How much does a bag of fluids cost?

[kk2021]

Hey everyone! Hopefully someone can help me with this question. My school is required us to buy these mysterious bags for sim lab. I am a senior, and this is brand new. The bags are zip-tied and once opened, cannot be returned to the bookstore. No one at the bookstore knew what was in them, and the teachers just kept saying it was mandatory. I finally decided to buy one--at $85, and when I opened it up, it was nothing but a 500 ml bag of 0.9% sodium chloride, one IV primary tubing, and a disposable infuse-stat pressure bag. Do these things cost that much? They are all one time usage things meaning we will use them ONE time in the lab. Normally the school provides these things for us. Maybe they are running low on supplies or resources, but $85 for these 3 things?!

Thanks for any input!

[mpihl]

We actually have to purchase all of our lab supplies. A bag that comes with everything we will need for all of our nursing labs is about $200. We get those 3 items you mentioned (plus a whole lot more) in our bag though. Maybe the school is just trying to make a quick buck....

[annietart]

Wow, you got hosed! Bookstores are great for doing that. :angry: They just made so much profit on you guys its ridiculous. I did a small research paper on profit margins in college bookstores and it's astounding how much a school makes in profit when they own the store.

My first semester we were given a zippered bag full of IV tubing, practice syringes, a squishy fake flesh thing, sterile dressings, foley kit, etc... We did use it, but not very often. Thankfully we didn't have to pay out of pocket for it. My first semester instructor still stole stuff from the main hospital (I'm in a diploma program and the school is an off building on the campus) for us to use in lab. lol! Imagine walking through the halls with your pockets stuffed with syringes, needles, tubing, etc.

[baliling, BSN]

Oh, that's seems very strange. My Uni get all educational supplies for students even uniform for placement. And when I am on placement I can practice IV fluid anytime I want to, without buying supplies. I bought nothing except a lab gown. That's it. xxx.

[veggie530]

Yea seems strange to be selling NS in the bookstore, I had my ear chewed on a few times for flushes in my pocket because "NS is a MEDICINE" :icon_roll

lol what?? I get chewed out for NOT having flushes in my pocket.

[eleectrosaurus]

lol what?? I get chewed out for NOT having flushes in my pocket.

IKR! Nope, they said policy was to get flushes for pt 1, use, get flushes for pt 2, use , repeat

I ended up puting all of the flushes into my cargo pocket where no one could see.

[FlyingScot, RN]

My first semester instructor still stole stuff from the main hospital (I'm in a diploma program and the school is an off building on the campus) for us to use in lab. lol! Imagine walking through the halls with your pockets stuffed with syringes, needles, tubing, etc.

The correct term for obtaining supplies in a dubious manner in a hospital system is "procured". As in "We procured plates and forks from the cafeteria to use for our carry-in".

[Elinor]

Yuck, that must feel like such a betrayal. At least with textbooks you can buy them on Amazon or wherever and pay like 50% less. Actually forcing you to buy a mystery bag from their bookstore with a 567% markup is... predatory. Like they're running a scam on their own students.

[Stephalump]

I was ****** when I went to the bookstore to buy our $100 lab kit, opened it, and realized it was full of gauze, bandages, and a foley catheter. Why can't provide my own flipping gauze from my $10 first aid kit???

[breaktime]

Just another example of how nursing has become a cash cow for so many schools, and they are milking that teat for all it's worth.

[kissafish4]

I had to buy a similar bag of supplies but it contained several bags of fluids, a few sets of tubing, foley catheter kit, suctioning kit, ng tube, piston and syringe set, fake insulins, needles and syringes, insulin needles,just odds and ends of supplies and it was 167 dollars but it had a lot of stuff in it. I would say it was worth it. I used it throughout my entire program.

[b2sai]

$85 bux.. daum....

google up a bag of normal saline and it will cost you $7 bux the most..

im guessing the prof that suggested it got a cut out of the $85 students paid....

[airwayguru]

I work in the missions field I help supply mission teams with medical supplies. In the last few weeks I have been tossing expired fluids, lines, needles, and syringes since we can not send them out of country. If the equipment was being used for lab work only (not on real patients) I would rather send them to a school that can use them then toss them. I cry to see such things get tossed because they expire. They are great training aids.

For when I do training I take some of the supplies with me to practice with in the labs. I can use them and dispose of them and also lets some of the other students use them towho don't have access to the supplies.