Nursing School and Technology

[Winry]

I was officially accepted into nursing school for Fall 2017 (yaaay!). Now I am trying to get an estimated budget for the fall semester. I already have a lot to buy in the way of uniforms, textbooks, and equipment for the Fall semester of Nursing. I was wondering how much did you use your laptop or a PC for Nursing courses? Was it more than your average course?

Reason why I am asking is because I don't know if I should buy a new laptop, or if I could just get by with what I have and rely more on school computers, which is what I did before I got accepted into the program. Do nursing programs have any special software that I have to use? I would look this up, but our website doesn't have an updated list of necessary items yet.

Long story short, my computer doesn't like Windows 10 and it routinely freezes and crashes. I have tried everything to revert back to an older version of Windows, and even had professional help. If I need a laptop in order to survive, I will have to buy a new one.

Any insight as to what I should be expecting in the way of technology use would be greatly appreciated!!

[RegularNurse]

- Buy a laptop on amazon. You can get a new PC with like 4 GB of RAM for $200 now.

- Wait until class starts to buy textbooks. Most courses are almost entirely taught and tested from a powerpoint slides that are part of the instructor bundle (the textbook and testing materials instructors are given when they choose a book from a publisher)

- Honestly, the merck manual and wikipedia are better resources than almost any textbook.

- Most universities offer a discounted version of microsoft office for students. I would buy it. You can also substitute open office or google docs if need be.

- I have not used any nursing specific software in my education or career.

[ItsThatJenGirl, CNA]

My school requires that you purchase a macbook or laptop through them, because it comes pre-loaded with all the software you'll need. I don't think I'd buy anything until you know for sure what you're going to need.

[gere7404, BSN, RN]

We use our computers extensively -- our patho and pharm are hybrid courses with huge online components, we have to turn all of our assignments in through an online service, we use our laptops to chart in lab or at clinicals with the SimChart program, and a good portion of our tests are proctored in class on our laptops.