Laptop/technology recommendations

[Instagrammar 154]

Hey everyone, 

just wondering what students prefer for taking notes in medical school. I am due for a new laptop (RIP 2009 MacBook) and wanted some insight on what is ideal for note taking. Another consideration is a tablet as well, I see a lot of people using those now. Any insight would be appreciated. 

[moonlitocean 72]

I use an iPad with Apple Pencil to store my textbooks and take notes, highly recommend it!

[Instagrammar 154]

2 hours ago, moonlitocean said:

I use an iPad with Apple Pencil to store my textbooks and take notes, highly recommend it!

I’ve been strongly considering it. Thanks for your input! 

[Dominic Beavis 1]

6 hours ago, moonlitocean said:

I use an iPad with Apple Pencil to store my textbooks and take notes, highly recommend it!

I prefer typing on the keyboard, so I prefer the usual MacBook.

[ArchEnemy 131]

I used a Macbook throughout medical school, but always wished that I had a stylus to annotate especially for anatomy and embryology.

If you are open to using Windows, I think the latest Surface Pro with the keyboard and pen would suit all of your needs. 

iPad Pro with Smart Keyboard and Apple pencil comes up to almost the same price as the Surface Pro, but you are limited to the iOS software and have to find (and likely purchase) an app that will suit your note taking style.

[PulsusParadoxus 46]

I personally love my iPad, smart case + Apple Pencil. 

I use OneNote for my note taking, but I have classmates who swear by Notabilty. 

[amh12 4]

Anyone have any recommendations about how much storage is good for an iPad? I’m planning on getting one for note taking , but not sure how many GB I’ll need... I currently save most of my docs to iCloud, so I’m hoping I can get away with less storage.

[ChemPetE 62]

Depends on what you want for your lifecycle for your iPad. iPad is handy for one note and notes, but any serious excel work and/or research project it will help to have a full computer available, either laptop or desktop. 

My current workflow at the end of residency uses a mix of a first gen iPad Pro 12.9" + pencil and smart keyboard, and a 2018 MacBook. Simple things the iPad is nicer to use, but anything more serious the MacBook gets taken out.

[amh12 4]

19 minutes ago, ChemPetE said:

Depends on what you want for your lifecycle for your iPad. iPad is handy for one note and notes, but any serious excel work and/or research project it will help to have a full computer available, either laptop or desktop. 

My current workflow at the end of residency uses a mix of a first gen iPad Pro 12.9" + pencil and smart keyboard, and a 2018 MacBook. Simple things the iPad is nicer to use, but anything more serious the MacBook gets taken out.

Thanks for the input! I do already have a MacBook, so I think the iPad will mainly be for notes.

[PulsusParadoxus 46]

On 5/31/2019 at 6:37 PM, amh12 said:

Anyone have any recommendations about how much storage is good for an iPad? I’m planning on getting one for note taking , but not sure how many GB I’ll need... I currently save most of my docs to iCloud, so I’m hoping I can get away with less storage.

I got a 64 GB iPad and I really wish that I had gotten more storage even though All of my notes are stored in OneDrive (we get free Office 365 through the university). 

My wish for more storage is mostly so that I could comfortably have all of my notes at hand, while still having storage to download TV shows and movies for when I’m travelling. 

[anonymouspls 259]

So I really don't like apple products, is it ok if I just buy a regular windows laptop for like $600? I'm sure I can find something with the storage and specs of an iMac 3 times that price. 

 

is there anything specifically that an iMac or iPad does that a regular laptop won't be good for in med school?

[Pakoon 96]

22 minutes ago, ysera said:

So I really don't like apple products, is it ok if I just buy a regular windows laptop for like $600? I'm sure I can find something with the storage and specs of an iMac 3 times that price. 

 

is there anything specifically that an iMac or iPad does that a regular laptop won't be good for in med school?

In my opinion no, the iPad with pen is really nice for note taking though, if that's more your style !

[anonymouspls 259]

2 hours ago, Pakoon said:

In my opinion no, the iPad with pen is really nice for note taking though, if that's more your style !

I type at like 130 WPM and have horrid handwriting so typing is always preferred. I think a pencil might be useful for annotations on diagrams maybe? But I can do that on paint any way with a mouse / trackpad. 

 

So I guess I'm not missing out on any extra functionality if I skip on a iPad / iMac then hopefully 

[PhD2MD 295]

2 hours ago, ysera said:

I type at like 130 WPM and have horrid handwriting so typing is always preferred. I think a pencil might be useful for annotations on diagrams maybe? But I can do that on paint any way with a mouse / trackpad. 

 

So I guess I'm not missing out on any extra functionality if I skip on a iPad / iMac then hopefully 

I'm in the same boat. Never understood why people like digital notes when typing is so much more organized/organizable. That being said I got an HP spectre with a pen in case I wanted to draw something...but then never really used it through med school.

[ChemPetE 62]

I think research has shown that handwriting notes may portend better recall. But as to the strength and difference of that correlation (causation?). Agree with the organization of notes, but there are OCR solutions available too, so would really just go with your personal preference above all.

[blah1234 149]

I found the benefits of tablets to be overstated and I never used my Ipad once I realized how cumbersome it was.

I found taking notes by pen and paper helped with retention and prevented the distraction that my laptop brought me (facebook, twitter, youtube, etc). By the time I rolled into clerkship/residency I was mostly pen and paper as it was easier to do during informal teaching or rounds in cramped offices. 

[Jimbo 5]

On 6/3/2019 at 3:04 PM, blah1234 said:

I found the benefits of tablets to be overstated and I never used my Ipad once I realized how cumbersome it was.

I found taking notes by pen and paper helped with retention and prevented the distraction that my laptop brought me (facebook, twitter, youtube, etc). By the time I rolled into clerkship/residency I was mostly pen and paper as it was easier to do during informal teaching or rounds in cramped offices. 

Would you go back and type them after that or how did that work? Seems like if you print the slides it would get really expensive too. Did you have issues keeping it all organized?

[blah1234 149]

24 minutes ago, tehol123 said:

Would you go back and type them after that or how did that work? Seems like if you print the slides it would get really expensive too. Did you have issues keeping it all organized?

I just read the notes I took in my book. I wouldn't type them up or print off slides. I found it easy enough to cross reference my notes with slides on my computer if I need to see a diagram or something (would make a note regarding the slide and picture). I would date and title each new entry and keep track of the page numbers but in pre-clerkship it was easy enough just to read from start to finish for the exams as they came up. Honestly, even if you printed off all the slides it would probably still be cheaper than a top of the line tablet. At least at my school, there were printers with free printing so I knew people who just printed off entire sections of digital textbooks for home reference. 

During clerkship/residency I didn't see how I could carry around technology other than my phone while running around trying to do work. It's easier just to write stuff down when needed. 

 

[circlecircledotdot 20]

I never go to class and listen to recordings. I don't take handwritten notes and use a 4 year old laptop paired up with 2 external monitors to increase productivity.

It's very tempting to buy the latest and greatest in med school but looking back on 1st year, if you don't plan on changing your study hanbits from Undergrad, new hardware won't magically make you a better med student.