Spring 2011 UT Health Sciences Nursing Hopefuls

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I am a UT Houston hopeful applying for the traditional and accelerated nursing program. I will complete my science prereqs (A&P 1/2) in the summer. I will finish up with Micro and Chem in the fall. I am so focused right now. Anyone else out there? :)

Just wondering, is anyone considering buying a PDA for school??

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Just wondering, is anyone considering buying a PDA for school??

I haven't really thought about the PDA yet but I did purchase an e-reader for school.

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I'm not familiar with an e reader. What will that do for us in school? Maybe I should look into that.

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I'm not familiar with an e reader. What will that do for us in school? Maybe I should look into that.

Well for me, i got it so I can read some of my books on the device and not have to carry the huge books. I know Elsevier as well as many other publishers offer there books in electronic format so you can read the entire text on the e-reader. I alse know that some smart phones have that capability too. You can also read PDF files, listen to podcasts and etc. It depends on the kind you get some can even connect to the internet and send emails. This might now be beneficial for everyone but I think it will definitely help me. It's like have hundreds of books all on one device without the broken back lol

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I am thinking of buying a Mac laptop for school but the school doesn't support. Any current students know if that is a terrible idea or if it will work fine just isn't supported by IT?

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Also, they just cashed my registration deposit check and I sent it in at the last minute...

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I am thinking of buying a Mac laptop for school but the school doesn't support. Any current students know if that is a terrible idea or if it will work fine just isn't supported by IT?

I would like to know this as well. I do currently have a Mac laptop, but I'm not able to access UT Link on it. Every time I need to check it, I need to use my roommate's PC laptop. I don't know if it's like that for other UT sites, though.

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Hey, I'm a current student about to finish my first semester. On electronics:

A ton of people love their Mac laptops. The school will not support them, but I haven't seen anyone who's cared about that. To access UT Link, download Firefox and then the add-on IE tab. I'd say about a third of the the students bring their laptops to class, and the rest of us just print the slides to take notes. However, if you don't have access to a computer at home, I would really suggest getting one. Yes, there is a computer lab at school, but a lot of the time classes will have reserved the lab for testing. I have a netbook, but I choose to not bring it because I know that I would get bored and surf the internet in class. Plus I learn best if I hand-write something.

Most of the classes are posted on Panopto later, which is a program that will sync slides and lecture audio. It's great if you miss a class or if you are an auditory learner who wants to go over the material. For the one class that doesn't do Panopto (Pathophysiology) a lot of people bring recrders, which the prof will allow you to place on the stage near her.

As for e-readers, there are only one or two books that you will ever bring to class and they're the smaller books. On the other hand, it might be nice to not deal with the huge books at home.

I also haven't seen anyone with a PDA. I do however LOVE my iPhone, and other people love their iTouch. They are the only mobile platform that UT's webmail system supports and you can download and listen to Panopto lectures. Some of us make and share quizlet flashcards and download them to our phones to study. The big Saunder's NCLEX book has a pretty useful app with all of the questions from the book. MedScape is great for pathophysiology (for me at least,) and there is a great lab values app to help you with a section of the care plans.

Hope that helps! :)

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Hey, I'm a current student about to finish my first semester. On electronics:

A ton of people love their Mac laptops. The school will not support them, but I haven't seen anyone who's cared about that. To access UT Link, download Firefox and then the add-on IE tab. I'd say about a third of the the students bring their laptops to class, and the rest of us just print the slides to take notes. However, if you don't have access to a computer at home, I would really suggest getting one. Yes, there is a computer lab at school, but a lot of the time classes will have reserved the lab for testing. I have a netbook, but I choose to not bring it because I know that I would get bored and surf the internet in class. Plus I learn best if I hand-write something.

Most of the classes are posted on Panopto later, which is a program that will sync slides and lecture audio. It's great if you miss a class or if you are an auditory learner who wants to go over the material. For the one class that doesn't do Panopto (Pathophysiology) a lot of people bring recrders, which the prof will allow you to place on the stage near her.

As for e-readers, there are only one or two books that you will ever bring to class and they're the smaller books. On the other hand, it might be nice to not deal with the huge books at home.

I also haven't seen anyone with a PDA. I do however LOVE my iPhone, and other people love their iTouch. They are the only mobile platform that UT's webmail system supports and you can download and listen to Panopto lectures. Some of us make and share quizlet flashcards and download them to our phones to study. The big Saunder's NCLEX book has a pretty useful app with all of the questions from the book. MedScape is great for pathophysiology (for me at least,) and there is a great lab values app to help you with a section of the care plans.

Hope that helps! :)

Thanks for all the info! Do they allow you guys to use your itouch/iphones during clinicals?? Like if you want to use some of the apps while you're there?

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Thanks for all the info! Do they allow you guys to use your itouch/iphones during clinicals?? Like if you want to use some of the apps while you're there?

That entirely depends on your clinical instructor. My clinical instructor has her own iPhone and she will send us texts throughout the day and we exchange info with her about cool apps. But, I also know of another clinical instructor who will kick you off of the the floor if she catches you messing around with a cell phone (not that it really seems to stop her students from bringing their phones.)

That is because the clinical instructor will only stop by for a few minutes a day and you will mostly be learning from the nurses on your floor. All of the nurses seem to have their own gadgets, just make sure you come across as professional: don't text and surf facebook all day, actually use your nursing apps.

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To HawkinsRV,

Does not having an iphone/blackberry/other smart phone put you at a disadvantage during clinicals? I have a regular phone that I use just to call and text, and all this talk of apps makes me feel like I'm missing out.

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To HawkinsRV,

Does not having an iphone/blackberry/other smart phone put you at a disadvantage during clinicals? I have a regular phone that I use just to call and text, and all this talk of apps makes me feel like I'm missing out.

I love my iPhone and I feel that it has been the best buy that I've made for nursing school and I very frequently see students with their iPhone or iTouch. My husband is also in school (not nursing school) and he can't be parted with his old candybar Net10 phone, despite all of the nifty apps I show him, because he prefers to study in a more traditional way. All of the information in the apps are also in the textbooks, so it's all about your preference. And, as I said, some clinical instructors won't want you to play with your phone anyway.

My favorite app is through the website Quizlet and downloaded to the app Flashcard Deluxe. It allows a bunch of us make and share study flashcards. I like to have them on my phone, so I can flip through while I'm in line at the store, but you can also study the flashcards on the website Quizlet completely online for free (no phone required!)

That being said, if you are considering buying a smartphone, I really suggest you go with an iPhone since it is the only smartphone that works with UT's webmail, which I find very convenient. As far as cost, I bought my iPhone on craigslist very cheap, since the seller didn't know how easy it is to replace cracked glass. I then jail-broke the phone and got a no contract deal with T-Mobile (here's a link to the plan,) since I don't like AT&T and I didn't want a contract.

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