NYU vitalbook

[Megatron77]

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I was just wondering if nyu forces you to buy vitalbook? I was hoping that I could just buy some supplemental books and rely on power points and class notes as an alternative.

 

[mymouthsmells]

Vitalbook is required by NYUCD and you'll be given a full tutorial on its installation and navigation during Orientation. I know some students who swear by it, and others who barely use it. However, keep in mind that some of the quizzes you'll be taking will require the use of Vitalbook.

 

[paradigm2200]

you don't have a choice...its included in the tuition price...

 

[ohcdc]

yea, no choice.
I dont use it much, yet still have to pay over 2 grand a year to have it, slows down my computer and hogs up a huge chunk of storage.
only use it too look up terms when i dont have access to wikipedia.org

 

[ItsGavinC]

Now, one year after graduating (not from NYU though), I use my Vitalsource library more than I ever did in dental school (rarely used it). I don't know what that means, but I thought I'd throw my 2 cents out there.

 

[Mackchops]

How Gavin's using it is how it is intended to be used. Don't think of it as a collection of broken-binding, yellow-highlighted text books covered with three years of "used" stickers. It's meant to be a resource library -- a professional reference library that you can go to should you need to later in your career.

However, I still use it like a collection of textbooks -- do the assigned readings and paste the pages with highlights. I think it's a good thing -- saves my back for sure!

 

[gryffindor]

I'll agree with what Gavin said. I got Vitalbook re-installed on my post-dental school laptop after graduation. I used it quite a bit while studying for my Ortho boards. It was easy to be able to pull all the references for the exam from anatomy, TMD, and oral path on my own without having to hunt down the actual books or photocopies. We were one of the first classes to use it at my school and product now is so much better than the piece of junk they came out with in the beginning. It would be nice if they offered me an update feature where I could get the newer editions of select books while in residency (even if I had to pay a fee) because I do like the search feature across multiple books at once.

 

[UCSF2012]

Big waste of money. You don't have time to study from textbooks. If it's a reference source, then the library should get a few copies. No need to make students pay $1500 or whatever for it each year. It's also a matter of time before it becomes dated.

 

[ItsGavinC]

No need to make students pay $1500 or whatever for it each year. It's also a matter of time before it becomes dated.

Partly true, but not that big of a deal. The major "go-to" textbooks seem to come out with a new edition every 5-8 years. That means the Pathways of the Pulp 8th edition will still be a valid resource.

I don't know what has been worked out with other schools, but my books are constantly being updated. A couple of weeks ago I updated to the latest editions of several books (Clinical Perio, Pathways of the Pulp, and Operative Dentistry, as I recall).

Journal articles are always the way to stay ahead when it comes to be on the cusp of education, but the standard textbooks will be valuable for 25+ years.

 

[zthang]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yLFL2Eapx4&feature=related