What should I get for nursing school: laptop, tablet, or e-reader?

Nursing Students General Students

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  1. What do you think?

    • 6
      Laptop
    • 4
      Tablet
    • 0
      E-reader and recorder

10 members have participated

I am hoping to start nursing school in the spring and while I realize I have "plenty of time" I like to know what I want way ahead of time.

To tell you about me I am a student that likes to handwrite notes and then type a study guide. This way I have to read everything at least twice. I am mainly a visual and kinestetic learner with a little bit of auditory thrown in.

So back to my question. Should I get a laptop (I have one but my boyfriend uses it a lot because he is in school online) a tablet (I like the 2-in-1s that completely detach and the majority of my textbooks are e-books) or an e-reader with a tape recorder to accompany it (since I like to handwrite my notes anyway). I've been asking other people but can't really get a good answer (more of a whatever you want).

Any and all help is appreciated!

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Specializes in Nursing Management.

Do you mean for lecture? I wouldn't recommend any of those for clinicals. A 2in1 tablet would probably be best. I used my iPad with a keyboard to make notes and studied from it. Much easier than lugging around giant nursing textbooks.

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I'm assuming you mean for lecture, because you will not be able to use electronics in clinicals (practicum on nursing units).

It IS up to you to decide what works for you. To make a definitive recommendation, I would need to know a lot more about you and your study habits.

I am a kinesthetic/auditory learner. I recorded lecture on a digital recorder while writing notes in class. Once home, I played the lecture back and took notes and drew diagrams on a whiteboard, because I never re-read my notes. If you re-read your notes, your current practice of typing a study guide from your notes would work. Since you are visual/kinesthetic, I would suggest that you make compare/contrast charts, graphs, and diagrams/illustrations, also.

Frankly, it doesn't matter which tools you use, as long as they work for you. I would suggest a laptop or 2-in-1 with a keyboard, because your current method means you will need to type a lot. I have an iPad with a keyboard that I love, but the small keyboard isn't really conducive to extended typing.

Consider functionality, also. Do you need the full capabilities of a laptop? If not, a tablet may work just as well for you and be less expensive. I don't think an e-reader will provide you with enough functions and you wouldn't be able to type efficiently.

Good luck!

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You are correct in your assumptions. I am so anxious for acceptance letters that I can't think straight. Lol. Thanks for the advice y'all!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.

Lap top! Or the 2 in 1 tablet/lap top. Don't rely on a tablet, as most of my school Ebooks don't view correctly on my iPad.

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I love surfas pro 3. It's small enough to carry and has keyboard. There are cheaper sorta equivalents if cost is an issue.

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I highly recommend using a tablet that way you can upload your powerpoints to the tablet (no printing necessary) and annotate directly on the powerpoint during lecture. You can takes notes on the powerpoint, highlight, and make voice memos for yourself to study in the car etc. I also have my e-book on there which comes in handy from time to time although I do prefer paperbooks.

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I would recommend a laptop. I got an ipad mini with a bluetooth keyboard, thinking I would save money. As it turns out, the program my school uses to turn in homework wasn't supported on my ipad, so I ended up selling it (for about half of what I paid for it) and buying a laptop. Whatever brand you choose, buy one that's lightweight.

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