Question about writing in Nursing School.....

[BipolarMom09]

I imagine there is a lot of reading and writing and note taking in nursing school, right?

Well, do you type on your laptop or do you hand write it all? I have tendonitis and possibly arthritis in my right hand and if I write for too long (even 5 minutes really) then my fingers get cramped, they stick, and I have to hear this big plastic brace :( I was hoping to start nursing school when my baby turns one but was looking for some tips on what to do about this issue I have. It is physically painful to even type too much, too long, or too fast on the computer even :(

[usmclife58]

I have arthritis and I just had surgery last year on my right hand for CTS. I am going to be doing the left probably this year (I hope). I am not in the nursing program yet. Not really taking pre-req's since I have been done with those for awhile now, so I am just taking classes to keep me going until I get accepted. Anyway, for lectures, I write everything I can as quickly as can. Then I go home and write it again, legibly and orderly in my "study book". It is basically just another notebook, but I feel like I am learning it more by going over it again. Plus I can go back and look at my notes, compare with the book, add things, etc. 

Sometimes, meds before class and in the evening would be enough. Sometimes it wouldn't. My thought is that if I can't get through classes because of it, then there is no way I can be a nurse. 

[musicpisces]

I use my laptop (did in my pre-reqs, too). It hurts me less than writing does (I have carpal tunnel). I do make notecards by hand for studying, and my hand does get painful and numb from that, but I deal with it. I do worry that my CTS will get in the way, but so far in clinicals (and when I was a corpsman), it hasn't been a problem. Most hospitals have electronic medical records now, where you just check boxes as do a short narrative, so actual documentation won't be a huge issue (it's not like you're writing a novel, and if you are, you need to work on your documentation!!).
I rarely have to do crazy, furious typing (except maybe for papers, but even then, I'm going back and forth between my paper and my research, so I'm not spending hours just typing). Even in lecture, it's not as much note taking as in, say, physio, because most if it is either in the reading or is a case study (at least in my courses).

[SusanD]

 We typed everything. All papers were required to be in specific formats, fonts, etc...so being typed was a requirement.