The University of Leeds is giving all 520 students in their fourth or fifth year studying medicine a free 16 GB Apple iPhone 3GS loaded with things like note taking software, textbooks, reference manuals, and a SIM card that gives them unlimited data. Students will have to pay for voice and SMS on their own. Considering how much these kids, or most likely their parents, are paying for schooling, a free iPhone is the least this place can do.
“It is vitally important that medical students continue to develop their skills and record their progress when they are in practice, as well as when they are on campus,” said professor Trudie Roberts, professor of medical education at the University. “Mobile phone technology means that students can do this quickly and easily, wherever they happen to be working.”
Students are already thrilled at the prospect with Claire Bird, a fourth year student, saying that she’s saving “valuable time” when looking up drugs compared to the old fashioned paper version. As a child of a father who was a surgeon and a mother who is a nurse, I can attest to how time consuming those prescription drug manuals are to search, but also to keep up to date since new drugs are coming out on the market all the time. Any doctors reading this care to comment on what sort of devices you and your colleagues use, and if Palm, as in the old Palm OS devices, not this new webOS shenanigans, still has a stranglehold on the industry?
Now all we need is federal support for digitizing patient records and a doctor can read over your medical history and diagnose you all while he’s taking his post lunch bathroom break. Here’s hoping he washes his hands before pushing your tongue down and asking you to say ahhh!
[Via: Silicon.com]