PDA's during school??

[sperry]

I was wondering about the usefullness of PDA's during med school. From what I've heard, they're wonderful tools during clinical years - but what about the first two years? Should I be looking for one now, or wait another 2 years a pick one up then?

Of course, if it's a required purchase, this is a moot thread for me....but I doubt it'll be required. Jeff seemed to be on the low-tech end of the spectrum. I'm just looking for justification to go out and purchase another toy now...

Any thoughts??

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[KyGrlDr2B]

I would think the only reason you should get one now is if you either want a new thing to play with or you like to keep your schedule organized. Otherwise, wait until your clinical years when there may be a cooler model out or other models may be cheaper.

 

[sacrament]

A simple, cheap PDA can be useful during the first two years, at relatively little cost (you can pick up an old one for ~$50). I keep my class schedule in mine, which turns out to be surprisingly useful. If you start getting lots of elective classes, meetings, conferences or extracurrics going on, it can be real handy to have it organized in one place. At my school we start having patient interaction the first year, so having ePocrates or another Rx aid is extremely cool.
All in all, I think buying a used or older model is a good investment. You can upgrade to a new one when you start the clinical years and need the extra horsepower for patient notes, etc.