Nursing Supplies

futurenurseya33 · Nov 21, 2011

I think you can't go wrong with a simple Littman steth. As for blood pressure, my school didn't make us purchase one. I bought one from walmart though to practice.

Twinmom06, ASN, APN · Nov 21, 2011

if your school has color issues with a steth they'll spell it out for you...mine's carribbean blue with a rainbow colored head! LOL...as for shoes I really like my Dansko's

OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN · Nov 21, 2011

I love my Littman steth, mine is black and gold..Medisave.net does free engraving and I got in the next day with standard shipping.. We had to buy ADC bp set. I like having it but we rarely have used it. I have Timbarland Pro something or another and I love them. They're very comfy and clean up easy.

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Nov 21, 2011

Unless your school requires a BP cuff, don't buy one. My school's skills lab had BP cuffs that we could "check out" for a week for extra practice.

For a stethoscope, I recommend a Littmann. Price depends on the model you buy, but I recommend no less than Classic II S.E. (~$84). You won't regret it! I had one while I was in nursing school and I absolutely loved it. As for color...unless your school says otherwise, color shouldn't be an issue. My Classic II S.E. is an aqua blue color. Some people had the bright orange one.

For shoes, I love my Danskos, but Crocs (the ones WITHOUT the holes in them) got me through nursing school. Loved them then (but now that I am used to my Danskos I won't go back!)

SunshineDaisy, ASN, RN · Nov 21, 2011

Crocs are so comfy!

I have a pink Littman classic II. I love it! I also got mine from the above mentioned website with free engraving! I have 2 BP cuffs, Bought one from a scrub store and won the second one. Our school requires them. We use them in clinical and when we do volunteer work through the SNA!

ad3vans · Nov 21, 2011

Thank you all the comments. They really help. My school does require for us to buy our own blood pressure cuff :/ I look at those shoes. Hopefully they wont be too expensive .

NCRNMDM, ASN, RN · Nov 21, 2011

You need a Littman stethoscope, and our school said it had to be black or navy blue. You are safest to buy a black Littman, because I've never heard of a nursing school having an issue with that. As for a BP cuff, we had to buy one, but we never use it. You can buy whatever type you want. We also had to buy a penlight to check pupillary reaction, but it didn't matter what type we bought. You may also want to look into getting some hemostats and bandage scissors. Again, it doesn't matter what brand you buy for these.

ImThatGuy, BSN, RN · Nov 21, 2011

My program sent out a letter asking who wanted a "nurse kit" and who needed CPR. The price list was itemized, and you can have none, one, or both.

Once the program started we were provided with this laundry list of items we were supposed to have during clinicals. All of those items were packaged in that "nurse kit."

I didn't buy any of it and only go to clinicals with my Littman Cardiology III which is black. We're three semesters done with a four semester BSN program, and I've yet to get dinged for not carrying scissors, clamps, lights, or whatever else.

We're supposed to wear white shoes with our black scrubs which doesn't make any dang sense to me, but somebody thought that looked good. Trust me. It doesn't, and I feel like a social retard when I wear that get up. At any rate, when we have precepted clinicals I wear the white shoes, and when we don't have an instructor around I wear a pair of black running shoes I've got. Actually, I have worn them with teachers a few times, and still no one has ever said anything to me.

You might enjoy the same luck in your program. Oddly enough, I have seen people get faulted in clinical with me for not having stuff by the same teachers I personally have never had problems with. Go figure.