Laptop or pen & paper during nursing school?

anilea · Jul 18, 2017

I haven't started yet but I think it probably varies person to person, I know for a fact I study better with pen and paper and physical copies. I am online all the time and can't stay focused on school work because I like to have multiple tabs open and different things going on at once. I really liked the idea of keeping everything on a tablet but I know that it just wouldn't work out for me.

OsceanSN2018 · Jul 18, 2017

If you learn better by writing it all down then definitely go for pen & paper.

C0SM0 · Jul 18, 2017

At my school, having a laptop is a virtual necessity. All of our books are E-books and one of our classes (Pharmacology) is 100% online. We also get lots of powerpoint handouts so for my note-taking I use pen and just write on the handouts. It's really just a personal preference thing, but if your school uses E-books it'd be worth investing in a new laptop.

maplesyrup_5 · Jul 18, 2017

Congratulations on starting a nursing program!! You are about to enter some of the hardest but most rewarding years of your life.

Pen and paper will always win out for me- writing things down is proven to help you remember them better. But if your school uses primarily e-textbooks or has a lot of online material (quizzes, videos, etc.) then it might be worth it to invest in a laptop. Good luck! :-)

chris21sn, BSN, RN · Jul 25, 2017

It depends on the person. I had pros and cons. I don't write as quick as I type. With writing at least I won't go looking at my emails/Facebook, but with lab tops - I type like 100 words per minute -- of course with lots of temptations on going on tumblr. I picked the latter and still managed to easily pass nursing school with a 3.6 gpa

Lipoma, BSN, RN · Jul 25, 2017

My program requires everyone to have an iPad.

I will be printing out every slide to take notes so I can focus on the lecturer. I'll also be recording it so I can review it in case I missed something while in class.

WanderingWilder, ASN · Jul 25, 2017

My program does not allow us to take notes on our laptops. We do have online programs that we have to complete and we do research in class sometimes so a laptop comes in handy then.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jul 25, 2017

You will need a computer of some sort for school. But for note-taking, neuro science research indicates vastly improved retention of material for which the student writes physical notes on paper.

ItsThatJenGirl, CNA · Jul 25, 2017

We're required to have a laptop (purchased from the school, of course ), but I'll still write things down. It's the most effective way for me to retain information.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Jul 25, 2017

You will need a computer of some sort for school. But for note-taking, neuro science research indicates vastly improved retention of material for which the student writes physical notes on paper.

Pretty much this! I used a laptop for most of my own work and I did well... but I found that I retained info better when I wrote things down. Because of this, and the occasional hiccup with campus wifi, I would always bring a paper copy of the lessons for the day so I could write down physical notes. Sometimes I would take both digital and physical notes.

That was my own experience and that's what worked for me. A couple other classmates also took notes the same basic way I did, one did all her notes on an iPad, but most took physical notes along with lecture audio recordings.

BAY AREA RN, BSN · Jul 26, 2017

depends on you. My fundamentals class in in a computer lab, so there was no need to bring it. But on the other hand in skills lab we are able to watch the videos provided by evolve while we perform skills especially when the teacher is busy helping students or if we need to practice while we are in-between classes