Do you use an iPad for medical school? How useful is it?

So I'm a post graduate student, starting medicine in September. I'm wondering whether buying an iPad would be worth it. I currently have a MacBook but found I didn't use it much during undergrad due to its size and difficulty annotating lectures. However I did find it useful for textbooks.

Don't get me wrong I completely understand its a huge luxury and definitely not a necessity.

My thinking is I could not put any social networks or distracting apps on it. So I'd be less likely to procrastinate whilst studying.
It'd help with anatomy as I'd be able to annotate images and look at them in 3d.
Less likely to lose pieces of paper.

Do I just sound like I'm trying to justify an unnecessary purchase or has anybody found an iPad to tablet for that matter to be a useful tool to aid learning?

I'm wondering this too... I am anticipating using Anki a lot (I've used it a lot in the past with good results) but making my own decks as that's an important part of the study process for me (maybe as time goes on I will use other decks as a starting point and just edit them). Has anyone used Anki on an iPad / tablet? Does it work well? I like the idea of being able to make notes on lecture slides, and not carrying my laptop around, both big pluses for a tablet. Also being able to make review cards by taking a photo of a diagram more easily than faffing around with my phone and computer (or even drawing a diagram straight in). Distraction is not so much of an issue for me.

My son uses one of the Windows ones that can be either a tablet or a laptop (I forget which, but cost me an arm and a leg) and he finds it really useful to have the keyboard and the touchscreen option depending on what suits the lecture best (and he is an Apple devotee in many things and loves Anki)

So I'm a post graduate student, starting medicine in September. I'm wondering whether buying an iPad would be worth it. I currently have a MacBook but found I didn't use it much during undergrad due to its size and difficulty annotating lectures. However I did find it useful for textbooks.

Don't get me wrong I completely understand its a huge luxury and definitely not a necessity.

My thinking is I could not put any social networks or distracting apps on it. So I'd be less likely to procrastinate whilst studying.
It'd help with anatomy as I'd be able to annotate images and look at them in 3d.
Less likely to lose pieces of paper.

Do I just sound like I'm trying to justify an unnecessary purchase or has anybody found an iPad to tablet for that matter to be a useful tool to aid learning?

Ive just finished first year at leicester and we are all given ipads. At first i didnt think much of it. But after a while it made things so much more convenient using the app notability and buying an apple pencil for 70 pounds was so worth it. I can freely annotate all my lecture PDFs the battery lasts easily for a few days. And its not very bulky at all. I recommend getting one over carrying heavy paper books laptops pens etc.

Good to know, although the costing an arm and a leg may rule it out for me! I already have a laptop so don't really need the combo thing. The keyboards that go with iPads look pretty good, but I'm sure there's cheaper and just as good android options - more research needed I guess!

Wow you were all given ipads?! DO you know of any other unis where this happened too?

Leicester is known for this (tech enhanced learning)
I think st georges may but its not advertised give them a call.
I dont think any other unis do.
Otherwise.

Wow you were all given ipads?! DO you know of any other unis where this happened too?

Wow you were all given ipads?! DO you know of any other unis where this happened too?

Imperial were the first to do this and I think they still do.

The med school will get upwards of £200k to train you, and the cost of giving you an Ipad is about the same as one day's worth of teaching, so its not exactly a big deal for them.

It's become even better - they give you one when you start and then a brand new on in 5th year too. Although I'm not sure if that's going to continue.

I didn't find it useful though - I just use mine to play GTA San Andreas during boring lectures mostly.

How do you use an ipad during clinical years?

Regardless of your mode of study/ number of pieces of technology it’s only a necessary purchase if it suits your learning style.

From my experience, I’d say an iPad is a worthwhile investment. I used it a lot for anatomy pictures, notes. We use prosection at my uni and I had a different cover to ensure specimen ‘juice’ didn’t get onto my stuff. I used it for lectures because I have the new one with the pen. So I could highlight, circle etc almost as if I’ve got paper. Saved a lot of trees that way.

Now I’m a clinical years student, I mostly use it for the occasional lecture we still have. I like having it at the hospital as it’s compact, and my laptop is huge so would give me back ache, but I generally keep a note book on me for scribbling down any learning I get from the ward rounds/ clinics I attend. So less useful but still handy.

So if financially you can afford it I’d say it’s worth it.

Ive just finished first year at leicester and we are all given ipads. At first i didnt think much of it. But after a while it made things so much more convenient using the app notability and buying an apple pencil for 70 pounds was so worth it. I can freely annotate all my lecture PDFs the battery lasts easily for a few days. And its not very bulky at all. I recommend getting one over carrying heavy paper books laptops pens etc.

(This ipad is the ipad 6th 2018)

My concern is how natural the glass and pen feels. When I write notes I tend have very little structure. Little writing here. A doodle there. An annotated pic in the corner. Would I be able to do that or would the glass contact be off putting.
I am Apple devotee. I have been tempted by one of them detachable windows tablet pc things. So would have to look into transfer from the Apple eco system. Iphone mac ICloud. I’ve found stuff like handoff where I can start a spreadsheet and finish it on my phone or keep all my documents in the iCloud and access them via phone incredibly useful in day to day work. Not sure how well windows will integrate.