My Favorite Apps for PT School

Studywithanspt/ October 2, 2019/ PT School Essentials

Here are some of my favorite iPad/Mac and iPhone apps that I found to be super helpful in PT school! You may already know of most of these apps but there may be some features that you don’t know about or never thought of using. Hope these suggestions help!

iPad/Mac Apps

You guys know I can’t live without my iPad Pro 2018, so here are some apps that I use constantly! Most can be found in the Mac app store as well!

1. Notability

If you follow my instagram, you know I can’t live without this app on my iPad. I write notes, draw diagrams, and annotate lecture slides all on this app. The graphics on this website, like the banner above, and my logo were made on this. It’s really nice having all my lecture notes and self-made notes on one app.

Some Features:

  • Create notes from scratch
    • customize pen/highlighter/text color
    • pen options for uniform strokes or strokes based on pen pressure
    • create perfect shapes (and fill them in)
    • insert photos (and edit them)
    • customize the paper background (dotted, lined, blank, etc)
    • copy and paste selected areas
  • Upload PDFs and write on them
    • search for text and handwriting
    • combine PDFs upon uploading
    • add blank pages
  • Record audio
    • adjust audio settings (pitch, speed, tone, etc)
    • play back with real time handwriting (you can see your writing at the time that you’re playing back the audio)
    • download audio files
  • Export documents as PDFs or Note documents (the Notability file)
  • Split screen
  • Share documents (AirDrop, FB messenger, email, etc)
  • Store notes and documents in different categories and sub-categories
  • Automatic backup (to iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc)

Price: $11.99 | Available on iPad, Mac, and iPhone

2. Complete Anatomy

If you’re a PT student, you’ve probably heard of or have this app. It is INCREDIBLE, especially if you have the full version. My school has a deal where you can get the app for free, but I bought this app while studying for anatomy in undergrad at UC Irvine. Even though I could’ve saved about $40 (there was a discount at the time) if I had waited until PT school, it is honestly worth every penny when studying the human body. It is really easy to navigate on the iPad, which is where I usually use it.

Some features:

  • Customize different layers (integumentary, muscles, nervous, etc)
    • add or subtract layers
  • Free lessons and sheets
    • variety of lectures by doctors
    • content sheets with labelled structures (bones of the skull, anatomical planes, facial muscles, etc)
    • 3D models of different areas of the body (lymph node, thorax, eye, etc)
    • videos of body processes, injuries, functions, and exercises (rotator cuff tear, carpal tunnel syndrome, deadlift, circle of willis, etc)
  • Isolate structures
    • rotate three-dimensionally
    • multi-select structures to isolate
    • animated actions, exercises, etc (muscles)
    • hide or fade structures
    • look at structures from different views (lateral, medial, etc)
  • Detailed structures
    • can select surfaces or parts of any particular structure
    • information box for each structure describing function, attachments, and other related structures

Price: Free trial version, $59.99 for one time fee

3. iStudiez Pro

If you’ve been looking for a digital planner, this is it! I’ve used this for a couple months now and I love it! The assignments checklist with the class schedule all in one app is super helpful in keeping on top of everything. I currently have the free version so it is only on my laptop (have to upgrade in order to use multiple devices).

Some features:

  • Can add:
    • Semesters
    • Courses
    • Class schedule
      • can add lab and lecture days
    • Exams
    • Assignments
      • due dates
      • descriptions
      • notifications
      • partners
      • priority level
      • tasks under the assignments (with app upgrade)
      • click box to mark as completed
    • Icons for the different exams/assignments
    • Holidays
  • Different views
    • Planner – basically view by class
      • view schedule or assignments
    • Assignments – view assignments in all classes combined
      • view by due date, course, or priority
    • Overview – calendar view like google calendar
      • assignments in the boxes above the date they are due
      • exams shown in the calendar days
  • Settings
    • adjust class duration
    • change working days (mon-fri, etc)
    • set default due date or by next class
    • change phrases for alerts
    • adjust day boundaries (5am – 11pm) on calendar view
    • set notifications (class, exam, assignments, and tasks)
    • keep track of your grades
    • sync calendar with other calendar apps
    • cloud sync

Price: FREE | Available on iPad, Mac, and iPhone

4. Quizlet

Like undergrad, this website/app is a really great tool to use to study! I make the flashcards or use other people’s and then export it onto Notability in a pdf in order to test myself. I just hide the answers on one side of the page and then circle or write in the answers! Some people who also benefit from just making the cards! Personally, I like to type up the cards on my Macbook Pro but then study them on my iPad.

Some features:

  • Create flashcards
    • can make different sets
    • add to particular courses or folders
    • add additional cards to your own existing set of flashcards
    • insert photos (costs $)
    • customize background
  • Use other people’s flashcards
  • Different review techniques
    • learn: my fav part of Quizlet, you go through the flashcards and select the matching answers. you need to answer correctly in order to master the card
    • flashcards: classic front and back
    • write: type in answers to your cards
    • match: match up front and backs of your cards
    • test: customize question count, what to answer with, question types, and grading options

Price: FREE | Available on iPad, Mac (website), and iPhone

5. Books

You may think, “isn’t this a default app that comes with apple items?” Yes, yes it is LOL. During my first term, I bought all of the required books, which ended up to be at least 7 thick textbooks. There was absolutely no way I was going to bring all of these to school with me without breaking my back. Now, all of my textbooks are pdf’s, which I store in this app. While you can use Adobe Acrobat or even Notability, I find this app really user friendly on the iPad.

Some features:

  • Upload your own pdf’s
    • store your textbooks or other pdf’s here, no matter how big the file is (from my experience)
    • different views (full page or 8 per page)
    • built-in table of contents (depending on the book)
    • bookmark pages
    • search
    • mark up pages with the pen and highlighting feature
    • share pdf’s (AirDrop, email, etc)
    • print
  • Library
    • view pdf covers on one screen
    • create and add pdf’s to a collection
  • Book store and audio books

Price: FREE | Available on iPad, Mac, and iPhone

iPhone Apps

1. Instagram

Of course I gotta have this app on the list. While my “studygram” motivates me to study and draw more, there are other accounts that are also super interesting if you’re a PT/SPT. Right now, the PT instagram community is huge and can be very helpful for visualizing exercises, discussing diagnoses, and addressing issues in the PT world. I’ll be making a different blog post about my fav PT accounts so keep a lookout for that 👀

Some tips (cause you all already know the features LOL):

  • categorize your bookmarks – I have separate ones for exercises – UE, LE, trunk, etc
  • read the captions – while a photo/video is worth a thousand words, some can be misconstrued without the context behind the content
  • if you like their content, go to their profile and click the down arrow 🔽 in order to see similar accounts that you might like
  • don’t believe everything you see/read – while I’m not bashing any accounts, you should always take everything you see on the internet with a grain of salt
  • interact with the accounts you like – comment on their post if you enjoy it or if you have questions; people like it if they know that their audience is enjoying their content

Price: FREE | Available on iPhone

2. Forest

I was using the Flora app when I caved and bought this app. And I never looked back 😅 This is an app that helps people study/work without being distracted by their phones. Essentially, you set a timer to grow a tree for your forest. During that set time, if you exit the app, your tree will die. As you successfully grow your trees, you collect coins and create your own forest. There are a bunch of different plants to choose from but you have to unlock them with coins (my motivation to add cute trees is so strong LOL). You can add friends and plant with them too, so you can all be productive together! If you don’t wanna spend the money, Flora is a good alternative – it has the same idea as Forest but doesn’t have many features. IMO, Forest is def worth the $2.

Some features:

  • Set timer at anywhere from 10 minutes to 120 minutes
    • can set your time to different tasks (study, work, social, rest, entertainment, etc)
    • can add up to 5 planting reminders (in settings)
    • customize the phrases you see with planting (on the main, success, and failure pages)
    • can extend planting time limit to 3 hours (in advanced settings)
  • Add and plant with friends
    • can see your friends’ forests and stats
    • there’s a friends scoreboard and global scoreboard
  • See your study stats
    • how many minutes you have accumulated
    • have forest shown by day, week, month, or year
    • arrange forest trees by time (in advanced settings)
    • sort by tasks
    • timeline of your study times and achievements
    • how many trees you successfully grew and how many you killed
  • Grow different plants
    • buy new plants with coins
    • occasional free plants
    • small plants under 25 min, large plants at least 25 min
  • Achievements
    • win coins from achieving various goals
  • Plant a REAL tree
    • for 2500 coins, you can donate a real tree to be planted by the app’s current tree planting partner

Price: $1.99 | Available on iPhone and iPad

3. NPTE-PT Pocket Prep

Now that I am in my second year of PT school, a majority of our didactic courses are already completed. The thought of that actually scares me 🥺this means that we’re should know a good amount of the content that’s going to be on the National PT Board Exam. This app is a study tool to study for the board exam for SPT’s! While I still don’t know some of the questions they ask, hopefully I’ll be able to correctly answer them as I continue through this term.

Some features:

  • quick 10 exam
  • question of the day
    • set reminder for QOTD
    • 14 QOTD for free version
  • exam countdown
    • set exam date
  • study progress stats
  • areas to improve
  • find a tutor
  • set study notification time
    • set reminders and their frequency
  • based on NPTE-PT 2019 Candidate Handbook
  • lots more features on the Ultimate update

Price: FREE (update to Ultimate with one time payment of $34.99) | Available on iPhone and iPad

4. Spotify

While this app/website is very well known, there are a lot of features that I feel are super helpful for studying/learning. You may like listening to classical music or rap music when you study, but if you don’t know what to listen to, there are pre-made study playlists on the app! There are playlists for instrumentals, intense studying, all-nighters, and other unique ones for focusing on your studies. In addition to that, I love listening to the podcasts that are available. I’m going to make a blog post about my fav PT podcasts so keep an eye out for that one too!

Fav study music playlists:

  • lofi hip hop music – beats to relax/study to
  • Are & Be
  • This is Yiruma
  • Chill Lofi Study Beats
  • Deep Focus

Fav PT/medical podcasts:

  • 2 Docs with 2 Cents
  • ClinicalAthlete Podcast
  • Dr. Death
  • Move Forward Radio
  • NPTE Studycast | Physical Therapy

Price: FREE | Available on iPhone and iPad/Mac

5. Tip Yourself

This app may seem like a weird one to add onto this blog post, but just hear me out. You connect this app to your bank account, and it acts like your own custom “tip jar” where you essentially tip yourself LOL. This is one way to save money in grad school, where student debt is inevitable and money is spent on cheap fast food. I use this app to motivate myself to accomplish different things. I’m the type of person that would be okay with spending money if I see the money in my bank. This app helps me take some money out (out of sight, out of mind), even though I technically haven’t spent it.

For example, there was a time where I determined that I was drinking way too much coffee. Whenever I thought of getting coffee but had the willpower to resist, I tipped myself $5. The app then takes $5 out of my bank account and puts it into a separate “tip jar”. After accumulating money, you can choose to take it out. When your money goes back into your account, it’s like a little present for yourself. You can use this to save up for a vacation, object you want to buy, or events you want to go to.

Some features:

  • create different “tip jars” to tip yourself
    • customize the names of each of your jars (coffee jar, vacation jar, etc)
    • set 3 quicktip amounts ($2, $5, $10, etc) and quicktip reasons (saved money, getting motivated, etc)
    • tip “other” amount that you haven’t set for the quicktip options
    • set savings goal
    • withdraw funds for the jar you want or request a full withdrawl of all savings
    • transfer funds between jars
    • put a reason for tipping or select a quicktip option
    • view history of your tips in your feed
  • look at stats
    • monthly or lifetime
    • total tips
    • best week this month
    • average tips per week
    • total amount/number
    • highest tip
    • average tip
  • add friends and see their tips
    • give them props
    • make your account public or private
  • see other people’s tips (global)
  • pro version option for $

Price: FREE

Thank you for reading this far! I hope you found an app you like and want to try out! If not, hopefully you learned about app features that you didn’t know about before. Happy studying!

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