I have a pretty simple yet unanswered question that I would love some feedback on. I start Nursing 1 in a few weeks and I am still debating on which bookbag I should get for class? Some people say rolling book bags for nursing school are great, then other people say its not neccessary.. I would appreciate all of your opinions! :)
Also, any suggestions on any school supplies or anything else that could get my hands on before class starts, that you would find helpful for the first semester of nursing school? (normally required or not)
Rolling or not depends on your physical condition and the layout of the school campus, the location of classrooms, etc. Personally, I prefer fast and mobile, so I use a traditional backpack. Those of my classmates who picked rolling are forced to use specific elevators or regularly play with the wheels to go up and down steps.
I didn't find it that difficult to go up and down stairs when necessary with a roller. Just pick it up by the handle and carry it.
I got a Northface haystack for 45 off amazon. It has a padded back and better straps than my old jansport, so it's more comfortable to lug around when I have had a heavy book load. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the brands with a lifetime guarantee (Jansport, Northface, and Dakine). I just found the Northface to be the most comfortable.
I have a pretty simple yet unanswered question that I would love some feedback on. I start Nursing 1 in a few weeks and I am still debating on which bookbag I should get for class? Some people say rolling book bags for nursing school are great, then other people say its not neccessary.. I would appreciate all of your opinions! :)
Also, any suggestions on any school supplies or anything else that could get my hands on before class starts, that you would find helpful for the first semester of nursing school? (normally required or not)
Thank you!! :)
Hello, I have a couple thoughts...
I bought a Zuca rolling bag for Nursing school. I love it! It holds a lot kinda like a mini locker. It's really easy to move around and t's very sturdy too! Yeah, It's a bit pricey, but I have used it for 3 years now and will continue to use it until I graduate with my BSN. It was worth every penny! The wheels even light up! I have gotten so many complements on it! I have put 6 large nursing books in it at the same time. If you don't like the lighted wheels you can buy regular, I did find lighted wheels handy with going to class at 7am in the winter it's still dark and I know people could see me crossing the parking lot.
Mystic (Insert Only)($52.50) + Black Frame Flashing Wheel set ($110.00)
I would also buy a few large Binders, and start keeping your nursing work in them. I keep my nursing theory and lab classes in the same binder. I would also buy a smaller binder for your clinical paperwork, it's pretty awesome to be organized if you have a place to put the papers they hand out for clinicals. Care plans, Concept Maps, Medication Papers, Journal Entries...
I'm a big fan of Timbuk2 bags. I have their command backpack. Lots of room for thick books, extra side pockets for water bottle and coffee tumbler, lots of organizational zipper pockets, and a seperate laptop sleeve. I bought mine about 5 years ago and it's still going strong. No real signs of wear even though it's been all over the globe with me (very TSA friendly) and through 4 years of nursing school. I highly reccomend it. It's pricey, but worth it. You'll never need another bag.
To be honest I myself have actually set up severals baskets in my trunk that hold all my books and folders. That way if I ever need anything, I'm not caught without it. I don't know what anyone else's experience has been, but many times our teachers would ask if we brought a certain book to class even though we weren't informed we needed it,
Halfway through my program I opted for a wheeled bag because I started to have eldercare issues and needed all my books all the time in order to take advantage of any available down time to study. All my classes were on the upper floors of tall buildings, so I never used the stairs.
Why not go to your school now (if it is in session) and see what works and talk to current students?
Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.
I use a basic back-pack (I think it's northface?). I rarely need to bring all my books. It's big enough to carry my lap-top, binder, and a couple note books, lunch and 1 or 2 small books that I might need. Most of our books are E-books and if needed in a pinch for on-campus study are on reserve in both e-book and paper versions at the library.
What is going to work best will really depend on you and your program. What have you used previously? Did that work well for you? Nursing school is still similar to regular school in a lot of ways.
As for supplies to buy in advance - pens/pencils and paper/notebook if you take handwritten notes. Whatever you use to organize (planner, calendar, sticky notes, note cards).
Most of this stuff will likely be gone over in orientation or e-mailed/mailed to you before the start of the program.
It really depends on your program and how they teach. My instructors assumed we had all our texts with us all the time and were disappointed if we couldn't pull one out at a moment's notice. Lectures included references to page numbers for tables and diagrams rather than showing the relevant material during the lecture - we were expected to be following in the texts. Also, our program didn't have e-books so we all had the actual hardback edition of texts. Needless to say, we all pretty soon sported large rolling backpacks!
I even made the comment that it was easy to spot the Nursing students: regular college students had bookbags/backpacks while we had *luggage*!
GM2RN
1,850 Posts
I didn't find it that difficult to go up and down stairs when necessary with a roller. Just pick it up by the handle and carry it.