Must-have gadgets for the nursing student

Nursing Students General Students

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I start my nursing program this January, and I'm in the process of getting prepared. I've got the uniforms, the shoes, the stethoscope, most of the books, and all of the office supplies. I'm in fundamentals of nursing this semester, so most of that stuff I have already. I was wondering if anyone can tell me what one techy gadget they have found invaluable for notes/lectures/projects during the program? My husband has mentioned getting me an iPad, but I really have no interest and HATE touchscreen keypads. I had looked into the Capture Notes style apps and while they are pretty cool, I can't get over the price of the iPad, considering I might find it to be too much hassle to use and just end up not using it for that. eBooks aren't an option for me...I have to have hardcopies. I have considered a netbook for note taking in class, but wonder if it is more practical just to get a regular laptop? We currently just have one that we share...mine bit the dust over the summer, RIP. Then there is the Kindle Fire. I'm a big eReader fan and have a Kindle already so an upgrade would be awesome, but are they useful in the classroom? We don't have a ton of money to pour into unecessary extras, so I'm looking for one gadget that will serve most every function I would find most useful. If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it! I am not tech savvy, so I really don't know where else to start or what else to ask! :unsure:

I would say have a laptop for researching and writing papers, unless your husband doesn't go on the laptop much it might be annoying, i mean ipads are awesome b/c there so convenient...its so light and if i ever need to check something at school its there, but its not necessary ...i have some good apps that I use often like good notes, ever note, davis drug guide etc. , i dont take my laptop to school it gets distracting... just use pen and paper....if your on a budget i'd say get a laptop and just your notebooks etc, i use a lot of stickys ever type ...big ones small ones medium size, ones that tab pages, put checklist on them, tab important slides, pages etc. im just in love and a million and 1 different color highlighters :) its just how you study best im a visual learner...hope I made some sense and helped a little bit!

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I am a pen/paper LOVER...I can peruse the isles for the PERFECT notebook and the PERFECT pen, it kills my husband. I prefer the cheaper 3-5 subject notebooks, college rule only and FAT pens! LOL! Those were the perfect gadgets. Highlighters were color coded and pen colors were coded also. I am not protective of my phone, but heaven help my children if they messed with my pens or highlighters! LMAO!

Amen. I completed the first bachelor's with only using my laptop in one class (which required it). My SO just can't understand my obsession with my pens and mechanical pencil. It is good to know I am not alone in that.

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I'm starting my nursing program this January and this is all wonderful advice! Thanks everyone! Keep 'em coming! :up:

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Thanks everyone! I am the pen and paper type also. I guess for now I will stock up on awesome pens and notebooks (Im ashamed to admit that this excites me) and get a decent laptop. That was a plan anyway, since mine kicked the bucket. Maybe once I actually start the program in jan, I will get a better feel for what I could use. I have a smart phone so the apps for that are a great idea...never thought of it. Thanks for the tips! :)

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Look into apple laptops (imac)... good price point, good microphone for recording, ability to convert, use, make all sorts of files such as .pdf right out of the box, videos and recordings can be made and edited, etc.

Downside; many of the little CDs that you get with textbooks and NCLEX prep only run on windows. You might have a routine where you use those disks at home or at a computer lab/library, though. In that case, an imac or a netbook would be fine for class.

But a good sturdy Windows laptop and an external DVD/CD drive is a good idea (just count on the internal drive of a laptop breaking at the worst moment, because they often break inside due to the shaking, inversion, vibration and bumps in the car, and especially if you drop it from the desk).

Bear in mind that your instructors are going to ask for certain assignments to be in Powerpoint or Excel format and they are all running Windows for the most part. As long as your apple can convert things or has the right software, you're ok.

Tip: Get a reliable printer such as a Brother (I swear by them myself and the ink is cheap) and have extra ink cartridges on hand at all times. You are going to run out of ink 1 hour before you leave for class to turn in a midterm paper after having clinicals the night before, and you don't want to spend that hour driving around town with tears in your eyes because nobody has the BR7846 cartridge in stock. You also do not want to get a B in a class that you had otherwise earned an A on because of such a silly mistake! ;]

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Thanks for the thread, I'm also starting in Jan and was wondering about a lot of the same things myself. I traditionally love taking notes by hand becasue I learn better, but I also have an ipad, and have been wondering about the best way to integrate the two.

I'm also currious what you would look for in a "good" pen. I have lots of cheapie pens, but nothing I would consider a good pen. Also, what do you look for in a notebook? I tend to use loose leaf paper and then recopy my notes into a sprial one, but I've never really considered them much before.

Thank you again, I am loving all the suggestions!

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I just graduated a BSN program and have been working for 3 months. you learn nothing in nursing school compared to when you get a job. good luck. and make friends with your teachers.

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I just wanted to add: a lot of you say how you love your paper notes and highlighting, and I was the EXACT same way. I thought taking notes on my iPad would be really weird and distracting since i always used paper. It isn't. I take notes right on my electronic paper just like you do in your notebook or powerpoints. I highlight on my iPad just as you do on paper. I can have the teachers notes as well as my own all under a single folder.

I just wanted to add that because it doesn't seem that some people are not fully aware of what note taking on the iPad really consists of. It may not be for you and that's fine, everyone learns differently and prefers their own thing. But you can do basically the exact same things as you can by using pen and paper as you can on the iPad. I can record, highlight, add text, underline, add pics, etc. to notes that were made by my professors. Or just make my own notes.

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I barely had food in nursing school let alone fancy gadgets!

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Hate to spoil your techie needs,but during our times, or from we were from, we only relied on a few critical things and conditions and those are our brain, a constant need for research and knowledge and a healthy, physically fit body. All these contribute to a balanced well being of our nurses. We don't have time to pull up gadgets when we need information,all of them are stored in our brains,in cases of emergencies, by the time you pull out your gadget for info, if you don't know nursing info by heart, the patient would have died.I hate to be a spoil sport, but knowledge is to be learned by heart not to be stored somewhere else, show your patients that you rely on these gadgets for references, they will ask for a different nurse to take care of them, one who knows what to do by heart.

And to make a fool of yourself, try taking a full hour dictations from your professor using your gadget , you'll get cramps on both thumbs.

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Hate to spoil your techie needs,but during our times, or from we were from, we only relied on a few critical things and conditions and those are our brain, a constant need for research and knowledge and a healthy, physically fit body. All these contribute to a balanced well being of our nurses. We don't have time to pull up gadgets when we need information,all of them are stored in our brains,in cases of emergencies, by the time you pull out your gadget for info, if you don't know nursing info by heart, the patient would have died.I hate to be a spoil sport, but knowledge is to be learned by heart not to be stored somewhere else, show your patients that you rely on these gadgets for references, they will ask for a different nurse to take care of them, one who knows what to do by heart.

And to make a fool of yourself, try taking a full hour dictations from your professor using your gadget , you'll get cramps on both thumbs.

Of course when I ask for recommendations on some helpful gadgets for school, I am referring to things that make learning and understanding the material easier and more efficient, not something to replace learning and understand the material. Not trying to be lazy or replace knowledge...just trying to make the most of my learning experience and use any resource I can to be successful.

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Thanks for the thread, I'm also starting in Jan and was wondering about a lot of the same things myself. I traditionally love taking notes by hand becasue I learn better, but I also have an ipad, and have been wondering about the best way to integrate the two.

I'm also currious what you would look for in a "good" pen. I have lots of cheapie pens, but nothing I would consider a good pen. Also, what do you look for in a notebook? I tend to use loose leaf paper and then recopy my notes into a sprial one, but I've never really considered them much before.

Thank you again, I am loving all the suggestions!

I do the looseleaf-to-spiral bound thing too. I know that works for me, Im just worried that it wont be practical with the volume of work in the program! Regarding pens...the fat, free ones that you pick up from God knows where that have an auto insurance agent's name on them...those are the BEST! ;) I like the inkjoy too, but I wish they were fatter.

Anyone know of any good apps for smart phones that have been really helpful? I never thought to make use of my phone!

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