[capeellyn]

Hi everyone,
I'm a newbie and didn't see anything about iPods in this section so thought I'd post a new one... I'm a nursing student (LPN) and am interested in learning about any software/programs that I could use in my iPod to help me during my clinical days. I have the 20GB iPod photo (2 1/2 yrs old).
Thank you so much!
- Ellyn

[Devil_Duckie]

Personally, I don't know a whole lot about my ipod (a 3rd gen nano) as my husband puts all my music/videos on it for me. I don't recall there being any special 'software' for ipods so to speak, especially not for the older versions. The closest thing you'd have would be adding info in the 'notes' section on your ipod.

On a side note however, I would be cautious about bringing your ipod to clinical. Despite the fact that you plan on putting useful material on it, your clinical instructors may not be as agreeable. It's primary use is still as a mp3 player and they might not be ok with you having it during clinical. Just a thought.

Above all, good luck in your studies!

[capeellyn]

Good point about my teachers... although I have a feeling they'd be ok with it, I'd just have to ask. What did you mean about adding a note to my ipod? I'm pretty computer savvy, but don't know what you mean by that.
Thanks for your reply!

[Devil_Duckie]

Like I said, I'm not extremely tech-savvy and when it comes to my ipod, I'm at a total loss! I'll ask hubs when he gets home, but if you want, you could always google 'add notes to ipod' and see what comes up. Me, I always carried this in clinical and it was a lifesaver...

[MollyMel]

Unfortunately with a regular ipod (not touch) there isn't much interactiveness per se. It is not a PDA, and there is no outside software you can install to use it as such. You couldn't look up drugs or anything, and you are limited to using 1) a text document or 2) a podcast.

That said if you wan to use the notes feature it could be better than nothing.
So.... first you plug in your ipod, select it in the box on the left and on the "summary" tab check either "manually manage music and videos" (this may already be selected since if you pick and choose what music gets transfered this is the option to use) or "enable disk use".
Next make sure your document is saved as a .txt file type. The way I know to do this is open your document in a text edit program (it will have "txt "or "Text" in the title usually), under "format" choose "make plain text" and then save the document as a .txt
Next you will click on the little ipod icon on your desktop, and drag your txt file into the "notes" folder. Now when you go to "notes" under the "extras" section of the main menu on the ipod you will have some reading to do!

Next, you can find nursing podcasts/video podcasts for free on the internet. I have listened to A&P, Psych and Davis Nursing Fundamentals podcasts on mine, and also saw that Miami Dade had some video podcasts for basic nursing skills on the iTunes store. I mostly search iTunes, but there are other sites to find them (podcast.com, podcast.net)

You can also sync your iCal to the calendar on your ipod and use it as a one way day planner (you can only make changes to the iCal on your computer, but you can view them on your ipod). Calendar is under the "extras" section of the main menu on the ipod.

Finally, you can get microphone attachments (Belkin has one) so you can record lectures on your ipod. I think it is with the "voice notes" feature, but since it requires buying another piece I haven't played with it at all.

Ipods are awesome and can be useful, but by no means have the functionality of a PDA. It really is a pretty mp3 player with a few bells and whistles.

Good luck!