What's In Your Pocket?

Nurses New Nurse

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wanting to hear from you first year nurses about what you carry in your pockets and why, what could you not live without. I know I need a good watch, stethescope, hemastats, ............what else?

:confused:

:wink2: once again, the chat on this forum is helpful!! i am a very new rn (passed nclex last week!) and yet to pin down my first job! i wrote these items, down; you know just to be prepared. thanks all!

bare necessities in your pocket

are saline flushes, alcohol pads/wipes

and well you wear your watch =)

I also like to keep those blue caps in my pocket

for IV tubing that needs to be saved for next

infusion.

now that I've been working on the floor a bit longer, I've added more things to my pocket. I've had too many experiences where I was giving g-tube meds and y-connecting IV tubings where there were no fresh tape available to secure the sites. Therefore now I always keep a roll of tape in my pocket. I also carry a lot of alcohol and betadine pads (we have a lot of kids with central lines and policy is to use betadine before dropping IV meds into the buretrol ports, drawing blood, etc.), small notepad of blank paper, black pen, my watch (strap is broken), and each nurse on the floor uses this really neat "cellphone" type phone to call various departments of the hospital, and after paging doctors on the computer, the doctors could call us directly back on there. It's much better because we can do something else while waiting for the doctors to call us back rather than waiting by the deskphones.

Specializes in Med-Surg, LTC, Rehabiliation Nursing.

right pocket, alcohol wipes, sharpie, red pen, blackpen, highlighter, left pocket, tao, (triple antibiotic ointment), in LTC someone is always getting a little cut or scrape, their skin is so fragile. camoseptine lotion, (again, LTC, someones bottom is red, the camo works awesome to save them from a raw behind) 2 2 by 2's, 2 4 by 4's, 2 jtube dsg's, back pocket, brains, right pants pocket, lil $$, leave my car keys and cell phone in my lunch box in the front zippered pocket. Stethoscope in the drawer with other vital signs equipement.

With 24 patients, vitals are done once a week unless needed, or unless they are skilled, in which case they are daily. I only have 4 skilled right now, so I do them all at once start of shift.

steth around the neck (beware of the nurse who never has a stethoscope)

Why? I can usually find a hospital stethoscope in any of the patients' rooms. What's the advantage in carrying my own?

I don't carry half of what the peope who've posted have mentioned. I don't think my trousers would stay up if I loaded myself down with all the extra stuff. Convenient, but extra.

... and each nurse on the floor uses this really neat "cellphone" type phone to call various departments of the hospital, and after paging doctors on the computer, the doctors could call us directly back on there. It's much better because we can do something else while waiting for the doctors to call us back rather than waiting by the deskphones.

What a brilliant system. I hate to think how much time we waste either hanging around the desk for a doctor to return a page or chasing up the rest of the team, asking "who paged the Med Reg?"

Specializes in ICU/CVICU.

I love all of my pockets, and being a critical care nurse, you love having what you need when you need it, finding out what you need, just takes time and is different for everyone.

Scrub top upper left pocket: sharpie,two black pens

bottom right pocket:calipers,carpujet(I clip my hemastats onto my scrub top with a roll of plastic tape on it)

bottom L pocket:alcohol preps,caps,labels,electrodes

scrub pants R cargo pocket: carrying case with scissors, calculator back up pens, pen light,etc, and a couple fold out AACN references

Bottoms L cargo:report sheets, misc papers, stethascope at times.

THAT's enough isn't it?:monkeydance: :balloons: ;) :lol2:

Specializes in NICU.

Haha I love this thread! So fun!

Well my pockets are never that organized and I lose things in my pockets constantly... But in my scrub pockets I carry a sharpie, pen, dry erase marker, highlighter, scissors, chapstick, my cheat sheet, alcohol wipes, 2 X 2s.... In my cargo scrub pants I carry my pocket pharm book (very small and very awesome.. lists drugs and the class and the normal dosage..), our hospitals doctor's phone book, and flushes... I also usually have tons of pieces of scrap paper with my to do lists on them!!

Haha I always load my pockets up so I am prepared for the day.!

Specializes in Surgery, Ob/Gyn.

is it called vocera, or something of the like? we have those at my hosp. you can dial out to anywhere and people can call in directly to your vocera on your neck. pretty nice as long as you dont wonder outside the doors lol

Specializes in Ortho/Neuro.

Ok, here is what's in my pockets.

Right one (I am right handed so this stuff is used most often)

Pen

Scissors

30 or so alcohol wipes

carpujet

Keys (although these sometimes go in my pants pocket when I have on pants with pockets

Left pocket

Penlight

Extra pen

sharpie

In my little bag which sits in a basket under our portable computers which we tote everywhere

pill cutter

hemostats

bandaids

IV caps

more alcohol wipes

extra patient wrist bands (fall precautions, DNR, allergy)

Stethoscope is around my neck in the mornings and in my basket the rest of the shift until the new surgicals begin rolling in, then it's around my neck again.

Drug Book is beside my computer

Saline flushes about 5 or so at a time are on on my computer cart

lotion is located behind my computer

Sticky notes are next to my computer

highlighters are in my clipboard (the kind that opens)

I know I have alot of stuff, but I don't have to carry it all around we wheel around these little carts with laptops on top.

Specializes in ER/Trauma.

Hmmm....

Scrub front pocket: ID tag clipped on, 1-2 pens, miscelaneous items (those green stopper thingies you put at the end of IV tubing). If I'm doing accu checks then I also carry the test strips and the lancets

Scrub pants:

Left side pocket: Tape. Alcohol and Iodine swabs. PCA pump set keys

Left cargo pocket (outer) : a bunch of Prefilled saline flushes. 4-5 more pens (pens keep shuttling between this pocket and my scrub top pocket. I go through a pen ever week).

Left cargo pocket (inner): beeper (sometimes also my PDA), torniquet, 1-2 pair gloves.

Right cargo pocket (outter): Stethoscope

Right cargo pocket (inner): Scissors, Hemostat, Carpuject each in individual loop holders.

Back hip pocket: 3x3s and 4x4s.

I think I'd get lonely without all my pockets :lol2:

Specializes in Geriatrics, MS, ICU.

Right Pocket = Sharpie (Black and Red), 2 Black Pens, Mechanical Pencil, Small note pad

Left Pocket = Alc. Wipes, Hemostats, Scissors

Right Leg Pocket = Saline Flushes, Heparin Flushes

Left Leg Pocket = Gum, money for soda, chap-stick

Stethoscope = I leave that right near my flow sheet right outside the room, and it has a small light attached to it. Usually my patients are all next to each other. So I have a rolling table set up with their charts, MAR's, and flow sheets right there where I can get to them quickly.

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