Many people wonder if iPads are actually useful for medical students. The short answer is yes.
Most of the people in my medical school classes have iPads. An iPad can be used for taking notes, annotating PowerPoint presentations, and taking photos. Most commonly, I see my fellow medical students use it as a second screen to supplement their laptop. I also found that my classmates had a much easier time working with anatomy apps on iPads since they could touch the model and manipulate it using their hands rather than a trackpad or mouse.
While an iPad is not a replacement for a laptop, it can be a great alternative to carrying paper notes in your backpack. Taking notes on an iPad is quicker since you do not have to look around for the right colored pen or find a new sheet of paper when your current page runs out. It is also easy to erase any mistakes in your notes.
I do not use an iPad because I prefer to handwrite my notes on paper; I have tried taking notes on an iPad before, but I do not get the same level of engagement. I also found it kind of cumbersome since I had to sync all my files between my laptop and my iPad to have access to the same documents.
I say all this to make the point that an iPad is not a good fit for everyone, and it is not the perfect replacement for pen and paper. The iPad has many advantages, but I do not think an iPad is a necessity to be successful in medical school. Nonetheless, it can still be a good supplement to have for medical students.
Read more by Shiv.
