Which tablet is the best for clinical rotations?

[Lord_Vader]

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I am starting rotations this June and need to get a tablet since I've been a laptop person up until now. Which ones are popular among med students? I'm looking for one around $300 (no more than $350) that can fit in your white coat.

 

[PL198]

ipad mini

/endthread

 

[Ismet]

ipad mini

 

[Kag01]

iPad Mini 2

 

[NickNaylor]

I have said this elsewhere, but I would go with an iOS product (specifically an iPad Mini as mentioned above) simply because most IT systems have significantly better support for iOS than Android platforms. This means you're more likely to be able to do things like access your institution's EMR on your tablet if you have an Apple product. If you don't plan on doing that, though, then I don't see why it would really make a difference. If all you're going to be doing is doing practice questions and/or reading, just about any tablet will fulfill that use.

 

[DocVapor]

I have said this elsewhere, but I would go with an iOS product (specifically an iPad Mini as mentioned above) simply because most IT systems have significantly better support for iOS than Android platforms. This means you're more likely to be able to do things like access your institution's EMR on your tablet if you have an Apple product. If you don't plan on doing that, though, then I don't see why it would really make a difference. If all you're going to be doing is doing practice questions and/or reading, just about any tablet will fulfill that use.

Places will let med students access EMRs on their personal devices? Wow. That would be sweet.

I use the Nexus 7 2nd Gen. But really I don't use it as much as I thought I would.

 

[NickNaylor]

Places will let med students access EMRs on their personal devices? Wow. That would be sweet.

I use the Nexus 7 2nd Gen. But really I don't use it as much as I thought I would.

We have access to it at the university hospital. It's not as useful as you might think because the interface is absolute junk (making anything involving typing a no-go), but it's nice to be able to do things like check lab values or pull up imaging on a tablet while rounding.

 

[TraumaLlamaMD]

I love my mini. Whatever you get, make sure it's light and small enough that it'll fit in the pocket of your white coat.

 

[NontradCA]

Why get a mini when there's the iPhone 6 plus?

 

[Ismet]

Places will let med students access EMRs on their personal devices? Wow. That would be sweet.

I use the Nexus 7 2nd Gen. But really I don't use it as much as I thought I would.

I can access the EMR on my phone and laptop. I only use it on my phone when I need to look something up quickly. It's all password protected.

 

[LeftShifted]

iPhone 6 plus lol

 

[PL198]

I alway thinks its so nifty when my ipad mini can fit in my pocket. it looks really obnoxious, but it still fits

 

[Eokpar02]

Excuse me, but would I be dead in the water if I chose not to have a tablet for rotations? Is it a necessity?

 

[TraumaLlamaMD]

I wouldn't go that far, but they are nice for doing Uworld questions or reading texts during your downtime. If you're willing to carry around physical copies of study material, you should be fine.

 

[VisionaryTics]

Excuse me, but would I be dead in the water if I chose not to have a tablet for rotations? Is it a necessity?

I've never seen anyone (student, resident, fellow, attending) use a tablet in the hospital for clinical work. Well, except for the CRNAs on Facebook.

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

I've never seen anyone (student, resident, fellow, attending) use a tablet in the hospital for clinical work. Well, except for the CRNAs on Facebook.

I'm going to have to agree with this. Its a very rare EMR that is tablet/phone friendly.

 

[Bru]

The tricky thing is how to use a tablet effectively and not look like a you're screwing around. Sure you might be actually looking something up but all the attending sees you staring at your device.

having said that, Ipad Mini...

 

[Donald Juan]

I wouldn't go that far, but they are nice for doing Uworld questions or reading texts during your downtime. If you're willing to carry around physical copies of study material, you should be fine.

I'll agree with this, but you should just get one of the many large phones available nowadays. I never saw much use for a tablet for clinical things, although I did always get the EMR ready on my Note 3 to reference a lab value just in case the attending wanted something I hadn't wrote down. Also, I think the "phablets" are perfect for pulling up study materials at a moments notice, and you don't have to buy a new piece of hardware for it, just convert your phone to a bigger one...that will be better for web browing, video watching, and everything else you do on your phone, anyways.

 

[PL198]

except then your phone is a giant hunk of junk

 

[tiedyeddog]

Excuse me, but would I be dead in the water if I chose not to have a tablet for rotations? Is it a necessity?

nah, you'll be fine.

 

[tiedyeddog]

I used an ipad mini, like almost everyone else. It was the only tablet the EMR at my school supports.

I must say, I hardly ever used it to access EMR. I rarely used it when I couldn't find a computer to hop on while getting numbers for rounds/pre-rounds. I used to mostly for the e-books. Very easy to carry around all the important texts on one tablet.

 

[0ncogene]

ipad mini2 with student discount. worth every penny

 

[Donald Juan]

except then your phone is a giant hunk of junk

What?

 

[Ismet]

Excuse me, but would I be dead in the water if I chose not to have a tablet for rotations? Is it a necessity?

I don't use one on clerkships and I only know a handful of med students who carry theirs. I see more residents with them and I can see where they'd be useful, but I'm on the fence about getting a mini for residency. Probably won't, but the iPad mini is what I'd get if I do.