Med School Necessities?

[PathToMDPhD]

I am an applicant this season (and accepted! Woo-hoo!).

I know the start of medical school is months away for me. But I am, and always will be, a planner. (And maybe a little OCD, like most of us. 😉 )

So, a question for current or former medical students:

What is ONE thing you really wished you had (but didn't) when you started medical school?

Thanks in advance!

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[deleted500612]

A car

 

[Bear Grylls]

You'll figure it out...it's not that intense.
But probably a slow cooker, though I had one. God could be another.

 

[InGen]

You'll figure it out...it's not that intense.
But probably a slow cooker, though I had one. God could be another.

Well played

 

[evilbooyaa]

I wish I had known which specialty I wanted to do in pre-clinical so I could do research in the field.

 

[PathToMDPhD]

Well played

Agreed!

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Evernote.

 

[thehomelessguy]

tablet and 1 year subscription to a qbank at the start of the second year

 

[QuantumJ]

Are tablets useful enough to justify getting one for school only?

 

[Venko]

My knowledge may be outdated so feel free to discard it…

I wish I had robust, high speed internet access, a very capable computer, an easy and secure back up system, and a desk with a large workspace

 

[shenanigi]

Enough beer to cover post-test nights/weekends and all of 4th year.

 

[Anastomoses]

Are tablets useful enough to justify getting one for school only?

I got one just for school; depends on if you enjoy studying from them. Some people never get used to them and prefer actual books.

Fantastic if you are tired in bed and you want the lights off but still want to read/study. Or you don't want to carry around a bunch of text but you are traveling and want to study. Do not, I repeat, do not bring them into the bathtub with you to study. 🙁

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

 

[sazerac]

Are tablets useful enough to justify getting one for school only?

When med school started, my paper-based note taking system became impractical. I bought a tablet (iPad) in October or November of first year, and as I finish up second year I still use it for school-related purposes. I'm happy with the purchase.

 

[oceanmist]

When med school started, my paper-based note taking system became impractical. I bought a tablet (iPad) in October or November of first year, and as I finish up second year I still use it for school-related purposes. I'm happy with the purchase.

For those that take notes on their tablets (handwritten as opposed to typed), which stylus pens have you had success with? I haven't been able to find one which is sensitive enough for fast writing/note-taking during lectures

 

[Venko]

I recommend the adonit line of styluses.

 

[QuantumJ]

Thanks for the responses. So most have an ipad as opposed to a nexus or something similar?

 

[justAstudent]

Not a medical student yet, but I'm thinking about getting the Surface Pro 2 tablet.

 

[Psai]

Not a medical student yet, but I'm thinking about getting the Surface Pro 2 tablet.

Your status says otherwise.

 

[@JackShephard]

Ipad for reading, not so much notes.

What I really wish I had? A more relaxed attitude - less stress and more peace.

The work load + pressure keep coming. It took me a few years to coexist with this with peace and joy.

Thinking about and planning out med school more than a few days before classes start is the opposite of what leads to a better state of mind.

 

[CanePreMed]

For those that take notes on their tablets (handwritten as opposed to typed), which stylus pens have you had success with? I haven't been able to find one which is sensitive enough for fast writing/note-taking during lectures

Not a medical student yet, but I'm thinking about getting the Surface Pro 2 tablet.

I got the Surface Pro when it first came out, and I love love love it. The stylus writes so smoothly and the screen is pressure sensitive (lines get lighter or darker). I use it with Onenote. I print power points to Onenote and use the stylus to highlight, make notes, etc. The stylus writes like a pen with no noticeable lag, and to erase, you just turn it over and touch the "eraser" to what you want removed and it is gone in a flash. The stylus even works with the side of your hand resting on the screen. It's easier than writing in a notebook.

As far as performance, it boots up in seconds and works seamlessly. I haven't filled the hard drive yet, but it is expandable via a microSD slot that can add up to 64 GB. I really don't know why Microsoft botched the launch of this piece of hardware. It is awesome. The ONLY downside is the Microsoft App Store is lacking. I highly recommend the Surface Pro.

 

[Shjanzey]

PandaMD has some worthwhile recommendations on his blog. His writing style may be off putting for some people, however he gives pretty sound advice for what to expect. Also, you should start at his first post and read forward. It seems like over the last year his blog was hijacked by spammers. The original content is still there.

 

[AJ77]

^ i second this

 

[DreDre31]

Get a Surface 2 Pro. They are easy to carry around and backpack and come with one of the best pens for writing and drawing anatomy on the market. Get a school discount and save 10% too.

Sent from my RM-877_nam_att_205 using Tapatalk

 

[HarryPlopper]

Thanks for the responses. So most have an ipad as opposed to a nexus or something similar?

It's not mandatory whatsoever and if your school streams lectures, you can easily just watch them at home on your computer/lap top. If you don't have the money, consider this piece of advice before dishing out a substantial amount of money. Remember you're going to owe the government the equivalent of a Ferrari when you're done with med school.

As what you honestly need for med school? Friends you can hang out with at a bar mid-day after a test without feeling ashamed.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

"I'll have what she's having."

 

[deleted564496]

BRS for anatomy.. gave me some "structure" for Structure of the Human Body core. :0

 

[Brain Bucket]

What's on the top shelf? Overall, the selection seems pretty disappointing, but the bottles definitely see use.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

What's on the top shelf? Overall, the selection seems pretty disappointing, but the bottles definitely see use.

I googled Bourbon collection and this was what the internet gifted to me.

It is actually a pretty damn impressive bourbon collection with easily > $10K worth of bottles, including multiple bottles of just about every hard to find bottle of bourbon on the market. The top shelf looks like a large number of bottles of Old Weller Antique - so I take it the owner of the collection is a big fan of wheated bourbon.

 

[Brain Bucket]

I googled Bourbon collection and this was what the internet gifted to me.

It is actually a pretty damn impressive bourbon collection with easily > $10K worth of bottles, including multiple bottles of just about every hard to find bottle of bourbon on the market. The top shelf looks like a large number of bottles of Old Weller Antique - so I take it the owner of the collection is a big fan of wheated bourbon.

That does make more sense. I was looking for (scotch) whiskys, and since I don't drink bourbon (which obviously is a whisky), I didn't recognize many.

 

[Mmedran]

While I too won't be starting school until August, I decided to go with an iPad (this syncs with my Mac and iPhone), Evernote, and Firecracker.
In terms of cost, keep in mind you can get many electronic devices refurbished (often with some warranty) that wont cost you crazy amounts.
Also, since Im leaving a corporate/full-time job setting, Im buying comfier clothes and shoes for more practical settings.

 

[kreme]

Get a second and possibly third monitor on megadesk on a desktop that shares a cloud with your laptop, or a laptop dock. Vastly underestimated resource.

 

[bulldogmed]

Get a decent office chair. I probably spent about 160 on mine, and I love it. Also get some running shoes because you're going to want to exercise to break up the study routines.

 

[mcloaf]

Get a decent office chair. I probably spent about 160 on mine, and I love it. Also get some running shoes because you're going to want to exercise to break up the study routines.

Yeah I've been sitting in a glorified deck chair for the past few months and it's starting to be a pain. Would love a Herman Miller Embody, but should probably find something a little more reasonably priced...

 

[ChEMD]

I personally went with an iPad over a galaxy note and the surface pro. I wasn't able to find a good app/program on windows that allowed me to import pdf files (all of my syllabi) and let me annotate them (one note was especially awful for this). I use an app called Good Notes and I couldn't be more happy with it. I agree that it would be nice to have an active stylus like on the surface pro, but honestly you get used to not placing your palm on the screen when you write. Good notes also has some decent palm rejection software built into it (though it's definitely not perfect. The iPad also has a longer battery life and is more portable than the surface pro, which is one of the bigger reasons I went with it. That's just by 2 cents.

 

[bulldogmed]

Yeah I've been sitting in a glorified deck chair for the past few months and it's starting to be a pain. Would love a Herman Miller Embody, but should probably find something a little more reasonably priced...

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/433734/basyx-by-HON-VL531-High-Back/

This is close to what I have. There's probably some diminishing returns w/ increasing cost of an office chair. Save the $1000 model for post residency.

 

[bulldogmed]

I'll also add that a laptop cooling pad is a good thing to have. I study all day on my laptop and since I'm also listening to music and running multiple applications at once, it can get pretty hot if I don't have it plugged into the cooling pad. I've never had any battery problems or melt downs, but I would hate to have during the semester.

 

[ulikedaggers]

Eyedrops. Lots of eyedrops.

 

[Lavan]

A hobby.

 

[Psai]

A best friend. It really sucks when you move on because you end up leaving a lot of friends behind. Having someone you can confide in and rely on is really key.

 

[GangaMaster]

 

[Status Sciaticus]

is there any reason why people are talking about using tablets to study notes instead of using laptops?

 

[ChEMD]

is there any reason why people are talking about using tablets to study notes instead of using laptops?

I personally prefer to hand write my notes, I never liked typing them. Also, it's really nice to be able to annotate your syllabus/powerpoints in the margins and have the freedom to draw figures. But plenty of people in my class type their notes as well, it's all personal preference.

 

[gregoryhouse]

A vacation before med school starts, preferably one full of getting wildly drunk.

I'd suggest reading through some How to choose a specialty books. Its better to know early what specialty is interesting to you so you can do research, shadow, etc the first two years.

 

[sazerac]

is there any reason why people are talking about using tablets to study notes instead of using laptops?

I prefer a tablet like an iPad because it is so much lighter and the battery lasts so long you don't need to carry a charger.

When you think about what you need out of a device in class, which is basically limited to web browsing and efficiently annotating power points, a tablet is plenty.

When you just carry a tablet and a couple of real pens, you can switch to a "string" backpack and save even more weight. It's very freeing.

 

[Chipster.]

I prefer a tablet like an iPad because it is so much lighter and the battery lasts so long you don't need to carry a charger.

When you think about what you need out of a device in class, which is basically limited to web browsing and efficiently annotating power points, a tablet is plenty.

When you just carry a tablet and a couple of real pens, you can switch to a "string" backpack and save even more weight. It's very freeing.

Would you recommend the iPad mini with retina display or go with a full ipad? Also, how much memory would you recommend going with?

 

[Petypet]

Would you recommend the iPad mini with retina display or go with a full ipad? Also, how much memory would you recommend going with?

I use a laptop + ipad mini. The ipad mini is very useful for clinic because it fits in your coat, and the smallest memory has been sufficient for me.

 

[Chipster.]

I use a laptop + ipad mini. The ipad mini is very useful for clinic because it fits in your coat, and the smallest memory has been sufficient for me.

Do you put textbooks on it?

 

[Tots]

I am surprised no one has said this yet but I was completely unprepared in the dress clothes department when I came to medical school. The first 6 months I had to spend most of my extra money on dress clothes just so I had enough ties/dress shirts/dress pants/sweaters to wear something different if I had to dress up more than once a week. I was so desperate that for Christmas I just asked for dress clothes....at least now I think I will be set for awhile

 

[Petypet]

I am surprised no one has said this yet but I was completely unprepared in the dress clothes department when I came to medical school. The first 6 months I had to spend most of my extra money on dress clothes just so I had enough ties/dress shirts/dress pants/sweaters to wear something different if I had to dress up more than once a week. I was so desperate that for Christmas I just asked for dress clothes....at least now I think I will be set for awhile

false. I wear 3 shirts and rotate between 10 ties that I got at goodwill. A new tie = a new outfit 🙂

Do you put textbooks on it?

I usually have 2 or 3 books on my ipad at any one time. The PDF versions of books are quite small, but in all honesty I don't use books that much, especially with uptodate. Even during years 1 & 2, I only used a handful of books, but that was personal preference. Honestly, I don't like reading text books and reading books from a screen was painful for me so when I needed a text book I usually just borrowed it from the library (or purchased my one and only book, FA).