Q. In what circumstances is a second computer monitor useful?

A. For general practice consulting in the surgery a second monitor is not a good idea. There is enough distraction present in the room with one monitor. But if you are doing a lot of work with documents, either for research, committee work or personal study, then a second monitor for your desktop or laptop is worth considering. The best way to start is to borrow a monitor. You are bound to find one stored somewhere in the practice or at home, or ask a friend or colleague who updates their systems frequently. Then you need to figure out what cable you need to connect your PC or laptop to the monitor and what settings you need to enable on your PC to activate and configure the second monitor.

Some people keep one monitor for email or a web browser, I just use the second monitor intermittently when I am referring to one document and writing another or when I am comparing two documents. Establish your own preferences as you work. You may find a second monitor does not help you, in which case you can return the borrowed monitor. If you are enthusiastic about your experience with a second monitor, then splash out on a new good-quality monitor.