SpeedUp Light - Play podcasts, MP3s, and Goljan or Conrad Fischer Faster on your Phone!

This app allows you to increase the speed of your MP3's loaded on your phone/device all the way up to 2.5X.

Now you can listen to Goljan, or Conrad Fischer, or your favorite podcast, or study tool at the most efficient speeds while you are on your commute to and from where ever you are going.

Its Free, and its called SpeedUp Light.

Enjoy!

Update for Clinical Medical Student 3 - White Coat Tablet - Ipad Mini, Nexus 7, Kindle Fire

Having a tablet that fits in your lab coat... Priceless.

Having charge and reception on your phone.... priceless.
Having a lightweight library of review books, question books, and medical texts, as well as Uptodate, Medscape, and netters anatomy in your pocket... More than priceless.

I suggest you look into the Nexus 7, Ipad Mini, Amazon Kindle Fire HD.

These are your mainstay products that fit in your pocket, are powerful, fast, longlasting battery life, and support a lot of the apps youll need and want. Nowadays, all the apps like Prognosis and Medscape and Casefiles are universal for all. The Ipad is priced a little higher... of course, but really the difference is the iOS vs Android vs Amazon Google Store. The Nexus 7 on Android is the cheapest and really will be the envy of your clinical group, if you need something on a budget, which most of us are. 


Having a smart phone or tablet is priceless... you may want to consider a phone or tablet.  I love having an iphone to look up abbreviations, diseases, surgical procedures, anatomy, etc... during rounds and lectures... but also, It would be nice to have a "dumb"-phone with a superior battery life and cell reception because hospitals are notorious for having terrible dead spots. And when someones trying to get ahold of you for whatever reason, it can be quite frustrating, assuming you dont have a pager, or your pager battery dies, which happens.

Goodluck!

Prognosis:Your Diagnosis IPad/IPhone/Android App - Clinical Medical Students

If you are in clinical practice, you should check out this app to pass the time when you get tired of reading textbooks or pocket references. This is a great educational/fun resource.


Each case is presented with thorough HPI and physical exam, and preliminary lab tests given to you.
Next, you are asked what tests to do with this patient, and given immediate results to interperet.
Finally, you are asked which things to do to manage/treat this patient.

You are assessed on your performance and there is a detailed discussion describing reasoning behind all tests and treatment options, and is backed  by journal articles listed at the bottom.

New cases are uploaded by MD's all the time. So far there are maybe 100+ cases, divided by Medicine, Pediatrics, etc...

A Must see app.

http://www.prognosisapp.com/

Dropbox

Three reasons this is the most helpful thing for you and your Pathology Group.

1) Its FREE

2) You put a folder on your desktop. Open dropbox ONE TIME, and select this folder. Files (your path slides) in this folder can be added, deleted, manipulated, and edited by ANYONE who has the dropbox program installed on their computer and logged into the account. It all updates automatically, no need to be computer savvy.

So, get an account created, and give the login + password to your whole pathology group and start making/sharing your slides. MONEY.

3) For your own purposes... Have your own account and backup your files in case your computer crashes. You can access these files online at the dropbox website from any location. I plan on doing this as soon as I get some free time. I've been too close to losing a lot of important study materials too many times. Don't let this happen to you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GET DROPBOX: http://www.dropbox.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IPHONE/IPAD USERS:
Oh! Did I mention, you can sync this guy with your iphone/ipad as well!? It's absolutely amazing. Definitely something you want to look into if you have one. Take a min to check out this tutorial of how efficient this is.

Play your videos in 1.5X and Double Speed on Ipad

AVplayerHD. its $3 in the appstore. and you can (just like goodplayer), transfer files of any filetype right onto your ipad in the Itunes Applications section at the bottom. No need to convert your video files.

So, you can put Kaplan Videos, DIT videos, Full length movies, TV shows... whatever you want.

Best feature for studying? You can increase the playback speed upto 2X right there on the screen. Easy.

Upad - top note taking pick

I like this best for Taking notes. Not editing powerpoints or Pdf slides... but actually annotating fresh notes, like a notebook. Check it out!

UPAD 1.61

Attention: If you write Applications! There is a market for Med Students!

I just thought of a small niche for those of you who write applications for Apple or Andriod and want to make a few bucks.

There currently is a need for an update to Kaplan's Questionbank application, one with more features and ipad friendly.
Also, USMLERx Questionbank and USMLE World Question Banks do not even have associated applications yet.

What these are, are paid subscriptions to a bank of Multiple Choice test-like questions, including timing, feedback, and user-customized tests. It is really helpful for these banks to be available on the go, on our ipads as they become more and more popular with medical students.

If anyone out there wants to take on these projects, I can almost guaruntee that these companies would be willing to give you a decent price for a well designed app. PLUS, us medical students would greatly appreciate it. :) please, thank you, and youre welcome.

Top 20 Medical School Ipad 2 Applications *updated Nov 2011*

1) GoodReader - organize your files/lecture notes into folders, sync with dropbox, take notes during class. You can underline, highlight, freehand, add lines, arrows, boxes, textboxes onto pdfs no problem. Ive been able to link this to my schools online resources page as well.


2) AVPlayerHD - play ANY format videos, easy to drag videos on the ipad through itunes without syncing the whole thing, Increase your playspeed, it remembers where you left off... Kaplan videos, DIT videos etc., organize your videos into folders easily too, its fast and brilliant. - http://doctormuggle.blogspot.com/2011/10/play-your-videos-in-15x-and-double.html




3) DropBox - 2GB of free storage, put all your lectures, class notes, and everything else you need to access on your ipad, you can save files in your dropbox from email easily, work on files on your ipad, your laptop, or your friends computer, and it will update automatically anywhere you work on them. Sync it easily with Goodreader. Take notes, upload it to the net for a safe copy and easy access on any other computer.


4) Upad - Take notes Quickly, draw pictures, upload/email/save to yourself. Really simple to use, and Looks like a real notebook. I use this in clinical settings, or when I'm taking freestyle notes. Can email the notes yourself or upload it. - http://doctormuggle.blogspot.com/2011/10/upad-top-note-taking-pick.html


5) iBooks - download and read your Medical Book pdf's in an organized fashion, bookmark where you left off. might want to look for a .CHM reader, as some people have expressed a use for it, although I have not. 


6) QuickOffice Pro HD - view, EDIT *something goodreader currently doesn't do (and loads slowly those files with images), save pwrpts, word, and excel files, and sync to dropbox or googledocs. Can download and upload to dropbox, googledocs, mobile me, idisc, etc. BEST OFFICE application. Is extremely fast because it doesnt load the images.


7) Penultimate - freehand take quick notes. Keep seperate notebooks with scratch notes in it. Can save any scratch work you do by pressing Home Button + On Button => takes a picture of your screen and auto saves it to your photo library for whatever you want it for. Been great teaching tool and for quick stratch work.


8) IM+ Pro - keep in touch with your peers through skype, googletalk, aim, msn, facebook chat, and others too all in one.



9) Safari WITH SEARCH IN PAGE - this fix allows you to search the page for keywords. follow this Ipad Guru's simple instructions: http://www.theipadguru.com/2010/04/15/search-within-a-website-page-in-safari-on-your-ipad/

10) Medscape - look like a doctor. have all the drugs, diseases, and uptodate articles updated constantly at your fingertips. Great for looking up drugs for people and drug interactions. There was another App I reviewed called First Consult (*my Review*). Its great for clinicians, but is a paid app. Medscape is free. Epocrates is also a very popular app for clinicians.


11) Kayak - find and TRACK flights, hotels, car rentals to and from home for cheap.



12) Camera - comes with it out of the box, but the camera is super useful if you take pictures of other resources to review them later. Don't forget about it.

13) Kaplan Qbank*** -  My new favorite for studying for the step! --> KALPAN Qbank REVIEW

14) USMLERx FlashCards**** - GREAT! http://doctormuggle.blogspot.com/2011/11/ipad-usmlerx-flash-cards-great.html


15) First Aid Q&A Question Bank**** - So good! - http://doctormuggle.blogspot.com/2011/10/first-aid-q-and-question-bank.html

16) GFlashPro+ - Upload your google docs excel files into amazingly organized and test-ready flashcard sets. If you share this with some other students it becomes really useful. The Quizlet app also has a really good format you can download any flashcard sets people have posted up on the net! Just do a search for them.  - http://doctormuggle.blogspot.com/2011/06/quizlet-flashcards.html

17) Falcon USMLE Amnesia Cure - High Yeild Cases - 150ish cases with 3 questions per vinette, Diagnosis, Pathophysiology, and Treatment - then a detailed explanation. It's great.


18) Pre-test apps for ANY subject - looking really good. AND alot of these have been recently created/updated this year!







19) CaseFiles - Multiple Subjects. Havent looked into these too deep yet, but they look promising.They include bulletpoint education and a quiz on high yeild stuff.


20) Prognosis - Your Diagnosis - A really educational app, but also kind of fun too. More for clinical diagnosis and Treatment - Step 2-3/clinical stuff. Includes Pharm, Treatment, Diagnosis.

For Clinicals - You'll absolutely want Epocrates and Medscape for pill identification, drug dosages/onset/halflife/mechanism of action/brand names, procedure details, and updated disease management guidelines. 

Goodplayer and best $3 you ever spent

Just figured a way to get Kaplans USMLE Review Videos onto an ipad. Since the format is a problem, don't bother with converting. Download the Goodplayer app for $3, or get it for free if youre jailbreak savvy. 

Plug in your ipad to your computer, then click on it in itunes. Click the apps tab, and scroll down to file transfer. Select Goodplayer on the left, and drag the video files you want on your pad into the box. It will automatically sync, and fast too! You're all set. Easy. 

Note Taking Apps - Ipad 2 - Upad

So, I've been testing out Ipad apps for notetaking, and I think by-far, the one I like best is called Upad.  
** in fact, there are so many apps for note taking. Goodnote is quite good as well. Find one that works for your needs. I prefer to freehand my notes during class because its faster than typing and i don't like switching back and forth from freehand to keyboard. **

Upad is cleaner and easier to use. More responsive too and less buggy. It allows you to write zoomed in, so it looks crisp and clean on the page (notebook paper looking). A lot of these apps are getting better and better with updates, keep your eyes peeled on the appstore. 

You can draw pictures, insert pictures (incase you want to take pictures of the powerpoint slides ;) WINK!) type text or write text freehand, and it will transcribe it into text, or you can keep your original handwriting. Just check it out. Its $5 and you can send the notes straight to your email or sync it with Dropbox automatically, which is sweet so you can access your notes anytime anywhere.

Getting a Tablet - Handwriting Recognition + Typing Speed

So, I'm ready to get one finally. I think its clear now what is happening. There are 3 options.

1) The incredible Ipad 2 (Now Ipad 4 and Ipad mini (which you can fit in your white coat later on!), easy to use IOS operating system, smart software updates, with the ability to sync with your laptop or iphone wirelessly, thousands of applications, and you can easily jailbreak them in seconds.
2) All other tablets using Google's Android Honeycomb Operating System, which range in size, speed, and battery life comparable to the ipad. Acer, Asus, Motorola, Toshiba, Samsung, all have adopted this operating system. That means, if you like this platform, just shop for the tablet you like best and for the best price, they are pretty much all the same. If you haven't used it yet, go check it out at your local Computer store. Basically it still has bugs, its not quite as good as IOS i think, and it looks like a Digital Picture frame to me. I still wouldnt mind having it, but at the end of the day, its fast as hell, multitasking works really fast, theres a ton of applications out there, its customizable, and its just a cheaper (and it is cheaper) version of what you get on the Ipad.
3) Windows 7 Tablets with Stylus support. These computers are more expensive and have shorter battery lives. However, they have precise stylus support, and are able to function like a laptop... wait.. so why not have a laptop then? I can't really justify an answer.

The use of a stylus guys, I think really requires one more step. Handwriting Recognition. Once this goes mainstream with good solid software, I consider it being a very valuable tool.

Imagine this scenario... You take notes on your Tablet with a stylus... about ohhh Biochemistry... you draw a diagram with arrows showing inhibition points and write out the names of the enzymes.
Later that week you try to recall the information, but you just can't do it. You have to go back to your notes. Okay. so you do a search... no results. Why? Because the notes you did in handwriting format can not be searched. why? because it is not standard text.

If our software was able to take what we write in freehand, and accurately turn it into text, so that we could easily search for it later and catalog it, then yes, this could be a valuable study tool. The other strike against a stylus for note taking is this: it is faster to type on a keyboard than it is to write words with a pen (atleast it is for me, and im sure it is for you too). If not, goto this website, and get your speed up.

What's your WPM? -----> TypeRacer

Typing fast is a valuable, VALUABLE tool for anything these days, especially med school.

So, in conclusion.
- I am considering tablets with styluses a waste of time. A bluetooth keyboard is a much more important feature for what we do.
- That leaves us picking Andriod vs Apple. For me, its a simple choice. Its about money. Do you want to spend an extra $200 for the 32GB Ipad 2? or get the cheaper, android version for $400. That's it.

It may be interesting to see what Windows 8 does for us, offering another mainstream operating system that can be synced across all of your devices without all that extra learning how to use it stuff and setup, but right now Ipad 2, jailbroken and with a couple helpful apps and a wireless keyboard, is the best option in my opinion.

Medscape eMedicine

This website has everything you want to know about a disease. Causes, risk factors, diagnostic investigations, Symptoms, Complications, etc etc etc. Definitely bookmark this and have it for your Clinical Rotations. Looking up medication names and dosages are essential!

http://reference.medscape.com/

Also, you can get the app for free on your Ipod/Iphone/Ipad/Android/Blackberry:

http://www.medscape.com/public/mobileapp

It's great, I once looked up an analgesic I almost bought from a Pharmacist in Africa, and it turned out I was buying an antibiotic, so I gave it back.  

It also will give you all the pharmacokinetics of drugs, drug-drug interactions, and new updates and articles + more. Highly recommended for anyone in the medical field.

Remember to be connected to Wifi at first, there are a lot of updates to load
but after that, its very fast and doesn't need to be connected to the internet. 

Tablet for School - the HP Slate

Ahhh there are so many tablets now its making my head spin. I can't wait to go home and play with them all at my nearest Fry's.

So far.. my pick is for the Ipad 2, for a lot of reasons. Mostly, battery life, and applications. 
... but watching this video made me realize I really really do think a pen can be super useful in the Lecture hall.... its making it very hard to resist the allure of something like the HP Slate 500 for next semester...
What do you think? Post your vote in the poll -->

             

Goodreader for Ipad

If you've got an Ipad, you DEFINATELY want this application.

You can save, edit, and send files on your ipad in picture, movie, word, excel, powerpoint, pdf formats. 

You can even download files from the internet, drop box, email, skype, whatever. It integrates with your email application. I don't know how you function without this. Go Get it!!

LINK: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/goodreader-for-ipad/id363448914?mt=8

Control + F = Find (Apple + F on a mac)

Attention Medical Students!

If you don't know about this computer shortcut, I am about to change your life.


When looking for information on a website, in a word document, and ESPECIALLY a digital copy of a textbook or PDF file.... Press Control + F. A search box comes up, you type in what you're looking for and it instantly finds what you're looking for.

Save yourself a ton of time. Don't sit there and flip through pages and pages of textbook or scrolling and God-Forbid... READING... through a long wikipedia article, or even bother with a glossary!
STOP IT. This is 2011.

I make sure I take all my notes in digital form, save all my textbooks in pdf, and have digital copies of nearly everything. Why? So if I ever want to quickly look up something from a previous class, I can find it in seconds, instead of russling through stacks of pages from 2 years of basic science coursework. Even the most OCD of us are annoyed by the huge stacks of papers we accumulate after 2 years of medical basic science courses. Save yourself the hassle and think ahead for the Step. If you want to reference something, you want to do it quick. Control + F. 

Unlock your PDF's in 4th Term

The path department locks their PDF lectures, and it gets really annoying because some people like to highlight on Acrobat and type their notes in. Well, you have to unlock the pdf's in order to use them like that. Here's the website to do that. (such a cleverl URL).

http://www.pdfunlock.com/

Robbins Pathology Flash Cards for Apple Devices

Ipad, Iphone, and Ipod Users... Pick up this handy Robbins & Coltran Pathology Flashcards App.
Nothing much to say about it except it ROCKS>!

You can buy it for $35 on apple istore, or while you're out there in England or Grenada, you pretty much want to jailbreak your device anyway, so you might as well download it for free.

If you find me around, ill be more than happy to help you out with that, especially for $35!

...or not. Here's the Apple store link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/robbins-pathology-flash-cards/id367031323?mt=8

Best Tablet of 2011?

**UPDATE 2013!!
it is literally INSANE how different the market is now for tablets, everyone has an ipad, or a laptop with a touchscreen, there are litterally hundreds of tablets in all brands and sizes on the market now, what was once (when i originally wrote this article... a sliver of the electronics market).  Not only is this article outdated, its a relic of the past by now. If anything, the tablets I showcased back then are still verry great and a fraction of the price they once were now that tablets have become so popular. Goodluck shopping! Start here: 

By far, at this point 03/2013... I reccommend the Ipad mini or Ipad 4th generation, otherwise any new tablet, HP and Lenovo have great touch screen options with windows 8. Although personally, if you have the money, i would spend and get the Macbook Pro. If you are strapped for cash... like most of us... and you enjoy the Android OS, DEFINATELY go with the Google Nexus 7. Its by far the best option for you. There is a slightly larger version the Google Nexus 10. Cheers!

THE Rest of this article is merely a Tablet Graveyard I wrote about in the years past. My, have tablets flourished since then...

=======================================================
UPDATE: 2012
GoodReader and Dropbox 
 http://doctormuggle.blogspot.com/2011/05/goodreader-for-ipad.html

==================================================================

**tablet expectations for medical use post**:

http://doctormuggle.blogspot.com/2011/05/tablet-computer-ideas-2011.html, 

==================================================================

So, I'd like to announce my two favorite Tablets on the market right now. 

1) ASUS Eee Pad E121

-This thing is SEXY.

Cons: It's a little thicker than the ipad, but it is as light weight. Hardly a con for me.

The biggest issue so far is battery life and price. 3 hours and $1200. Still better than my latptop, but not that great compared to ipads boasting 10 hrs @ $550 for a machine lacking a lot of features. I think set at lower brightness and with turning off wifi, the Asus should increase battery life quite significantly.

As for what it can do... WOW no comparison. 

Now, i don't speak German, but I think these guys knew I would see this video so they already have "Ryan, hi" written in custom script on the screen. 

This guy does an EXCELLENT job showing off what this this looks like. Enjoy.

Pros:

1) digitizer pen with actual responsiveness like a piece of paper

2) i5 processor - blazing fast as my laptop

3) windows 7, that means i can have oneNote, EverNote, skype, aim, microsoft word, whatever programs i need. This thing will even run photoshop CS3, and windows video editor! This also means multitasking and customization.

4) high quality screen

5) multi card reader - so you can expand storage space by the size of your SD card

6) 2 USB ports. yes, I said TWO. 

7) big solid state hard drive

8) Unlimited digital paper for note taking, drawing custom diagrams, and reading digital textbooks.

Awaiting competition from Acer, and a price drop, but those of you daring enough, I think this guy beats Ipad 2 in terms of productivity anyday of the week. Batterylife doesnt mean much when you get this much out of a slim piece of paper. Buy it, I dare you

2) HP Elitebook 2740p

In December of 2010, this was the best tablet I've seen on the market. I know a lot of people don't like HP, but this is a quality machine. Remember, Brand only means the outer shell. A lot of the internal components are made by intel, etc (other reputable companies), so don't pin everything on brand.

Pros:

1) lightweight

2) Fast

3) runs cool, not hot like previous models

4) high quality

5) multitouch

6) durable, and stable rotating screen mechanism (don't want this stuff to break, so i checked) 

7) pleasing to the eye

8) High quality digitizer pen- i used to have the older cheaper HP version, the pen is incredibly accurate. 

9) HD output

10) VGA output for putting on external monitor

11) multi card reader

12) 5 hour battery life!

13) HUGE harddrive... the list goes on. 

Cons:   

Only one. Price. Its almost $1500 for this puppy, and it looks like it's not dropping anytime soon. But with good reason, this thing is a beast of a laptop. Fast, and everything you need from a tablet.

Price is always the issue, but if you want a decent machine that has all the durability, performance, speed, and features, you gotta pay the price.

Tablet Computer Ideas 2011

I've always been a fan of touch screens, ever since owning the HP Tx2500z tablet laptop and the Iphone 3G.

**if you want to read this OLD article go ahead, but if you want advice on what tablets in 2013 to get for medical use... Look here:
http://doctormuggle.blogspot.com/2012/11/update-for-clinical-medical-student-3.html


So far... as a medical student, I am un-impressed with the selection of tablets available.
If you haven't converted to taking notes on your computer while in class, you are not only missing out on a much better experience (since you can google words you don't know during lecture), but you also can have textbooks on pdf at your disposal semi-instantly, not to mention you don't have to lug around stacks of papers back and forth where ever you go during your medical school years.

** this article is now dated, although still somewhat applicable. Although the means for saving and sharing data are changing due to the online data storage and the Cloud... we still could perfect these tools. I've converted to Ipad 2, and soon enough the Ipad 3 will be released, and I will take a look into it. Apple still needs to allow some better usability into their software for a flawless medical student's tablet.

Things I need for an ideal tablet:

1) quick to scroll, zoom, and navigate between email-internet-and pdf's, quick to turn on, turn off, sleep mode
2) ability to save & edit a variety of files from emails, skype, and other programs
3) play a variety of movie file types, as well as audio in high def
4) long battery life (more than 5 hours please)
5) digitizer pen for note taking! no more paper.
6) Card reader and USB port to save, share, and store my files, attach digital cameras, wireless mice and keyboard, and charge my phone!
7) Dual camera for skype calls
8) infrared sensor for gaming (namely shooting games)
9) **added. FITS IN MY LABCOAT! 7'inch tablets are perfect for this.

For the Ipad series, the adapters are a little annoying, but workable. And, there is the option of implementing online file storage, which is a great idea, but this is only ideal for when you have an internet connection. We really do need a customizable desktop of our own files. Like I said, we are getting close.

Link for the Ipad 2 and Ipad Mini:
Ipad is looking better with the use of GoodReader: check it out.

LINK: Goodreader for Ipad 2


Looking forwards to the next generation to use their imaginations! I can't wait to see what we create next.

Typing in Medical School

Might I suggest that if you are one of those that uses 1 finger on each hand to type one letter at a time... then I have some homework for you while you are on break or in your free time. It just seems to me that being able to type fast has many advantages in medical school, and you might as well take advantage of it.

Learn to type faster! A lot of us learned at an early age, be it with Mario Teaches Typing, Mavis Beacon, or a variety of other cheap educational games. 

So here are two references for you to get up to speed:

1) Race random people or your friends on TypeRacer:
LINK: TypeRacer

2) Download Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing for free and learn how to type correctly. It gives feedback too. 

http://download.cnet.com/Mavis-Beacon-Teaches-Typing-17-Deluxe/3000-2051_4-10441764.html

THE NEW FREE MAC VERSION: http://download.cnet.com/Mavis-Beacon-Teaches-Typing-2011/3000-2051_4-10967560.html

cheers!