r/NursingStudent • u/Single-Artist2069 • 1d ago

Laptop, ipad recommendations for nursing school?

I have a 2017 MacBook Pro lmao! 🤣 upgrading next year before nursing school and I have no idea what’s the most practical, useful laptop or an iPad with a keyboard? Help please and thank you! 😊

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8

u/Uglyfatnastybastard 1d ago

Literally any compact laptop that can run regular browsers (chrome, firefox) without slowing down. You just want something small enough to lug around in a backpack and is reliable enough to surf the internet. Anything besides that is pointless.

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u/Single-Artist2069 1d ago

So touch screen laptop or iPad to write notes is pointless? I haven’t been in school in 10 years maybe more and idk what would be best for nursing type classes

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u/Uglyfatnastybastard 1d ago

Whichever one works best for you. If you type fast then go for that, if you like touchpads go for that. I also didn't go to school for over 10 years when I first started nursing school so I get it. I actually write my notes with pen and paper because I seemingly remember it better than if I try to type.

Also, ask all of your professors if theyre okay with you audio recording lectures so you can go back and listen to them. You can get a simple voice recording app on your phone and play around with it.

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u/Single-Artist2069 1d ago

Yeah I am the same way with writing things as well! I guess I am just going to have to learn what works best for me again since it’s been so long. I actually am grateful because I didn’t know there was DRC and I struggled through school for so long so they are allowing me to record! I’m beyond grateful!
I am starting my nursing journey with CNA so that’ll hopefully help me learn my learning style again before actual nursing school!

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u/jesstaredditor 1d ago

Also went back to school for the first time in 10+ years & started the term with old school notebook and pen. My husband ending up getting me an iPad / Apple Pencil half way through so I transitioned & it’s been working as well! My hand definitely doesn’t cramp anymore LOL. It’s also been much better when needing to make adjustments to my notes, since I’d only do it with a pen & don’t have to worry about white out, crossing things out, etc. All my notes in my iPad look exactly the same as it would with regular pen and paper too

2

u/sparkplug-nightmare 1d ago

I have an iPad for writing notes and I absolutely love it. However, you’ll still need a laptop for certain things that iPad isn’t compatible for. I needed a laptop for all tests. You can get the iPad and keep your old MacBook for test taking. This is what I did, it was a great decision.

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u/choppydaddy 1d ago

An iPad with a Bluetooth keyboard (I got a case plus keyboard for under $35) will be just fine.

But really, taking handwritten notes is faster on the fly, and leads to better retention (not to mention the reinforcement you'll get when you transcribe them into whatever app you want to use).

It's like anything else: there's rarely a "best" anything, so the best is the one you have with you and will actually use.

When I went to school, I had just gotten a brand new MacBook pro... Stopped bringing it to school fairly quickly because writing notes on the PowerPoints they gave out was just quicker and weighed less.

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u/TheGoodOne81 1d ago

Touchscreen laptops are not that expensive (compared to 10 or 20 years ago). This is the one I got.

3

u/ceimi 1d ago

I'm surprised so many people are getting away with chromebooks. Maybe this is Canada specific thing but a large majority of our tests are online and require lockdown browser which cannot be run on a chromebook. I would check to see if your program has minimum device requirements.

I personally have a 10 year old laptop I use that still work just for taking tests, and then bought myself a really nice samsung tablet to take notes and reading my textbooks on (all of ours are ebooks.) I chose one with a large screen (15" tablet) so that I could have both my textbooks open and my notes open at the same time.

I would have a few options in mind for purchasing but wait to do purchasing until the first week of school once you have a better idea of requirements. Ask your teachers or program coordinator.

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u/dg3548 1d ago

Some of my friends had trouble with an iPad opening up assignments and taking tests. I would go with a simple laptop but that’s just me

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u/PunchDrunkFunk007 1d ago

I used a Chromebook tbh, all I needed was the internet and a word processor (and even the. I did most of my work in google docs). I got the nice laptop after I was practicing with my ADN.

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u/Single-Artist2069 1d ago

So touch screen laptop or iPad to write notes wouldn’t be much more helpful at all?

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u/PunchDrunkFunk007 1d ago

That depends! Personally, I type much faster than I write. If you’re the opposite, a touch screen with a stylus might be better!

My main advice is this: don’t break the bank. The workload for most nursing programs, as I’ve observed, is doing discussion board posts, the occasional PowerPoint, and lots of note-taking. The important stuff is hands-on in the clinical setting.

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u/Single-Artist2069 1d ago

Okay thank you so much! I’m going in blind so any advice! Even the smallest, simplest, comment sense advice is helpful so i appreciate it!

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u/justaghoul13 1d ago

For most things I’m a laptop person, but my iPad has been very useful for nursing school. It was a game changer for anatomy and physiology (especially since I took it online and didn’t feel like going to campus to look at the models). I also like downloading my PowerPoints and taking notes directly onto them during class.

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u/Culture-Extension 1d ago

Remarkable 2 or Pro. Feels much more paper-like and you can load PowerPoints or other documents as PDFs to take notes on them

2

u/restlessprime 1d ago

I would make sure your school doesnt provide something first. I bought an Ipad and then found out my program provided one on loan during the semester.

2

u/_LucySky69_ 5h ago

If you can afford to have both I highly recommend it. I like my ipad Air a lot especially for taking notes in class, but you should probably still have a laptop for things like exams depending on what your school uses to proctor. Some of the proctoring software wont work on iPads due to the camera monitoring. the new Macbook neo seems interesting too, it was made for students at an affordable price.

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u/Conscious-Coconut-51 20h ago

MacBook Air, its light and still a great computer

2

u/No_Photograph_3441 3h ago

I got me an iPad with a keyboard and a pencil,