Ebooks? Some, all or none??

randill8084 · Oct 10, 2013

Haven't tried ebooks. I like the regular books where you can just pull them out and read. No computer needed.

PCTerrific · Oct 11, 2013

I have done all ebooks for three semesters. Personally, it is a good fit for me, but I highly doubt it is one for everybody.

I hate lugging books around. If it's a big, thick textbook I can basically guarantee I will not read it. I also lose things like it is my job, and can't keep my papers/notes in order. outside of the hospital (where, miraculously, I seem to be able to keep things in order), I'm a hot mess.

So, for me, an iPad and e-books was very worth it. I like having all of my reading (articles, notes, huge textbooks) available at all times. Some books ARE crazy expensive for e-books, which sucks, but many are comparable. And the search features are awesome. I think I end up getting better grades than others because no matter where I am, I have all our textbooks and drug guides with me. It's easy to do good research and learn. Plus, easy to flip from my book to youtube to watch a procedure to google to check a term to my anatomy app to look up some weird muscle.

that being said, the platform for Elsevier SUCKS. oh boy, does it suck. it freezes, the highlighting feature barely works, and the print can be small. Still, on balance, better for me, but I know many would find that a deal breaker.

Def. a luxury, and an expense I had to make some tradeoffs for, but personally if I am going to indulge myself I'm going to buy things that make my crappy school life easier. I'd rather have a tool that make my accelerated program easier and less stressful than nice clothes or dinners right now.

I would see if you can look at someone else's e-books first. It is really a personal thing. I am one of the few in my program who use them-- people just prefer the big books, despite all having ipads.

christina731 · Oct 11, 2013

Ebooks are very useful when you have to search for something quickly. I used to hate them but now they're growing on me. For my prerequisites, I only used hard copies. For first semester of nursing school, I mostly used the hard copies and only used the ebooks for searching quickly. Now, halfway through second semester I think I've opened my hard copies about 3 times and that was when my computer was acting up.

springchick1, ADN, RN · Oct 11, 2013

I hate them. I like to actually write in the books. And yes, I know you can make notes in the Ebooks but I don't like doing that. I like physically writing in the text books.

sunbaby0811 · Oct 11, 2013

I ended up buying the book bundle my school offered which included the ebooks. I much prefer a paper book to study from but I have found that for class I exclusively use the ebooks bc I hate carrying those huge books. So for me, both have worked well. Everyone is different though.

cnoto34 · Oct 11, 2013

Thanks guys!

sharpeimom · Oct 11, 2013

So many of my husband's students don't bother bringing their books to class after the first couple of weeks because of their weight, that he suggests ebooks instead or both ebooks and hard copies of core books both, if the budget will stretch that far.

cnoto34 · Oct 11, 2013

So many of my husband's students don't bother bringing their books to class after the first couple of weeks because of their weight that he suggests ebooks instead or both ebooks and hard copies of core books both, if the budget will stretch that far.[/quote']thats what I'm afraid of! Do you mind asking what books are better to get in ebooks than others? I would rather get a ebook for one I might not use everyday

WoundedBird · Oct 11, 2013

I get physical copies of my real nursing books (assessment, med/surg, patho...) that I know I'm going to use again or refer back to a lot and get e books for classes such as development (already had a development text), cultural competence, and the other non-clinical courses.

cnoto34 · Oct 11, 2013

I get physical copies of my real nursing books (assessment med/surg, patho...) that I know I'm going to use again or refer back to a lot and get e books for classes such as development (already had a development text), cultural competence, and the other non-clinical courses.[/quote']thats good to know thanks

cnoto34 · Oct 11, 2013

Ebooks are very useful when you have to search for something quickly. I used to hate them but now they're growing on me. For my prerequisites I only used hard copies. For first semester of nursing school, I mostly used the hard copies and only used the ebooks for searching quickly. Now, halfway through second semester I think I've opened my hard copies about 3 times and that was when my computer was acting up.[/quote']thanks! I noticed ur in dentistry too lol I have been getting teased by my boss for switching fields!