Technological Needs for Medical School?

[IrishCalini]

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This is for any medical students, past and present...

What kinds of technology do/did you find useful while in medical school? Laptop vs. Desktop vs. Tablet PC (a la iPad)? Smart phones? iTouch? What about Kindle/Nook/e-readers?

The reason I ask is because over the next few months, I'm going to want to start upgrading all of my electronics. I don't want to end up getting something (or a combination of somethings) that I don't really need or wouldn't end up using as much.

Thanks! 🙄

 

[nlax30]

In my opinion a decent laptop at minimum..... something that will do basics well (word, powerpoint, email, web, etc...) and something you don't mind carrying around if you're going to be studying at multiple places.

From there anything else is just extra and depends on your needs/wants:

-Tablet: A few in my class had them and used them to write/draw on while taking notes. Certainly required and I've yet to see a tablet that I'm really impressed with.

-iPad: For some this could be a really nice device for using as an ebook/pdf reader. LOTS of us in my class made extensive use of pdf versions of our textbooks so we didn't always have to haul around half a dozen texts. On a recent rotation I was with a radiology resident who had PDF versions of his books on his iPad and I could definitely see it being a handy thing to have.

-iPhone/android/smart phone: Honestly I really had no use for one until I hit the clinical years. If I had one during the first 2 years it would have mostly been just for entertainment/fun and certainly not a necessity.

Really I'd say at least have a decent laptop, save some money and just see how it goes once you start.

 

[DrYoda]

Smart phones don't have any real use until the clinical years.

I don't think tablets are worth the money, get a laptop and if you want to add notes to the power point slides you can type them in with the add notes feature.

 

[Soldatik]

A pager for my girlfriend...

I mean really.. I might only have a half-hour break so she better come over quick when I call...

 

[Soldatik]

On a more serious note though:

Lightweight, long battery life computer.
No tablet- they are so much harder to draw on then paper, the technology isn't where it should be for tablets to be as efficient as paper. Note typing from lecture on the pc is much better than handwritten.. Average handwritten speed is 31 memorized, 22 copying.. I'm sure everyone with Facebook/Myspace/AIM/MSN messenger has a typing speed of at least 60.

Cell phone obviously.. pictures would probably help if you have something the professor is showing and you wanted to get a quick sneak picture in- if allowed obviously and w/o flash.

Decent alarm clock with a hard to turn off function for those awesome 6 am mornings with little sleep.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Get yourself a decent laptop: whatever your fancy may be - mac vs. PC
-skip the tablet, most of my classmates with tablets never actually used them
-skip the desktop. You'll want the portability of a laptop, for the occasion when you want to bring your computer somewhere with you to study, for when you want to do question banks in the 11th hour of studying somewhere other than your bedroom, and for when you have a required idiotic class to go to that you have no intention of paying attention to and just want to shop amazon instead.

Get an ipod if you don't already have one. Staying in shape is one of the biggest challenges of medical school and having a good music player so you can get energy from awesome music or listen to podcasts/Goljan while working out is ESSENTIAL. I really like the new ipod nanos that still hold a ton.

ipad I would skip unless you're a techno junkie that wants one. They have some nice features like downloading books to read while on the go and lightweight portable internet access. But they are far from being a fullblown computer yet so really not necessary. Same thing for Kindles/e-readers. If you want one fine, but certainly not essential and a lot of medical books still aren't available for them.

Smartphone - sure if you already have one and the plan to go along with it. However, in first and second year its not really necessary. Third year it becomes nice, especially on busy rotations where you can use it to pay bills, respond to emails, look up drugs on epocrates, etc. Fourth year its essential because you will usually be working with the interview invites roll in and you want to check your schedule and respond ASAP.

itouch - same thing as above, not really helpful until 3rd year. I would skip the itouch and just get a smart phone by your 3rd year.

 

[Dr McSexy]

This is for any medical students, past and present...

What kinds of technology do/did you find useful while in medical school? Laptop vs. Desktop vs. Tablet PC (a la iPad)? Smart phones? iTouch? What about Kindle/Nook/e-readers?

The reason I ask is because over the next few months, I'm going to want to start upgrading all of my electronics. I don't want to end up getting something (or a combination of somethings) that I don't really need or wouldn't end up using as much.

Thanks! 🙄

Laptop for sure at the least. Smart phone for later, but might as well get use to it now.

I've been thinking about getting a Nook, but not for medical school, just for personal use. Plus, I think selection of relevant texts for medical school is limited.

I have a breathalyzer, TV, and Xbox as my other essential electronics .

 

[IrishCalini]

it just seems to me that iPads, while maybe not completely/entirely useful now because of the lack of textbook availability on then, would be indispensable maybe even a year from now...but then again, that's just my impression...

 

[mauberley]

it just seems to me that iPads, while maybe not completely/entirely useful now because of the lack of textbook availability on then, would be indispensable maybe even a year from now...but then again, that's just my impression...

Probably, but by then, there would be something awesomer out. Hang onto your $ and get a kickass laptop.

 

[AceXIII]

it just seems to me that iPads, while maybe not completely/entirely useful now because of the lack of textbook availability on then, would be indispensable maybe even a year from now...but then again, that's just my impression...

I'm leaning towards getting myself an iPad before I start med school. Obviously for personal use as well and I think it would be a great convenience in terms of pdfs (as mentioned) but also for the numerous medically related apps available. For example, there are tons of anatomy, pharmacy, dictionary, etc. resources in the App Store.

Also, the iPad 2 should be out by summer time, so I would definitely hold out if I were you and see if any new features/improvements help you make your decision.

 

[Godric]

I am not in Med school, just college doing my undergrad, but the gist of this thread seems to laptops are the best option.

I can tell you that a macbook would do you wonders.
Its got the battery life you need, you wont be needing to carry a charger with you
13 inch model is very light weight
And you can easily dual boot, win7/snow leo.
They quite durable from what I have heard (I heard the HDs lock if they sense impact)

I do agree with everyone that says iPad for school/medical use is not really functional, I have an iPhone and its really not loaded with enough apps nor texts to be considered. And many of my books are not in PDF they are online, for example; my Orgo book when I bought it, it came it with a code for online access to the book. And many books have the same thing, but alot also require flash, the iPad doesnt support flash, or at least the iPhone doesnt (you can hack it, its called frash, lets you view flash objects, but its a little unstable)

 

[Pulsar]

I disagree with everyone knocking tablets. I have a Gateway C-141XL and it's awesome. It's a little heavy as far as tablets go but you can't put a price on the ability to extend a piece of virtual paper infinitely vs. having to flip between sheets in a notebook, especially when you're trying to draw a complicated diagram.

 

[Kaustikos]

I use my imagination and awesome brain prowess...this completes any task


add + 50 of whiskey and I'm unstoppable