Do anyone have advice on what to take to my first clinicals?

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Did anyone take little notes, pocket drug book, or anything to help the. I'm wondering what can I bring?

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The bare minimum : Stethoscope, a watch (non digital), a pen and your care plan/ patient summary. If you know anyone in your group you guys should make it so one guy brings a drug book, and another guy brings whatever other book you might need for diagnosis and etc. A med/surge book comes to mind.

Also a penlight you will need. Alcohol prep swabs .... and tape comes in handy. Oh .. a permanent marker when labeling dressing changes.

An iPod Touch is M I R A C L E for nursing students. Your patient got switched an you don't have a clue what something is (drug, diagnosis, procedure), then hop onto the good ol internets and get to it. My teacher would ask me to look up a whole bunch of quirky things and read it for the group if no one knew what something was.

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We can't take much because we have nowhere to put anything. We bring the basics....stethoscope, pen light, etc, our clinical workbook with our pts. info, my nursing clipboard, and that's about it. I bring a few dollars for a drink or something small to eat on break.

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In addition to what every one else has said, I recommend a small bottle of hand sanitizer that will fit in your pocket. My first clinical was a nursing home, and it was difficult to find any!

I also kept a small notepad in my pocket to take notes on during assessments, etc.

Hope that helps!

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On my first clinical, I took a stethoscope, pen light, bandage scissors, 2 black (non-gel) pens, watch with a second hand, and a small notebook. We did not get our assignment until we got there that day and then we just got used to bedside care and conducting our interviews. However, by the second clinical, we would go to the hospital the day before and pick up our assignment to prepare for clinical the next day. My clinical group has 8 people in it. We all bring a different book, such as a nursing diagnosis ref. manual, lab/diagnostic book, drug ref. guide, med-surge book. That way no one has to carry all of those with them. We do have the luxury of using the nurse's lounge on the floor to store our backpacks. I do not take my purse, just a few dollars to put in my pocket. Good luck on your first clinical.

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I'm not yet doing clinicals, but after reading others comment on the various fluids/messes they've ended up wearing, it sounds like a good idea to bring a spare set of scrubs, just a thought.

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Getting everyone to bring a different book is a great idea. If you wear white, a bleach pen is essential. Snacks! Enough for everyone. A drink. Clinicals all depend on your instructor. Mine had us on lockdown and we were never allowed to take a break - so I had to come prepared. I never seemed to be hungry until 2 hours into the clinical, so having snacks was essential. The biggest thing that helped me was a good assessment sheet, if your teacher doesn't provide one. Check out this thread- a nice lady posted a great one. I am in my 4th semester, and still get overwhelmed sometimes w/ assessment. It was never explained well or demonstrated to me in the clinical setting.

https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/health-assessment-resources-145091.html

Other than that- the most important thing is a good attitude. My best friends in nursing school are the ones I have gotten to know in clinicals. Especially the ones I hated the most at first. If you have down time, offer to help your fellow students whenever possible. The "rub my back- I'll rub yours" mentality really pays off in later semesters. And your clinical instructor will pay attention to that.

Other than that, just really pay attention to SAFETY! I got so overwhelmed first semester, that sometimes I would overlook the basics- making sure the break is locked on the bed, making sure I lowered bed height when leaving room, etc. If I had to do it again I would modify my assessment guide and have a little checklist of these things on my assessment sheet to remind me.

I hope you have a wonderful clinical experience. If not, just remember, the 1st semester is the hardest in terms of clinicals. It gets easier every time.

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Basically, everything you will bring will need to fit into your pockets. Alcohol wipes and hand sanitizer are on the units. Your stethoscope, penlight, permanent marker for dressing changes, a watch (my first one happened to be digital), bandage scissors, any paperwork you do before your clinical, something to write with.

I purchased one of those pocket things for $5 and all I have to do switch it from one uniform to the next. I've use that more than anything else.

Good luck,

HD

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Specializes in PICU/Pedi.

Try doing a search on here, because I have gotten LOTS of good ideas from the geniuses on this forum :). I take me stethoscope, pen light, non-gel ink pens, fine point sharpie marker, tiny notebook, hand sanitizer, hand lotion, extra alcohol wipes...

Now, for the stuff I haven't seen mentioned: my PDA with my nursing software (but it is my understanding that not every place will let you use one), extra clinical papers (physical assessment check-list, etc. ), LOTS of breath mints, one of those 5-hour energy drinks, extra pens, a clip borad with a little cubby, sticky notes, etc. I also got this idea from here - I made a "survival kit" that has ibuprofen, cough drops, alcohol wipes, a couple of tampons, Rescue Remedy (a natural remedy for stressful situations), that Airborne stuff (in case I start to feel some illness coming on), and Vicks (for bad smells). I told my group about it and let them know that they are welcome to get into the survival kit if they need anything, but they are a cool group and I'm not worried about them ripping me off. I just keep it in a plastic pencil box in my clinical bag.

Somebody mentioned not getting overwhelmed and forgetting the basics. That was happening to me, too, so at the end of one day I wrote the things I was forgetting on a sticky note (Wash hands! Side rails up!, Bed locked! Etc.) and stuck the note in my little notebook so that every time I opened it up I was reminded of these things. I haven't forgotten since!

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To my first clinical day I had TONS of stuff in my pockets. My classmates thought it was hilarious because my shirt was literally weighed down with (mostly useless) stuff. Now I just bring a small pocket notebook, my PDA (with Nursing Central software), a sharpie, a black pen, pen light, bandage scissors, and my physical assessment guideline paper to help me when I do them in the morning.

If you have any little cheat sheets like that, I'd bring them. The assessment one is especially helpful I think but I know some people have like little foley guides, AM care routines, normal lab values, etc.

After a few days you will find out what works for you.

Good luck & have fun!!! :)

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Always: Black pen (for charting/note-taking), red pen (for highlighting/charting prn meds), pencil (for writing in Kardex), small notebook/good report sheet (so I don't go insane and keep track of everything), stethoscope (for assessments), tape (just handy and ready when I need it), watch (for assessments b/c can't always see a clock), calculator (for IV rate calculations), penlight (for neuro assessments), bandage scissors (again, just handy to have). I try to rmbr to grab extra gloves and alcohol wipes b/c I find always need them when I don't have them. Some ppl have highlighters and black markers, but I find I can just grab these from the nursing station easily enough (and that I don't use them frequently enough) to warrant stuffing in my already-full pockets. I used to carry RNotes around, but it's kind of useless/unnecessary past the first year; but you may find it helpful. Also, if I could afford an iPhone w/ nursing software, I would carry that in my pocket :-)

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