Nursing School Bag - Vera Bradley

Dranger · Oct 3, 2013

Do you feel better now dranger? Now that you released this pet peeve of yours from it's cage?

Yes, much better. Thanks GrnTea for being another voice of reason.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Oct 3, 2013

The most current posts have piqued my interest in this resurrected thread.

FWIW, I know Drs and nurses with Vera Bradley Bags; heck I own a few pieces, they keep me organized; I'm a "everything has it's place" person; they are also not a "end all" bag; I have several bags; most of them are functional to what I need.

I think in nursing school, functionality is the name of the game; I never thought to desire a Vera Bradley bag for school; with my books weighting up to 50 lbs, my large cross body bag did the trick; I couldn't possibly think of getting a rolling book bag or a bag pack; I used to take a trolley, subway and bus to school after work; I need to be able to hop on hop off of public transportation effectively.

If a Vera Bradley Bag is making me look like a "girly girl" instead of a nurse, I'm certainly have not seen the effects of this :no: - been in nursing long enough that my competency and my nursing practice and my command for RESPECT FAR speaks volumes than what bag I have or the scrubs I wear. :blink:

Heliantus · Oct 3, 2013

Thanks to this post I am now an owner of a Vera Bradley bag and so are a few of my fellow classmates. I own two backpacks, and was using them up until now, but they seem to be hurting my back. They aren't very comfortable for me. I don't need to bring any of the books to school. I have my lectures on my ipad, so all I need is a notebook, a pen, an ipad and some snacks. Vera Bradley bags seem like a good investment to me, they are durable and very roomy. I am not crazy about the designs, but who cares. I, actually always have thought that those bags were unpopular and ugly, but now I see that it's quite the opposite. My classmates also did not see any issues with those bags, and weren't really paying attention to the exterior of them as much at to the interior and functionality. I got a Vera Bradley "tote" which will be perfect for what I need it to do, and I only paid 35$ including shipping. I say that's a deal!

Altra, BSN, RN · Oct 16, 2013

I realize I'm a bit late to this party but ...

I work with an intelligent, sensible nurse who *personalizes* her appearance quite a bit. At least once a week a patient or family member stops and asks her if a nurse could please come to their room. It honestly makes me feel badly for her.

Bottom line: appearances matter -- in nursing, at work in general in ALL fields, out on the street, and in LIFE in general. Make of that what you will. Adapt as you wish. The consequences are yours to own.

musaafirah · Oct 31, 2013

I think this thread has certainly spun off quite a bit. I'm not sure how a Vera Bradley tote bag in school = hello kitty scrubs or whatever and not being taken seriously. It seems like you completely jumped to conclusions because a VB bag or pink scrubs or even a pink stethoscope do not equal being dressed ridiculously and not taken seriously. Of course, mileage may vary particularly depending on which specialty you're working in. I'm so not a flashy person so it is funny to have that assumed of me and definitely not the "cartoon scrubs" type of personality but something like a bag/wallet, a computer case, a phone cover...things like that I do personalize a bit. The main reason I sought a VB bag was because with the gift card + coupon the price would be considerably lower even than running over to WalMart and picking up a Jansport so I thought I'd take advantage. I'm not really a backpack type person either and usually go for tote-style bags.

I actually found it funny that med students were mentioned because my husband is in fact a med student and some of the female med students and residents he works with do in fact use VB bags. I guess they didn't get the memo. Personally, as a patient I've never factored in scrub design, bejeweled stethoscopes, or anything of the sort into my opinion of a nurse's ability or competence. I judged that by how well she did at her job. Likewise, I asked my husband after reading this whether he thought the types of accessories spoke to professionalism and whether as a doctor he would think I appeared unprofessional (no) as well as whether he judged the nurses he worked with based on the complaints you mentioned and he said though he might think someone's appearance a bit eccentric, he truly judged their ability in the workplace by their actions and some of the best nurses he knew appeared much more "eccentric" than one would be used to but were just incredible nurses. So, sorry dranger, seems you're overcompensating a bit.

This thread was really helpful though and I did end up going to the store to look in person and saw how huge the GCA tote was and ended up getting a Vera. I'm almost through with the semester and it is a great bag, I really like it and it has held up well BUT, as many of you warned me, the only downside is that while it works well for classes I have on certain days, on other days where I have considerably heavier books/binders it tends to get over-packed and the weight is quite hard on my shoulder and back. So, I did end up ordering an LLBean backpack after all to eliminate that pain. I'll probably use both bags assigned to different days (with the Vera for the days where I have classes with less weighty books and binders) and that way I don't have to keep switching out my books and binders constantly every morning before school.

Stephalump · Oct 31, 2013

Eh, some people have "platforms" they like to get onto every so often - even if they have nothing to do with the original topic. No, a Vera Bradley bag has nothing to do with Tweety bird scrubs or being taken seriously. It's a purse. A purse that doesn't even get taken into pt rooms (I hope!)

Pink Magnolia, BSN, RN · Nov 1, 2013

Girl I love Vera Bradley! I personally have a Jansport from 2008 LOL, but choose a bag you like.