Pre-matriculation purchases

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libertyyne

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What is everyone buying in preparation for medical school?

Here is my list :

Computer- surface book pro
Phone-iPhone 7plus
Desk- large Ikea desk
Chair- looking for recommendations
Backpack- still looking
Monitor- 40inch 4k
Printer- brother duplex b/w
Dr.najeeb lifetime
Headphones- Shure 215

Any other large purchases I should budget for?

EDIT:
Suggestions added to list

White Board
Slowcooker
Professional/Messenger Bag

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I want a surface pro soooooo bad. I will add that I have the iPhone 7 plus, and it is identical to the 6 plus. Save yourself the money and the headphone hassle lol. The "better camera" isn't worth the price tag for the 7.
 
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I want a surface pro soooooo bad. I will add that I have the iPhone 7 plus, and it is identical to the 6 plus. Save yourself the money and the headphone hassle lol. The "better camera" isn't worth the price tag for the 7.
Good advice. I was thinking if I get the 7 I won't have to upgrade until residency. Since it is faster and such. But it might be worth getting the 6s just for the headphone jack.
 
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I have been looking at those Herman Miller chairs , however they are crazy expensive.

Do we need dress shoes for rotations or sneakers with scrubs ?
 
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I have been looking at those Herman Miller chairs , however they are crazy expensive.

Go on Craigslist - I found a gently used Aeron for $200.
 
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Good advice. I was thinking if I get the 7 I won't have to upgrade until residency. Since it is faster and such. But it might be worth getting the 6s just for the headphone jack.
My sister had her headphones for the 7 stolen the first week she had them since they're such a hot commodity lol.
 
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It's a TV that I will use for a monitor. Think of it as consolidating a multi monitor setup.
So porn?

EDIT: Don't forget that Brazzers subscription.

Edit 2: Androids>crapple
 
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I would axe the backpack and get a professional tote of some kind, at the very least for when you start rotations. Backpack with dress clothes looks so tacky. And honestly you shouldn't be carting around that many books.

I'd also consider holding off on a printer unless it's super cheap...we got free printing at my school and we could even remote print from home. If your school has something like that, you can save the $$ from buying ink.

Do we need dress shoes for rotations or sneakers with scrubs ?

Sneakers or Danskos with scrubs. Yes you NEED dress shoes. Please don't wear sneakers with dress pants.
 
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I have been looking at those Herman Miller chairs , however they are crazy expensive.

Do we need dress shoes for rotations or sneakers with scrubs ?
do it. seriously i do not have much that has given me as much value as my herman miller chair and my 7yr old macbook.

its lasted me almost 6 years now and even helped me get over a plethora of back issues
 
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I would axe the backpack and get a professional tote of some kind, at the very least for when you start rotations. Backpack with dress clothes looks so tacky. And honestly you shouldn't be carting around that many books.

I'd also consider holding off on a printer unless it's super cheap...we got free printing at my school and we could even remote print from home. If your school has something like that, you can save the $$ from buying ink.



Sneakers or Danskos with scrubs. Yes you NEED dress shoes. Please don't wear sneakers with dress pants.
any suggestions on "professional tote" lol
 
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Yes you NEED dress shoes. Please don't wear sneakers with dress pants.

Attended an interview recently, wandered into the wrong building, went into random MD's office to ask for directions. Shirt, tie, dress pants, sneakers, large friendly dog hanging out. I was like, "these are my people!" I assume he changes into dress shoes when he goes outside the office though...
 
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Get Bose noise cancelling headphones for studying! I highly recommend them :)
 
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any suggestions on "professional tote" lol

Sorry I guess only women's large bags are called totes.

Most male residents and attendings I work with have one of these styles of messenger bags:
img-thing


Something like this for women (a tote!):
871bbe4f3e5b3fd74db031ad5ff2a00e.jpg
 
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I have both a backpack (same one that I had in college, didn't need a new one for med school) and a messenger bag. If I have to dress up, I'll use my messenger bag, but for day to day (class, studying, everything else) I use my backpack.

You should have multiple pairs of dress shoes, multiple pairs of professional looking clothing, a few ties, a tie clip (very important), a belt (apparently some people don't usually use them), and a watch with a second hand if analog or a second counter if digital.

I recommend a sleeve for your laptop to help protect it, if you don't already have one.

I agree you should wait on a printer to see if your school gives you free printing (they should).
 
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I have both a backpack (same one that I had in college, didn't need a new one for med school) and a messenger bag. If I have to dress up, I'll use my messenger bag, but for day to day (class, studying, everything else) I use my backpack.

You should have multiple pairs of dress shoes, multiple pairs of professional looking clothing, a few ties, a tie clip (very important), a belt (apparently some people don't usually use them), and a watch with a second hand if analog or a second counter if digital.

I recommend a sleeve for your laptop to help protect it, if you don't already have one.

I agree you should wait on a printer to see if your school gives you free printing (they should).

I was there thinking about the same thing in regards to having a backpack and a professional briefcase/messenger bag.

I already have a duplex b/w laser which has a low cost per page of printing.

Ah, I was hoping I could wear scrubs to all my rotations. Is the tie clip for infection prevention?

Anything else a must have ?
 
Go on Craigslist - I found a gently used Aeron for $200.
do it. seriously i do not have much that has given me as much value as my herman miller chair and my 7yr old macbook.

its lasted me almost 6 years now and even helped me get over a plethora of back issues
What are your thoughts on the mirra chair from him? Or is the aeron the only one I should opt for.
 
On this topic- Anyone have any suggestions for noise canceling headphones? Tried out the new Bose Bluetooth ones and wasn't blown away. Still great headphones but expected a little more for the price tag.
 
What are your thoughts on the mirra chair from him? Or is the aeron the only one I should opt for.

I'm not a chair expert, but I would imagine it doesn't really matter too much between them. I think a treadmill desk is the way to go anyways...
 
On this topic- Anyone have any suggestions for noise canceling headphones? Tried out the new Bose Bluetooth ones and wasn't blown away. Still great headphones but expected a little more for the price tag.
It depends do you want noise cancelation or noise isolation. I like the shure because of the excellent noise isolation. The other ones require power and use white noise to cancel sound.whereas noise isolation does not require batteries and is like wearing ear plugs with the added benefit of music.
 
I'm not a chair expert, but I would imagine it doesn't really matter too much between them. I think a treadmill desk is the way to go anyways...
Ahh, yes, idk if I'd be able to study walking or standing up.
 
I was there thinking about the same thing in regards to having a backpack and a professional briefcase/messenger bag.

I already have a duplex b/w laser which has a low cost per page of printing.

Ah, I was hoping I could wear scrubs to all my rotations. Is the tie clip for infection prevention?

Anything else a must have ?

We only wore scrubs on surgery, anesthesia, and for the l&d and surgery parts of ob/gyn. For IM and peds we were allowed to wear scrubs on weekends. Other than that you'll be wearing professional clothes. Different schools will have different policies but it is highly unlikely you'll be wearing scrubs that often.

You'll be leaning over patients in beds to examine them, you'll be wanting a tie clip so your tie isn't dangling in that. If you're required to wear a tie, get a bow tie for peds. Kids pull. But peds is super chill and you really don't need a tie at all if it's not required.
 
What is everyone buying in preparation for medical school?

Here is my list :

Computer- surface book pro
Phone-iPhone 7plus
Desk- large Ikea desk
Chair- looking for recommendations
Backpack- still looking
Monitor- 40inch 4k
Printer- brother duplex b/w
Dr.najeeb lifetime
Headphones- Shure 215

Any other large purchases I should budget for?
Damn your list is the same as mine lol
 
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What are your thoughts on the mirra chair from him? Or is the aeron the only one I should opt for.
ive used both and cant feel a difference. but the mirra is what ive owned for a while now.

funny side story is that our school;s actually had a like 300-400 of them for our library but last year there were several attempts at stealing them...now they're all gone
 
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Home whiteboard? I have always wanted to have a whiteboard at home that is ~4 ft. x 2.5 ft and comes apart in sections. Could be a good project to make one if you are technically inclined and looking for a project.
 
Home whiteboard? I have always wanted to have a whiteboard at home that is ~4 ft. x 2.5 ft and comes apart in sections. Could be a good project to make one if you are technically inclined and looking for a project.
You can buy one large melamine sheet from home depot for about 20 dollars. I think it is either 9x4 or 8x4. hang it up with mirror hanging hardware and under 30 dollars you have a whiteboard.
 
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I want a crock-pot so I can cook at least a few days of meals at once. This won't be expensive but I just forget to buy one every time I'm at the store.
 
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You can buy one large melamine sheet from home depot for about 20 dollars. I think it is either 9x4 or 8x4. hang it up with mirror hanging hardware and under 30 dollars you have a whiteboard.

That is actually my plan! Also to make a wooden frame with a marker holder underneath and then cut the whole thing into thirds with a locking mechanism along the frame and back to hold it all together.
 
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Monitor- 40inch 4k

You absolutely don't need a 4k tv. 1080 p looks pretty dam good. 40 inches is also overkill. You are much better off getting two 20-24 inch monitors.

Source: I'm a PC/Videogame nerd.
 
You absolutely don't need a 4k tv. 1080 p looks pretty dam good. 40 inches is also overkill. You are much better off getting two 20-24 inch monitors.

Source: I'm a PC/Videogame nerd.
My 15.6 inch laptop has 4K resolution! While I do have to engage in some scaling in windows to get it just right, the added real estate really does make life easier, especially if you are using it for productivity and multitasking. Maybe the 40 inch might be too much, but if I am sitting 48inches away from the monitor and 4K @60hz should work out well. But I am also entertaining a 32 incher. I havent used just a 1080p display for computing in a few years at this point.

Source: building my own computers for 10 years.
 
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I took advantage of Microsoft's sale and bought a surface pro 4 on Amazon this past Wednesday. Just arrived today and I'm stoked on it.
 
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You can buy one large melamine sheet from home depot for about 20 dollars. I think it is either 9x4 or 8x4. hang it up with mirror hanging hardware and under 30 dollars you have a whiteboard.

This is insanely useful. I did the same thing-- and you can cover your entire room in whiteboards!!
 
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This is insanely useful. I did the same thing-- and you can cover your entire room in whiteboards!!
Yeah, I think i am going to set up a whiteboard wall this time around!
 
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Yeah, I think i am going to set up a whiteboard wall this time around!

If there's a wall that SDN can agree on as immensely helpful it is a whiteboard wall.

If you place it in front of your bed you can wake up to your notes everyday--- it helps solidify the info because it's always facing you.
 
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If there's a wall that SDN can agree on as immensely helpful it is a whiteboard wall.

If you place it in front of your bed you can wake up to your notes everyday--- it helps solidify the info because it's always facing you.
It helps with organization as well.
wp_20150705_13_04_58_pro-1-jpg.209579
 
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If there's a wall that SDN can agree on as immensely helpful it is a whiteboard wall.

If you place it in front of your bed you can wake up to your notes everyday--- it helps solidify the info because it's always facing you.
Just dont let Zombie Reagan near the wall.
reagan-smash-animated-cartoon-family-guy-punching-republican-meme.gif
 
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White board wall for sure!

Another option maybe, I have this cool desk that has a white board surface and you can adjust the angle (has removable trays for markers, etc). I got it at a deep discount around the holidays a few years ago and I honestly love it and will totally be taking it with me haha
 
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Have you tried white board paint? Not sure if it would be possible (depending on where you will be living) but you can apply the paint to your wall and when it dries you have a large white board surface that you can write on with dry erase markers.

Also, I have this cool desk that has a white board surface and you can adjust the angle (has removable trays for markers, etc). I got it at a deep discount around the holidays a few years ago and I honestly love it and will totally be taking it with me haha
Is board paint economical?
 
I was there thinking about the same thing in regards to having a backpack and a professional briefcase/messenger bag.

I already have a duplex b/w laser which has a low cost per page of printing.

Ah, I was hoping I could wear scrubs to all my rotations. Is the tie clip for infection prevention?

Anything else a must have ?

You get to wear scrubs on rotations where you'll get stuff on you most likely (obgyn, surgery, etc). You have to look nice in outpatient clinic.

Tie clip is so that super old school attendings don't yell at you for not having a tie clip :p
 
You get to wear scrubs on rotations where you'll get stuff on you most likely (obgyn, surgery, etc). You have to look nice in outpatient clinic.

Tie clip is so that super old school attendings don't yell at you for not having a tie clip :p

Haha I swear every time I attend a formal function with my family, my dad is always trying to get me to wear a tie tack. He's so proud of this veryyy nice diamond tie pin that his grandpa handed down to him, but he just doesn't realize thats an old school thing anymore lol
 
Question about computer gear. I have an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil (don't like the pencil though), but an outdated laptop and outdated desktop, so I have to buy a new computer for med school. What computer should I buy to use with my iPad Pro? Heavy duty laptop or desktop or desktop+very light laptop? Should I buy the new MacBook Pro and use it as my primary computer?? Or should I wait until next Aug before I start school and hope apple updates its small MacBook so I can do the desktop +macbook + iPad Pro? Please help a tech noob!
 
It helps with organization as well.
wp_20150705_13_04_58_pro-1-jpg.209579


Yeesh all that super expensive iphone and surface tech and you still have to do this?? It's called a calendar app :rolleyes::p


What's the deal with these herman miller chairs though, it's the first time I've heard of them
 
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