first year and got internet at home. But your computer does not need to be a laptop. I very rarely took it in to campus -- mostly it just sits in my apartment all the time.

 

[8744]

Here are my thoughts.

1. You don't need a PDA. At all. Please note that if you have one, it will cost you 2-3x as much to get your drug and clinical references in software form than it would to get books and carry them in your coat pockets.

2. You don't absolutely need a computer if money is tight, but it is handy. My med school is extremely email dependent, which means that if you don't have a computer and Internet at home, you have to take yourself to the school's computer lab to check your email and do your online stuff. That is a pain. After a month of not having one, I bought a laptop a month into first year and got internet at home. But your computer does not need to be a laptop. I very rarely took it in to campus -- mostly it just sits in my apartment all the time.

I agree in principal but PDAs can be extremely useful. Programs like Epocrates and 5-minute Clinical Consult are particularly useful. You can carry around little pocket reference books but you can carry the equivalent of a library on your PDA.

 

[IlianaSedai]

I agree in principal but PDAs can be extremely useful. Programs like Epocrates and 5-minute Clinical Consult are particularly useful. You can carry around little pocket reference books but you can carry the equivalent of a library on your PDA.

I have one, actually. My bf gave me one for Christmas -- and since I'm buying those this week, I'm just now feeling the bite of the extra money it costs to get these proggies in comparison to getting the books. But nobody should feel obligated to buy one just for this purpose. It's extra money you don't need to spend.

 

[Sweet Tea]

My school requires all students to have a laptop, and we get PDAs our third year. Wether or not you need a laptop is really dependent on the school; you have to have one at my school, but at my bf's school you really don't need one. All our notes are online, and in several classes I found it was beneficial to download the powerpoint presentation and take notes directly on that. Also, some of my insturctors set up online quizzes that we did during class. Anatomy had several useful online programs, especially for embryology (god bless Symbryo) and radiology.

And IM and Snood were especially helpful for staying awake during the 3-hour histology lectures in the afternoon. 😉

 

[mikedc813]

My med school requires that 3rd years get PDAs. I was told by a 2nd year at USF that they required that students previously get Clie's (I was told they're not made anymore). So I guess it's different everywhere. This is just me thinking to myself, but why would they care if everyone had the same pda? Makes no sense to me....

 

[8744]

I have one, actually. My bf gave me one for Christmas -- and since I'm buying those this week, I'm just now feeling the bite of the extra money it costs to get these proggies in comparison to getting the books. But nobody should feel obligated to buy one just for this purpose. It's extra money you don't need to spend.

I agree. I'll be carrying around my "Mont Reid Surgical Handbook" on my Trauma Surgery rotation (which started today) and it has everything in it you could possibly need to know as a fourth year medical student. It weighs a little more then a PDA but it is jam-packed.