Our program requires all nursing students to have a Hand-Held Device for clinicals. They specified that iPhones could be used but...can you really see on those very well? I love my phone for texting/twitter/facebook and of course allnurses...but..I don't think I could read a reference book very well on my phone!
Any tablet suggestions? I was thinking of an iPad mini. If I'm gonna spend the money, I might as well spend it on a system I know how to operate.
A lot of people in my program came in with tablets the first day. They were told to return them! You need something small like a phone that you can keep in your pocket. We were required to purchase skyscape. I still use it- all the meds are bulleted. It's formatted for a small screen. Plus if you can keep it in your pocket there's less of a chance it will get stolen from a desk somewhere.
Was the device and software requirement advertised and known before you enrolled in the program? Is it required per their course syllabus? A school can't just drop these sorts of things on students in an "Oh, by the way" manner. When you enroll, you sign a contract. If it wasn't spelled out in your enrollment agreement, they cannot do this.
It sorta sounds like the students got sand-bagged (except I know students discuss these things and know stuff before faculty many times.)
So many students are scraping by on federal loans?
A. Will the feds let you buy the equipment with the loans?
B. What assistance is the school offering for students that are stretched as far as they can go financially?
C. Do any upper-classmen sell their HHD's with apps when they graduate.
You can go all over these forums and read threads that ask in so many words... "How do pay your rent and put gasoline in your car when the loans won't cover 'living expenses'".
I feel very sorry for students these days. So much debt when they graduate. Something is wrong.
I use a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, it's big enough for me to read yet it isn't as large as the tablets, I can't imagine having to carry those around all of the time. If the situations allows I would get a cheaper tablet than an iPad, maybe a Barnes and Noble Nook HD, it's around 180 dollars and has decent specs.
A lot of people in my program came in with tablets the first day. They were told to return them! You need something small like a phone that you can keep in your pocket. We were required to purchase skyscape. I still use it- all the meds are bulleted. It's formatted for a small screen. Plus if you can keep it in your pocket there's less of a chance it will get stolen from a desk somewhere.
I had a similar experience. You will need one that will fit in a scrub pocket for reference. I believe that in our program they were planning on using Socrative (an app that is designed as a student test taking/response platform), but after using it 3 times and it only working one time they scrapped it. I did use it as a drug reference but I believe that it was not necessary. Also you will find that there are many apps that are free that also have drug information (Epocrates, Medscape, Medical Drug Pronunciation). Best to find out what it will be used for and purchase what is needed, nothing more. I purchased an new, last years model IPOD Touch for less than 200.00 and also use it to listen to music when I run. Good luck.
Was the device and software requirement advertised and known before you enrolled in the program? Is it required per their course syllabus? A school can't just drop these sorts of things on students in an "Oh, by the way" manner. When you enroll, you sign a contract. If it wasn't spelled out in your enrollment agreement, they cannot do this.
It sorta sounds like the students got sand-bagged (except I know students discuss these things and know stuff before faculty many times.)
So many students are scraping by on federal loans?
A. Will the feds let you buy the equipment with the loans?
B. What assistance is the school offering for students that are stretched as far as they can go financially?
C. Do any upper-classmen sell their HHD's with apps when they graduate.
You can go all over these forums and read threads that ask in so many words... "How do pay your rent and put gasoline in your car when the loans won't cover 'living expenses'".
I feel very sorry for students these days. So much debt when they graduate. Something is wrong.
Yes, it was made clear to us of the additional expenses when going into the program. I haven't signed any agreement yet (but our orientation is coming up here in July, so I'm sure that's when we'll do that).
To answer you (to the best of my knowledge):
A. Our advisers told us to check financial aid to see if the individual student's aid would cover the cost of the HHD.
B. My guess would be none? (Don't hold me to that! haha) But, I believe it would be similar to not having enough money to pay for your textbooks...
C. Not to my knowledge but they might. It's a good idea :)
Just to throw this out there, so many students these day already have iPhones/tablets and other devices.
I agree with what you said last 100%. There is no reason why a degree should cost as much as it does!
Anyway, if anyone has any good tablet suggestions, let me know!
I have a kindle fire that supports medscape, epocrates etc. Also some of my textbooks are available in Ebook format. They aren't very expensive. If the apps required are android a kindle might be a good way to go. Whatever you use, get a good case for it!
If you want a one-device solution, check out the Galaxy Note 3 "phablet"... it's an Android phone, but large enough to use as a real tablet. It can fit in a pocket. It's much lighter than a Kindle Fire. If you're in a position to upgrade your phone, you may be able to pick it up very inexpensively with a new contract.
If you bring a tablet to clinicals, I will tell you to put it in your backpack or whatever you brought with you. The idea that a phone is ideal is because it is easily put away and carried with you. I can only imagine you setting it down and it growing legs and disappearing.
Get an otterbox. That thing is very good. I drop my phone all the time and one time it went face down on the dispatch floor. It sounded like it should have cracked but it didn't. I would use an ipod personally. The reference materials are usually apps and they aren't a pain to read.
I live in a metro area, and pretty much every nursing program in my area requires a smartphone or similar device for clinical rotations, so I don't think it's too uncommon of a requirement. I ended up getting the Galaxy Note 3. I thought about getting an iPad mini or something similar, but felt they were too big. The note is the perfect size in my opinion. Big enough to comfortably read on but small enough to fit in my pocket. I had always only used iPhones, but I am loving android. I can't honestly see ever switching back. The iPhone screens seem so miniature in comparison now that I've gotten used to the note! I would highly recommend it if your sole purpose for needing it is to have a device that is very portable, allows you look up information and read it comfortably while in clinical.
I wonder --- if the program requires you to have these devices, are they going to replace them when they are lost, damaged, stolen, destroyed??? Those 500$ devices add up quick when having to replace one, especially when it's not somewhere you would have normally taken it.
I love my Kindle Fire HDX. It supports PDF and word formats and has excellent readability. It was very affordably priced also. Fits in a lab coat pocket. The only negative is being unable to use Apple apps that I want but the positives outweigh the negatives.
mander
60 Posts
A lot of people in my program came in with tablets the first day. They were told to return them! You need something small like a phone that you can keep in your pocket. We were required to purchase skyscape. I still use it- all the meds are bulleted. It's formatted for a small screen. Plus if you can keep it in your pocket there's less of a chance it will get stolen from a desk somewhere.