Do nurses use their wristwatch in real life nursing?

[northmississippi]

In class so far, we have used a watch for vitals and IV drip per minute counting.

Do real life nurses use their watches alot for stuff like that?

Thanks.

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Yup. I love watches. They are one of my weaknesses. I have several very very very nice watches, but at work, I always wear my crappy $5 Walmart ones. That way if they break, get [insert body fluid here] on them or get lost, Im not out a ton of money.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I do.

[VICEDRN, BSN, RN]

Yup. When I need to slowly push meds, count rr, apical pulse and when determining time estimates such as pain reassessment, time to ct with contrast, etc. hard to see all the clocks. We don't do a lot of calculating drips. In the er, it's bolus or it's on a pump.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

since half of the clocks in our unit are wrong, stopped or even run backward, yes. i use my wrist watch all the time.

[Vespertinas]

That's funny this question came up bc for the first time in 4 years I had to count a drip rate just yesterday. I'm even surprised at how easily it came back to me.

I don't think that Citizen watch is too expensive if you think it's what you like. My friend wears a watch similar to it and I like hers because she can wipe it clean whereas mine is an Ironman with a velcro strap.

[MunoRN, RN]

Watches aren't allowed where I work, which I thought was a pretty common infection prevention standard but from the responses it doesn't appear to be that common.

I don't really miss it, between the clock on the computer, the clock on the wall, the clock on the monitor, the clock on the IV pumps, and the clock on my work phone (all of which show time with seconds) it's never been an issue.

[TeleRocks]

I'm guessing it depends where the nurse works.

I never wear a watch, because I hate they way they feel. But all my rooms have wall clocks, and all my patients are on bedside monitors that show the time.

[Benedina]

I prefer minimizing what I carry due to infection control issues. The "clock" I use for counting respirations, etc., is the timer on our Welch Allyn thermometers (one per room), which has the advantage of sounding off with a beep every 15 seconds.

Dina

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

I use a sun dial

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I use a sun dial

:rotfl:

[Do-over, ASN, RN]

I use a sun dial

Don't come here - the sun never shines...

[ShantheRN, BSN, RN]

I am lost without a watch. Sometimes monitors aren't positioned so I can see them. Clocks are okay for doing vitals (except on night shift) but when it comes to pumps, my watch is the difference between me catching a syringe pump before it goes off and me annoying parents when the beeping wakes their sleeping, sick baby. Between chemo times and the million other meds we give via pump, I need a consistent timepiece that I can easily see.

I stopped spending a lot. Walmart has these great watches that can be washed, have a light with 3 second delay, come in a lot of colors....and cost $8. Most of my floor has them :) And funny you mention about never giving meds without a pump. The other day a senior staff member had to give granulocytes (which can't be given via pump) and no one remembered the formula except me. Perk of being a new grad - all that stuff is still fresh lol