Question for current MCC nursing students

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I am starting the nursing program at MCC in January and think I may want to get a PDA like they were talking about at orientation. With Christmas right around the corner, I thought it may be a good gift idea so I wanted to start price shopping and such, but I don't know what exactly I should be looking for as far as brand, model, storage/memory space, etc... Anyone advice from any current stidents who have one or use one would be greatly appreciated!

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I wouldn't. By the time you buy one and the software for it you're looking at over $400. The screens are small and give me a headache when I try to read them. There are nice durable PDA books and small lab books in the MCC bookstore or even cheeper at another one of the mall bookstores. I spent $65 for both at the MCC bookstore. I think I was able to look things up faster in my book than other students squinting their eyes at the little screen trying to use the little metal pencil thing.

I would atleast look at the books before buying a PDA.

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On the other hand, some people love them. Palm is having a great sale right now through Dec. 1. You can get $100 off an order of $299 or more. I had the same thought about christmas deals and have been searching around like crazy for a good deal and this was the best I found so I jumped on it.

http://store.palm.com/home/index.jsp?clickid=topnav_store_txt

Spend $299 on a TX plus a cheap accessory to get the $100 off. You still have to buy software, and yes it does add up, but this way makes it a lot cheaper.

If you are just starting in January though you don't need to rush. You could get it for the fall and be just fine. You won't use it at all in the 1500's.

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Specializes in Surgical/MedSurg/Oncology/Hospice.

I agree with szyman27, you won't need a PDA in 1500's, but it's handy to have once you start 1600's...and I can't imagine what I'd have done without mine since 1700's! Yes it's expensive, but it's totally worth it to not lug around Davis's drug guide and many other books, especially when looking up multiple drugs in the allotted timeframe before getting checked off for drug passing. Any those little books that fit in your pockets are ok for some things, but none of them have all of the info you need, and some instructors want to know more than just a few basic facts about a drug...and others want you to be able to explain the pt disease in more detail.

I have the Palm TX with various programs, not all of which were absolutely necessary, but the Nursing Constellation program and adding on Taber's Medical dictionary are the most important ones that I use at clinical, you can get those downloads from skyscape.com. Plus, the internet connection comes in handy when you have downtime at clinical, especially to check your grade online after a test!

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On the subject of school supplies, can anyone recommend a stethoscope. I'm not sure how good of one I will need. I've been looking online and don't no the difference between one for $40 and one for $140.

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A bunch of us in my lab have the littmann lightweight. It's decent and does the job but next time I would probably go for one with heavier and/or double tubing one to cut out some more sound. It can be a bit confusing at first when you hear all sorts of random sounds.

Some choices:

http://www.allheart.com/littmannscopes.html

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