Physical versions vs PDF versions

[Dr.Jekyll75]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Throughout undergrad I've always been able to get PDFs from friends. I never annotated anything in the PDFs. Now that I'm starting next year I was wondering should I buy they physical hard copies or stick with the free PDFs. Which would be better ?

 

[HH Holmes]

Throughout undergrad I've always been able to get PDFs from friends. I never annotated anything in the PDFs. Now that I'm starting next year I was wondering should I buy they physical hard copies or stick with the free PDFs. Which would be better ?

I am in the same boat, but I realize I will not want to lug around atlases and thick textbooks especially during systems. I got a huge file of PDFs and realized I will probably only get print copies of FA and Pathoma to mark up during m2.... Get the app Skim. It's free and great for PDFs -- auto-indexes with good annotation tools. If you don't like PDFs, then buy your favorite books. Better to sample online before purchasing a copy anyway.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

I use the PDFs for 90% of my stuff, I annotate them a little bit, but for the real important things, like Pathoma or First Aid or Goljan, I bought those. They are easier to flip to and use as "sources." The PDFs are good for a read but tough to revisit quickly.

I also used very little texts outside of the ones listed above my first two years as the slides were my biggest source of information. Notability is cheap and fanstastic. This year I use more text PDFs but still buy the "Master The Boards" type source books.

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

Alright that makes perfect sense. I was thinking about just having hard copies of first aid and OMT book. My friend gave me pathoma lectures and book PDF. He somehow got all of BRS series on PDF too so it's convenient.

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

I am in the same boat, but I realize I will not want to lug around atlases and thick textbooks especially during systems. I got a huge file of PDFs and realized I will probably only get print copies of FA and Pathoma to mark up during m2.... Get the app Skim. It's free and great for PDFs -- auto-indexes with good annotation tools. If you don't like PDFs, then buy your favorite books. Better to sample online before purchasing a copy anyway.

Any other apps you recommend?

 

[HH Holmes]

Any other apps you recommend?

I just use Skim + Google Drive. Skim is free, Google Drive is 100 GB for 2$/ month -- $25 a year. You can store every textbook you'll ever need + lectures + notes, with plenty of room for audio and video.

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

I just use Skim + Google Drive. Skim is free, Google Drive is 100 GB for 2$/ month -- $25 a year. You can store every textbook you'll ever need + lectures + notes, with plenty of room for audio and video.

Good idea. What about the app notability? I hear a lot of buzz about it

 

[HH Holmes]

Good idea. What about the app notability? I hear a lot of buzz about it

I used it in undergrad to mark up powerpoint while in lecture, but it doesn't provide cloud editing and was a hassle importing/exporting. One Note doesn't look as sexy as notability, but has much better functionality... coming from an apple-only user for about a decade.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

I know you said your friend gave you Pathoma but I would highly recommend purchasing this. Best money I spent in the first 2 years. First off, the actual text is good as the PDF is riddled with mistakes. Almost becomes unreadable. Second, Dr. Sattar makes addendums and changes to the videos as things get updated, so the there is a decent difference between the downloaded ones and the official ones. My opinion, just know that there are a lot of benefits in the actual program.

 

[JimmyB123]

I used it in undergrad to mark up powerpoint while in lecture, but it doesn't provide cloud editing and was a hassle importing/exporting. One Note doesn't look as sexy as notability, but has much better functionality... coming from an apple-only user for about a decade.

What are the main pros to One Note vs Notability if you don't mind going into it? I'm also a Mac user and choosing between those two. Looking for an interface where I can work both off my MacBook and IPad. Thanks.

 

[ortnakas]

I'm going to go against the grain-- I use hard copies of all my text book. Granted, I'm in a PBL program, so we read a lot more than schools with a lecture-based curriculum, but I would get eye strain from reading on my laptop all day. I do occasionally use the PDFs when I want to look up something quickly because I only pack a few books to study each day.

I also really like OneNote, but I've never used Notability so I can't compare.

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

I also like hard copies but the free factor is strong

 

[HH Holmes]

What are the main pros to One Note vs Notability if you don't mind going into it? I'm also a Mac user and choosing between those two. Looking for an interface where I can work both off my MacBook and IPad. Thanks.

I would say play around with each. I prefer OneNote for a few reasons. It has better organization with notebooks, tabs and and timestamped pages. Notability felt like a PDF markup and drawing app... It was difficult to input text well on the iPad when I took genetics but I excelled in my optics class when the professor chalk-talked for two hours. OneNote is pretty slick on OS X and iOS -- feels a bit more professional and organized and saves everything to their cloud automatically, which is awesome. I had issues with Notability and my Google Drive, but that was back a few semesters before they had a desktop app (which I did not download due to poor reviews). For OneNote, you can download all the apps for free. Notability is a few bucks on each platform, but no more than $10 combined -- worth taking a shot at each.

tl;dr: IMO Notability just does not feel like a "polished" enough app for my needs. OneNote offers better cloud saving across OS X/iOS, better note-taking functionality and better organization.

 

[JimmyB123]

I would say play around with each. I prefer OneNote for a few reasons. It has better organization with notebooks, tabs and and timestamped pages. Notability felt like a PDF markup and drawing app... It was difficult to input text well on the iPad when I took genetics but I excelled in my optics class when the professor chalk-talked for two hours. OneNote is pretty slick on OS X and iOS -- feels a bit more professional and organized and saves everything to their cloud automatically, which is awesome. I had issues with Notability and my Google Drive, but that was back a few semesters before they had a desktop app (which I did not download due to poor reviews). For OneNote, you can download all the apps for free. Notability is a few bucks on each platform, but no more than $10 combined -- worth taking a shot at each.

tl;dr: IMO Notability just does not feel like a "polished" enough app for my needs. OneNote offers better cloud saving across OS X/iOS, better note-taking functionality and better organization.

Very solid advice. Thank you. During class, were you using you notebook/ipad to annotate on OneNote or were you using OneNote with your laptop?

 

[HH Holmes]

Very solid advice. Thank you. During class, were you using you notebook/ipad to annotate on OneNote or were you using OneNote with your laptop?

Laptop mainly. I like my iPad but my Macbook what I have used the most + is most upgraded

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

thanks for the input @HH Holmes I just find it odd how so many med schools are turning to everything electronic. Some schools even take their exams on ipads now

 

[TwinsFan]

If you are a kinesthetic learner than hard copies with written notes on them may be beneficial. A lot of my classmates swear by this. I like both, highlight and "touch" the hard copy to read from then use the digital copy to search or use on the go.

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

If you are a kinesthetic learner than hard copies with written notes on them may be beneficial. A lot of my classmates swear by this. I like both, highlight and "touch" the hard copy to read from then use the digital copy to search or use on the go.

I'm the same way but this money thing is killing me. I might just hard copy FA and sar omt along with pathoma.

 

[wjs010]

I hate pdf's. If I'm reading, it's gonna be from a textbook. Idk why.

 

[wjs010]

Btw, you're not going to need a book for OMM

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

Btw, you're not going to need a book for OMM

I thought the gold standard to prep for a comlex was savarese omt book

 

[DrEnderW]

I thought the gold standard to prep for a comlex was savarese omt book

Highly recommend that book for board review and practice OMM questions. You definitely don't need a textbook for day-to-day reading like you would want for physio or path though. I did read Savarese for select exams and have been using it more throughout M2.

If it was me, I'd get hard copies of the really important few books and do PDFs for the rest.

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

Highly recommend that book for board review and practice OMM questions. You definitely don't need a textbook for day-to-day reading like you would want for physio or path though. I did read Savarese for select exams and have been using it more throughout M2.

If it was me, I'd get hard copies of the really important few books and do PDFs for the rest.

I'm always willing to take advice from others, besides that book what books would you recommend to have a hard copy of ?

 

[DrEnderW]

I'm always willing to take advice from others, besides that book what books would you recommend to have a hard copy of ?

The ones I would get are: Netter atlas (free with some student org you'll probably join), BRS Anatomy, BRS physio, the big Physiology by Costanzo, First Aid, and once you start path, I am a big fan of Goljan Rapid Review (free with AMA membership).

I just got hard copy savarese for ease of doing questions but you could PDF that one for sure.

Everything else I consulted was through PDF versions. I read the above ones essentially cover to cover.

Again once you start path, the Pathoma videos are a must but I personally think you can skip using the text. You don't really need a text for biochem, micro, immuno, pharm, etc.

 

[wjs010]

I thought the gold standard to prep for a comlex was savarese omt book

Sorry I thought you meant for classes 🙂 yes I've always heard that is the book to study the week in between the usmle and comlex

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

Perfect thanks for the help guys . Any other suggestion you guys have is always appreciated

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Aside from Netter and FA, I considered all hard copies useless for me. My suggestion is to wait until you get to school and see what style fits best for your learning.

 

[TraumaBlonde]

I am so happy that this tread exists!
I try to get the digital and or PDF of books and the hard copy (let me explain)
If the PDFs is something I notice I use all the time, I either 1) print the pdf at a printer place for under 10
Or 2) I get the physical version.

The best thing for me?
Is to compile the best from my books and the PDFs, and then print those,
So it's compiled all in one place
It takes hours to organize it, but if you're studying for an exam that requires a lot o info,
It's the way to go

 

[ortnakas]

Find out about your school schedule and don't buy hard copies until you need them, anyway. At my school, you only need anatomy, embryology, and histology in the first few weeks (OPP is debatable) so you can wait until your loan money comes in. Also check with third years-- at my school a lot of them sell their pre-clinical books for cheap.