Is a tablet a good investment for nursing school

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Our school encourages the use of electronics and skyscape but it is optional. Before I drop $600, I would like to know if the tablets are handy in a school setting? Thanks.

I would def recommend it. I'm able to take notes and record audio during class lecture on my iPad. ??

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Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care.

Good day:

While I have an Ipad Air, our school bookstore is really pushing Asus MeMO Pad 7. At $170 it appears to be a great deal. Thoughts?

Thank you.

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Good day:

While I have an Ipad Air, our school bookstore is really pushing Asus MeMO Pad 7. At $170 it appears to be a great deal. Thoughts?

Thank you.

I have Apple everything. I haven't been inside a school in a while. I recently started back but I've done all my undergrad courses online. I plan on taking my iPad with me to class. I looked at the table you mentioned on Amazon and read the reviews. Of course, not everyone is going to like one product the same but, you might want to check out some of the reviews to see what others think. Best Buy also have a really good return policy so you can try out the Asus and return it if you don't like it but personally, I'd still to the iPad. I don't know if links are allowed on this forum but here is the link to the reviews of the Asus if you're really curious about it.

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Specializes in Behavioral Health.

I had the opportunity in nursing school to use my own Android tablet, my PC laptop, and a Chromebook. About a third of my cohort had iPads. If I were doing it over again I'd have started out with the iPad and a bluetooth keyboard (one of those ones that clips on the front of the iPad to double as a cover). The Notability app is light years beyond anything I could find for my Android tablet. I liked being able to synch things between my Android phone and my Android tablet, but for iPhone users that would be another plus in the iPad column. But really, it's not the platform, it was how smooth and easy to use Notability seemed. If you want to be able to jot notes right on PowerPoint slides it's the cat's pajamas.

If you don't want to write on PowerPoint slides, then save money and get a cheap PC (the HP Stream seems to be getting good reviews, but I haven't used one).

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As a former Tech guy. i have to say..... you just can't replace the Good ole laptop.

sure there are advantages to a tablet like mobility. but there is just more flexibility with a laptop.

also, any smart phone these days is basically a small tablet. you can even get the blue tooth keyboard for it.

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I used both a laptop and an iPad in class. The iPad was great and convenient but served mostly as a distraction. If you have a laptop I wouldn't buy a tablet JUST for school.

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Personally, I say no. I have all the apps I need on my phone (and who doesn't have a smartphone these days?)...and I bring my laptop to school as well, so having a tablet too would be overkill. As far as books are concerned, there's a good chance you won't have to bring them. I've been in 2 programs, and neither one required us to bring our books to class, save for a few days that we were told about ahead of time...so my bag for school never weighed that much!

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Specializes in ER, Med/Surg.

I used a laptop for papers and such during school. What I found SUPER helpful (this was pre-smartphone) was a PDA. So, if I was in school today, I'd have a good smartphone with several apps for nursing.

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i got an 11 in netbook that was lightweight portable and much more functionality than a tablet. unless there are specific apps you need for your program i just cant see the point in getting a tablet, especially over a laptop, and it makes even less sense if you have a smart phone which most people do. in the end, youre going to probably get a bluetooth keyboard for it to help type up notes and basically you just have a laptop thats less capable of doing what an actual laptop can do. tablets are just trendy.

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Specializes in ICU.

In case anyone is still referring to this thread...

If you have to choose between a laptop and a tablet, choose the laptop. It will give the most flexibility and better performance for all the classwork that you'll be doing. While a tablet can replicate many of the same programs, the usability of said programs (such as Microsoft Office, Excel, etc) aren't as easy to use compared to when on a computer.

If you do buy a tablet, buy one in the same ecosystem as your phone. As in, if you have an iPhone, buy an iPad. That way you can access your data on cross-platform apps, such as Notability. Then, make use of cloud services (like Dropbox) so you can pull your data/files/assignments/pictures/whatever onto a computer in the library. You'll inevitably have to make some kind of poster, power point, or something similar during your time in nursing school.

Personally, I'm a techie, and I had both. I had my laptop initially. A beast of a machine because I am an amateur photographer and a gamer, so I had a nice $1.5k rig. I never brought it anywhere unless I knew I was meeting with some people who could watch over it. Then I bought an iPad mini and a bluetooth keyboard. I used the iPad in class to take notes on Notability. I could open up power points and write/sketch notes when needed. It was tiny and weighed very little. I put a case on it that had a hand strap, so I could easily hold it up and read it like a book when I was in bed. When I wanted to review notes and I was without my iPad, I could fire it up whatever I saved on my iPhone. When it came time for the NCLEX, I downloaded various resources I found here on this website, and I also took a TON of notes from my Kaplan prep couse via my laptop. I uploaded those files into Dropbox, and opened them on my iPad when I was on the move and but needed to study.

In the end, I used my iPad extensively to study for nursing. I don't regret having both, in fact I'd prefer to have both if I had to do it over. But my circumstances and needs are different from others.

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My tablet with a lot of useful medical apps on it is the most rational purchase to study nursing effectively. My favourite apps I can't actually go without include Drugs Dictionary, Medical and Medicine, Learn Medical app, and many others. All of them were downloaded from freepps.top website for free.

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