Tablet for 4th year / residency

[Cytarabine]

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I tried to "get the best of both worlds" with a Note 3 for 3rd year, but I think I'd rather have a more manageable phone like an S6 and just have a tablet for floor stuff. I'm pretty out of touch with what's going on in the tablet world. Basically looking for an android that has good battery life, is lightweight, will fit in a coat pocket, and has a screen that would make a decent reader. Particularly as far as the last bit, I'm not sure how nice a screen has to be (resolution, super amoled vs lcd, etc) to be pleasurable to use to read text for a couple hours. Also not aware of upcoming release dates for new tablets that would potentially worth be holding out for (either to buy or to wait for the release to cause price drops in older models that fit my needs). The galaxy tab S seems like it would be great, but it's a good chunk of change and I don't know if I need that much feature wise. If anyone has some recommendations I would greatly appreciate them!

 

[Cytarabine]

I will find a way to make people reply... One way or another

 

[eye love lamp]

I will find a way to make people reply... One way or another

I'm a Android fan (actually more of an iPhone hater) and I've always been disappointed by Android tablets. The file management system makes no sense, they have trouble bringing up .pdfs of textbooks smoothly, and the apps are even more limited than Android phone apps. If you can make a Windows tablet work (that has a fully functioning operating system and not a watered down one) you'll probably be the happiest.

 

[Nasrudin]

I used an ipad mini for medical school but then sold it when I decided to get the iphone 6 plus, which i think if you can deal with the nerdy, pocket protector look is the way to go. And by that I don't mean apple, I mean a big @ss phone with good memory capacity. This became particularly important to me when I moved from wearing a white coat that can hold a small tablet nicely. In psych we don't wear white coats and so I don't have ridiculous pocket space.

I also have big hand and cannot go back to using a normal sized phone, which feels tiny to me now.

So a tablet the size of a mini or a big phone. I think a minimalist approach is better. One device, one run/scut sheet with a few extra pieces of paper for notes, a multi-color pen, and a steth.

I always marvel at the people with several books, a large tablet, and every medical tool imaginable spilling out of their white coats.

 

[Cytarabine]

I'm a Android fan (actually more of an iPhone hater) and I've always been disappointed by Android tablets. The file management system makes no sense, they have trouble bringing up .pdfs of textbooks smoothly, and the apps are even more limited than Android phone apps. If you can make a Windows tablet work (that has a fully functioning operating system and not a watered down one) you'll probably be the happiest.

I agree, that's probably been my biggest complaint with Android. I looked a bit at windows and something like a Surface would be awesome, but they don't seem to make one small enough. Does a fully functional windows tablet exist that has a functional keyboard as a screen protector and is small enough to fit a whitecoat?

I used an ipad mini for medical school but then sold it when I decided to get the iphone 6 plus, which i think if you can deal with the nerdy, pocket protector look is the way to go. And by that I don't mean apple, I mean a big @ss phone with good memory capacity. This became particularly important to me when I moved from wearing a white coat that can hold a small tablet nicely. In psych we don't wear white coats and so I don't have ridiculous pocket space.

I also have big hand and cannot go back to using a normal sized phone, which feels tiny to me now.

So a tablet the size of a mini or a big phone. I think a minimalist approach is better. One device, one run/scut sheet with a few extra pieces of paper for notes, a multi-color pen, and a steth.

I always marvel at the people with several books, a large tablet, and every medical tool imaginable spilling out of their white coats.

That's what I tried this year, was underwhelmed by the ability to use a phablet for everything

 

[Nasrudin]

I agree, that's probably been my biggest complaint with Android. I looked a bit at windows and something like a Surface would be awesome, but they don't seem to make one small enough. Does a fully functional windows tablet exist that has a functional keyboard as a screen protector and is small enough to fit a whitecoat?



That's what I tried this year, was underwhelmed by the ability to use a phablet for everything

What did you require that the phone cannot deliver? Just curious.

Never mind, I just read the other part of your post. I assume you want to be able to type notes. If you're a med student trying to get computer space I could see this but as a resident it would be a failure of your program or hospital to not have access to an EMR when you need to type notes.

 

[Cytarabine]

What did you require that the phone cannot deliver? Just curious.

Never mind, I just read the other part of your post. I assume you want to be able to type notes. If you're a med student trying to get computer space I could see this but as a resident it would be a failure of your program or hospital to not have access to an EMR when you need to type notes.

Computer access actually wasn't too big an issue for note writing even as a student. The 3 main areas I see for a fair amount of extra utility for the larger screen size +/- keyboard would be easier ability to put in orders during rounds, more screen area to view EMR (had to do lots of scrolling around and resizing on note), and more usable as a reader (for pdf's in particular but also for UTD, Samford, etc

 

[Nasrudin]

Hmmm. I see. I think that would depend on round structure. Our EMR is not accessible by tablet. I can see your point if it were. In psych we also do sit down, multi-disciplinary rounds so I'm in the market for a lap top for the purpose you describe now. So far I've yet to see the effective merger of phone/tablet with typeable interface. Or at least one that I thought would be worth buying and then lugging around for the odd occasions that I could use it. Which is why I'm splitting my device use into phablet and full laptop.

I'm sure other fields and residents have other needs.