e-textbooks and iPads for clinicals

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Specializes in Burn ICU.

Does anyone use ebooks instead of physical textbooks? If you use ebooks, is a 16gb iPad enough for storage if it's mainly used for textbooks?

When you do clinicals, do you use a tablet or a notebook?

I know every hospital and school have their own policies, I'm just curious :)

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Specializes in Inpatient Surgery.

I use a notepad and pen. It fits in my pocket easier so I can use my hands for doing something. I also try to wipe down everything with alcohol pads after leaving clinicals. I leave my books in my bag study during lunch. I wouldn't bring an iPad into a patients room.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Capacity/Bed Management.

I do not recommend anyone taking anything that they would be upsetting losing to clinical.

If I were you I would not bring a tablet to clinical as storage at sites is often not secured and things tend to be lost/stolen. For clinical I bring the essentials with me; a few pens, a small notebook, penlight, scissors, clamps, my stethoscope and a drug book. I am a final semester student and have never needed anything more.

If you have to do research on something there are plenty of computers and hospital-based sites to help such as UpToDate and Medscape.

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