Nursing Student Supplies

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Hi All!!

I got accepted and start the nursing program this fall and I'm so excited!! I was wondering if you could recommend where to get stethoscopes and what kind and also with shoes?

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Specializes in Neuro.

allheart.com

By far the best source IMHO.

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I bought the Littman stethoscope for about $45 on Ebay. I got my shoes (Dr. Scholl's) at Walmart for $29. You really aren't at clinicals for longer than 6 hours or so, so I didn't feel like I need the super expensive shoes some nurses get.

Work N' Gear had all the little stuff we needed (penlight, scissors, etc) and I already had a little bag to put it all in. I found it a lot easier to have a separate clinical bag and backpack.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Education.

I personally love and can recommend for shoes: Dansko, merritt. The littmanns on allheart start at $48. You can have your name put on it. Definitely do that, or have it engraved.

PS- you might check out this allnurses thread, it has some really good ideas. https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-student/what-item-s-111796.html

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You really aren't at clinicals for longer than 6 hours or so, so I didn't feel like I need the super expensive shoes some nurses get.

This is not necessarily a true statement. For one thing you have no idea how many clinical hours this OP has to complete, in addition to lab hours and you have no idea how frequently she will be in uniform. Our clinicals first year are 8 hours and second year are 12 hours, plus 3 or so hour labs.

I personally think shoes are very important, I have problematic feet and love Dansko's. I even wear Dansko brand shoes all winter with my jeans. I love them.

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I personally think shoes are very important, I have problematic feet and love Dansko's. I even wear Dansko brand shoes all winter with my jeans. I love them.

I've been debating getting Dansko's but I worry because I have FLAT, wide, and large feet so I wonder exactly how comfortable they will be. I hear they are horrible the first couple weeks...

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Get the best stethoscope u can afford....I have horrible hearing and it was hard for me to hear with the cheapo stethoscopes that came w/ our health kit....I have the Littmann Cardio III and LOVE it.....it is pricey though but IMO not much more of an investment to get things right....as for shoes, I just wear some comfy DC's.....but I normally wear skater shoes anyways

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I've been debating getting Dansko's but I worry because I have FLAT, wide, and large feet so I wonder exactly how comfortable they will be. I hear they are horrible the first couple weeks...

I also have slightly wide and definitely large feet (size 10). I'm not sure what the size of your feet has to do with anything but my aunt cannot wear Dansko's because she had too wide of feet. The good news is that Zappos has an awesome return policy plus free shipping both ways so you can always try them on and see what you think. Just don't get them dirty or you might not be able to return them. My mom has flat feet and loves her Dansko's. And if your nursing program is anything like mine you will only be wearing your nursing shoes once or maybe twice a week so you won't really have to worry about how much pain they cause you. It's not like you'll be wearing them everyday or anything. I'll never forget the pain of breaking in my steel toed all leather gortex-lined boots when stationed in South Korea. That was extreme pain, no joke, nothing could be worse than that. Bring on the Dansko's!

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I love me some Danskos and found them comfortable from Day One with no breaking-in period necessary. But they can be squeaky.

Also important is a good bag -- something really comfy to carry with organized places for everything you need every day.

I know this sounds weird, but I would say good undies are important, too. Nothing more distracting that crouching down to help a patient or bending to pick something up only to get that horrible feeling of undie-crawl up the backside.

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Specializes in IMCU.

You can search this site. There have been tons of threads for this. In fact, scroll to the bottom of the page at the link below... look for "Nursing Gear"

https://allnurses.com/main.php

There is a thread on stethoscopes another on on shoes etc.

Good luck!

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Shoes: Cherokee Harmony style shoes...the most comfortable and affordable at approx. $40

Steth: Littman...mine was from allheart.com and cost about $69 plus I had it engraved with my name so it wouldn't "grow legs" at clinicals. :-)

Good Luck!

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Stethoscope: Littmann Classic II S.E.

Shoes: I like Crocs (the ones WITHOUT ANY HOLES IN THEM!)

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