Do you wear...

[jenpan]

..a nurses' lapel watch? What significance does it have for you? What kind of duties does it help you carry out? Do you value it for its practical or decorative purposes, or possibly sentimental? Is it common for nurses to recieve a lapel watch, or in modern hospitals are they rendered obsolete? Do you know of any historical information on lapel watches in general?

I'm a design student doing a little research into them, and have been unable to find much about them. I am interested in the practical use of them, as well as of any social or cultural significance (ie, the one I'm studying in particular is very feminine, which i find indicative of the time period in which it was made - while probably marketed as practical and professional, it was inseperable from the fact that the wearer was likely female)

Any information (anecdotal or otherwise) would be much appreciated! Thanks!

[ohmeowzer RN, RN]

no i have never wore a lapel watch. i wear a TKO( candy collection ) watch , i have 3 of them and love the colors and they are waterproof..

none of the nurses on my unit wear them.... maybe many years ago nurses wore them .. but i don't see many of them now

sorry i am no help

[Dolce, RN]

I, and all the other nurses I work with, wear a simple watch. I like a watch that isn't damaged by frequent hand washing. It must have a second hand. Me and my watch are inseparable when I am on the clock but the minute I get in the car I take it off.

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

I feel naked without mine...I need a watch constantly. When I'm off the clock, no big deal..but if I ever go to work without one it's such a hassle....(done it once, NEVER again!) Such is life.

[jenpan]

no, that's great - i'm also interested in the role that timekeeping plays in your work life - i know it's very important, but would like to hear some of the reasons first hand (ie dispensing medication, checking pulse)

for those of you who wear wrist watches, is it an inconvenience when it comes to sanitation and hand-washing? i figure that's why the first lapel watches were marketed towards nurses to begin with.

[prmenrs, RN]

I don't wear a wrist watch--it interferes w/handwashing. One place I worked had enough wall clocks that there was always one close enough to count respirations and heart rate if needed. Most of my pts are monitored, but I still like to count resp's for 30 seconds--babies have irregular resp rates.

@ my current job, not so many clocks, so I got a lapel watch. I like it a lot.

[ERNurse752, RN]

I've always wanted a lapel watch, just never got one.

I always wore a watch to work for counting pulses, respirations, timing IV pushes, etc. I couldn't always count on the wall clocks to work.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

I wear a lapel watch. My Mom had it engraved for me and gave it to me as a graduation gift. I use it for telling time, counting HR and RR, and giving IVPs.

[czyja, MSN, RN]

I have been looking for one appropriate for a man . Wrist watches strike me as bacteria catchers so i do not wear one. Every room at my current clinical site has a clock, but i would love a lapel watch.

Many women in my family were nurses and they all wore lapel watches...i would love to carry on the tradition.

[mpccrn, BSN, RN]

i've never seen a lapel watch worn by any co-worker in the 30 years i've been doing this. i like an elastic band so i can push it way up my arm for those obviously dirty jobs. watches with 2nd hands are essential and a nurse could not perform her job without one (either on her arm or on the wall). we use them for everything! vital signs, giving meds, pushing meds, keeping to schedules, coordinating therapy, and in cardiac arrest, knowing how long since the last epi is a definate question and can save a life.

[jenpan]

Thank you all so much! Some great responses, really helped give me a better picture of the importance of timekeeping in your profession. Thanks again!

[JBudd, MSN]

I use the cheap ones from Walmart that clip onto a belt loop. It also is hung "upside down" so I can just glance down at it. I wouldn't want the lapel one because I don't like heavy things hanging on my scrub shirt. I often put my watch on the bed next to the syringe I am doing a slow IV push with. Since my scrub pants don't have belt loops, I either hook it directly to the waist band or stick a large safety pin on to hook it too.

I bend over my patients a lot, so the lapel level watch wouldn't be convenient for me.

Just a side note, the lapel watches aren't just for nurses (beyond the historical meaning of them, like pinning :) ). My elderly MIL wanted one because they were more convenient for her. No weight on the wrist, or skin irritation, or finding a band that wasn't too tight or too loose. I found her a necklace watch that she used for a long time, similar to the lapel one but hung on a chain.