Work bags: What do you take and what's in it?

[PediNurse3]

I am starting a new job tomorrow and and just started cleaning out my work bag...what a mess! I've carried the same huge Vera Bradley tote for a little over a year and it's filled to the brim with a bunch of old bills, lotion, carbon copies of PTO requests, etc.

What do you use to carry your stuff to work? I probably need to downgrade to something smaller as my new work environment is cramped. What do you put in it? I have a makeup bag, extra car key, calendar, change, a calculator, my badge, pens, pencils and highlighters.

[pomegranate]

i carry in a small canvas tote--

My stethoscope

An extra ID badge

A change purse with quarters and a couple dollars for the vending machine

2 granola bars

A bottle of water

A CPR face shield

A bunch of loose alcohol swabs and some little packages of TAO

A tiny first aid kit with band-aids and stuff in it

A drug book

Some things from inservices/staff education papers, along with a big sheaf of papers from a coworker's IV book

A pink penlight & pink scissors (both with my name on them lol)

A big sharpie + a little sharpie

Extra roll of tape

Bottles of excedrin, immodium, tums

PENS

A couple of mini legal pads to take notes on

Electronic and manual b/p cuffs

Chapstick + gum

A pocket calculator

Bottles of hand lotion + hand sanitizer

My car keys, cell phone + wallet

i want to buy a pulse ox as well because my facility currently only has one -_-

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

i want to buy a pulse ox as well because my facility currently only has one -_-

ugh I remember how frustrating it was to find a working pulse ox...my old facility only had two, and oftentimes one of them would disappear, so we were left with one... -_-

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I'm an APN and go to several clinics during my day:

I carry a briefcase:

laptop, charger, mi-fi wireless hotspot

In my pants pocket: iPhone and in other pocket: pager

lunch bag - two bottles of water, lean cuisine, utensils, snack.

In my car: extra stethoscope, face masks of various sizes

I also carry my fire dept turn out gear in my car and in the winter: extra clothes, blanket, boots.

[mskate]

Phone, Android Tablet and their respective chargers, wallet, stethescope, water bottle, granola bars, make up and other toiletries including floss, mouthwash, toothpaste, mini-deodorant (everything I would need if a disaster were to happen and I would get stranded at the hospital for a few days), hair brush, hair ties and lotion.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

i've carried the same leather messenger bag since 1989. i used to have issues with books spawning in there, but since i got my ipad the book reproduction seems to be under control. i have 3 or 4 lipsticks, 3 pens, 3 pencils, 3 sharpies, callipers, an little bitty flashlight and my stethescope. also iphone and a teeny tiny wallet. we have issues with theft where i work, so the iphone and wallet go in my pockets (i can read on the iphone, too). the other miscellaneous garbage that seems to collect in bags is all lying on my dining room table. now if i could just get that table under control . . . .

[divaRN*]

I use my old leather coach bookbag from college. I have wayyyy too much stuff in it. Not even sure if I know what is in it :chair: but ill give it a shot:

a few tubes of lotion (different ones depending on what i want/ need at the time)

biofreeze (for when my back is killing me)

random flushes/ alcohol wipes from end of shift

planner that i havent opened

feminine products

aleve and nasal decongestant

vaseline and vicks (from last winter)

stethoscope

glasses

sunglasses

pens, highlighters, sharpies, tape

random pieces of paper

chapstick

scrub jacket

water

wallet

callipers (havent used those since college)

and im sure much more random things. I think it is time for a clean-out

I also bring a lunchbox with snacks, dinner/ breakfast (depending on shift) and water.

[pinkiepie_RN]

OH yes I forgot I always try to carry a valum to work because you just never know win the sh#t is going to hit the fan you might need one !:)

That's it! I'm a walking pharmacy - tylenol, motrin, excedrin, pepto-bismol, and my own medications. That's what my bag is so heavy! Anxiety meds by rx of course.

[nursemarianne]

Working for a nursing agency required that I bring different items depending on where I was working. I got sick of packing for each facility and began carrying everything I could possibly think of in my back pack. I carry reference manuals such as lab values and the newest drug book. I carry extra report sheets, nursing notes, vital sign sheets for each facility so I can photocopy them when I cannot locate them. I usually have some sort of textbook or manual for the current course I am taking. I also carry:

Vicks vaporub

Vicks menthol cough drops

gum

stethescope

automatic wrist B/P cuff

manual B/P cuff

AA/AAA batteries

mini-flashlight

sweatshirt

extra scrubs

playing cards (to play with alert patients who can't sleep)

gait belt

pulse ox

paper clips

rubber bands

IV stickers

IV clamps

pill cutter

pill crusher

clipboard

date book

journal

hair clips and elastics

brush

toothbrush

toothpaste

deoderant

make-up (in make-up bag)

bag of plastic rosary beads

book of Christian prayers

pamphlet with common old testament stories

colored pens

black pens

highlighters

laundry marker

sharpies

CPR mask

CDs (old swing music for dementia Units, relaxation music for hospice)

list of local doctor's phone numbers and fax numbers

badge

non-slip socks (when my shoes get wet)

snacks (yogurt, apples, carrots)

ziplock with coffee (some facilities only have decaf.)

packets of diet hot choc.

tea bags

one cup size french press (some facilities have no coffee pots)

palm pilot (with epocrates on it) I will loan out the drug book but not this

lighters (patients are allowed to smoke outside but are not allowed to carry lighters)

tape measure

disposable plastic wound measurement guides

various other references (IV meds, new procedures from inservices, ICD-9 codes...)

aspirin

tylenol

ear thermometer

forehead thermometer

thin 3-ring binder with charts of nerves, bones, & muscles and more

multiple rolls of different types of tape

hand sanitizer

hand lotion

allergy medicine and my epi-pen

pen light

extra-pair of reading glasses

notebook size hole punch

small stapler and staples

white-out (for my notes)

watch (don't wear one on a reg. basis)

wallet

cellphone

umbrella

In my car I keep clothes and shoes I do not like wearing my dirty uniform in my car or into my house and to do errands in after work (I think it is gross when I see nurses doing things like food shopping with their dirty uniform and shoes on), a fully stocked first aid kit, reg. size and pedi CPR masks, airways, and an ambu bag for road side emergencies and I have used them. I decided to carry these things after I came across a motorcycle crash. The man had a profusely bleeding head wound and I had nothing to hold on it. I took off my t-shirt and used that. As I was removing my shirt a few by-standers gasped! Lucky for me I had a tank top on over my bra! When the paramedics arrived they berated me for having no gloves on; as if I was not going to administer first aid without them.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

Wow, I am grossly unprepared. I carry no bag. Just some pens, trauma shears and a lipstick in my lab coat pocket. I would be up the creek if I needed anything else!

I was going to ask if anyone carries NO "bag" ...

I do carry a purse - a pretty small one, compared to the carry-on-bag-sized ones of my coworkers. In there is my wallet, keys, a comb, 2 makeup items, Ibuprofen, a pen or two, loose change at the bottom, a rosary, and a couple of pens. And some misc. receipts from the ATM, the gas station, & the grocery store. I toss in my badge when I'm leaving for work.

When getting ready for work, my pockets hold lip balm, pens, a small amount of cash, and scissors. My stethoscope stays in my locker at work, along with an extra pair of scrubs and a couple of toiletry items. (you need an act of Congress to get some OR scrubs at my hospital)

And that's it, folks. I travel light.

[CYoungLPN, LPN]

Love this thread!!! I start my first job as a nurse in a few weeks this helps on what I should bring

[Indy, LPN, LVN]

I change my bag about every 3-6 months depending on mood and the state of my back. As in, when my back is good I can carry my saddleback tote which is heavy but looks good, when it's not I switch it out for either the mountainsmith bag or the freebie messenger bag my husband got when he was at some vet convention. Either way they call me mary poppins because of all the stuff in there.

The "stuff" is fairly organized. There is a fabric pencil case with extra pens, calipers, hair things, cough drops, all sorts of weird little things I might need. There's a vinyl makeup case from goodwill with the "pocket" stuff. Hemostats, scissors (3 kinds), penlight, sharpies (which I am currently buying for myself and not loaning anymore), alcohol swabs, etc. Those two cases take care of most of the clutter.

Other things include stethoscope, kindle, my old palm with epocrates on it and its charger (can't remember to put the program on my phone!), cellphone, ipod, various chargers sometimes, bag of dental floss picks, feminine hygiene things. I have moved my change of clothes, my gayhart IV drug book and my fast facts to my locker. Crap that medical equipment people give me for the newest invasive monitors and stuff, also goes in the locker just in case. I keep trying to remember to put a whole box or so of feminine products in the locker, and never seem to do so. I'll probably get it done shortly before menopause. Also I keep a can of soup and a package of easy mac in the locker in case of some kind of food shortage.

Oh yes, I forgot the umbrella. That's pretty large, as I tend to randomly mangle the little purse-sized ones. One day I was getting into work. I needed to put the umbrella back on the bottom of the giant messenger bag. So I took out two cases, a kindle, a steth, a lunch bag, a coke, and a knitting project bag (never got to work on it, it was a jinx from he!!), and put the umbrella in. I heard from across the unit, "you got a lamp in there too?!" and raised my head, said huh?? Coworker says "well you look like mary poppins over there with all that stuff."

[SimayRN]

Almost every nurse where I work wears a nurse pack around their waist with all their nursing items in it. ( scissors, clamps, red blue and black pens, sharpie, dry erase marker, alcohol wipes, ect) I also keep my phone, ChapStick, brain , debit card, and a few pieces of gum in there. Love it! Nursepropack.com

Other than that my lunch goes in the fridge. . Locker is empty. . Too busy for books and no need for makeup during nightshift.