Question about school supplies

Nursing Students General Students

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Ok I dont start LPN school until September but I have gotten some advice from current students in the same program that graduate this August. When I got accepted into the program I got a packet which of course explained the program's fees and costs and it gave me a list of items that would need to be purchased. Some of those things needed of course are books (which said in the packet that those would be ordered within the first few days of class) but other things such as a nursing kit (includes a pocket protector, pen light, stethoscope etc.) The last thing listed was a watch with a second hand. Now the students that are currently in the program that I have spoken with have told me not to purchase the kit at all that the items are cheap and will only break on me, has anyone out there had this problem with kits from their schools and would me going off on my own and purchasing items be disrepectful to the school? I dont want to use cheap things, I want to be able to trust the tools of the trade esp if I'm the nurse thats going to be using them and of course with he economy not doing well I want to only have to purchase items once. Also I was wondering on an opinion from others on using a watch with a second hand. I'm currently in law enforcement now and I am used to using a digital watch in military time but my watch is a good one that has a digital second counter on it. Could this watch be acceptable to use? Has anyone out there used a digital watch with a digital second counter on it? I'll buy a regular watch no problem but if I'm able to stick with whats familiar to me I would rather do that. Opinions please...:uhoh21:

For stethoscopes I have been looking at the Littmann Master Classic II and the Littmann Classic II SE both are between $60-$100 which I thought was a good price range (not the most expensive and not the cheapest, something nice in the middle:twocents:). Any thoughts on either of these? I want something that I can hear well with, the cheaper ones I used while in the police academy learning first aid were junk and I couldnt hear anything well.

wow....nobody has borrowed my stethoscope yet.....the nurses on the floor have their own, as well as each student, so I don't really understand them disappearing....I'd be pretty ****** if my $150 Littmann Cardio III disappeared.....

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Pen light, watch, and stethescopes are must haves. I think you should go with what works for your price range and preferences.

On the Littman Classic II. Love it. You may want to see if your school has a special discount on it, because compared to my school's prices, I couldn't find a cheaper price online once you added shipping. I think mine was $60ish. I got pink, which apparently half my class also got. We managed to pick up each others accidentally at clinicals sometimes, but we always got them back to each other! lol

I did clinicals at three hospitals (many units), a summer externship, and have worked as a nurse's aide since August and haven't lost mine yet (I've laid it down and wandered off many many times and it's always been right where I left it. We don't really have big problems with theft of stethescopes at my hospital, though (medium pediatric medical center)

Penlight. I have a random penlight that my mom got free when she worked at a veterinary hospital. I also got a cool little keyring flashlight that i wear on my badge clip from walmart auto dept for like 3 bucks. Looks like this, but mine is pink. The kids love playing with it, I just wipe it off with alcohol before they do.

Pens. cheap but functional. They get lost, residents borrow them, etc.

Watch. I love my cheap Timex digital. It's got a rubber strap that I can wash or alcohol swab and it doesn't matter. I will caution you that my preceptor for my final quarter told me i needed to break my habit of using the timer feature to alarm and remind me of frequent vital recheck times and such, as i couldn't do that for more than one pt at a time. I'm glad I broke the habit. I just write the times on a paper now.

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Specializes in Pediatrics/Adult Float Pool.

as many others have said, save money where you can, but you also get what you pay for...i use the multi-colored pen from wal-mart, the kit i did purchase, but that was the only thing available to me at the time (i live in a pretty small town, quite a ways from the city). as for my stethescope, i like my littman classic ii se, my best friend and i went together and each got one, they were cheaper that way. got it from allheart.com, which is a site i have bought many things from since then. it's a pretty good scope, but now that i've graduated and am getting a little more specialized, i will probably invest in a good pediatric littman for my birthday. as for books, if you have a choice, amazon and ebay are wonderful resources...we had to buy our books from school, they were sitting at our desks the first day of each semester. i spent almost $3000 on books in an 11 month program, some of which are still in the plastic packaging. needless to say, for a single mom on a budget, this was a very sore subject to me! at any rate, good luck, and just know that no matter how prepared you are, there will be many incidentals when you get started...background checks, fingerprints, pictures, membership fees, class dues, subscription costs. and don't forget about the cost of the nclex! i spent about $800 on things i didn't know we would "have" to have...the first day of class, they "strongly suggested" getting another list of important items. good luck!!

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I did go ahead and get a spendier stethoscope, but I also got the dang thing engraved with my name and in a color that I haven't seen on anyone else. So, it hasn't walked anywhere.

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Specializes in Dialysis.
I just purchases a 3M Littmann Lightweight Classic II SE Stethoscope for $46.99 at Medisave.com. I also bought a basic white scrub watch for $19.95. I had my order within 3 days. Also they engrave your stethoscope for free.

Ooooops! I meant medisave.net

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I figured I would do the same as far as the steth goes (not letting it out of my sight). I've seen the holders that go on your pants and I thought about picking one up (not sure if I want something hanging around my neck all the time, comes from being in law enforcement, my tools were on my belt and thats where my hands are used to finding what I need). I will definitely be getting my name on it, I have seen some companies that will do that for you for free when you purchase the steth. I'm glad to see some good reviews on the Littman Classic II SE, I think that might be the one I'll go for while in school. As for the growing legs thing, of course that will always be in my mind but I think once word gets around that I was a cop others that may be tempted to take other people's things may steer clear of taking without returning with me, although there are those people that are brave I dont think they'll want to take the chance of being caught cause they will live to regret it with me lol :) (from experience I'm always looking for a criminal lol):idntdt:

Thanks everyone for your opinions, it really helps when entering a program to have others give you little tidbits and such, helps to be better prepared. If anyone decides to change careers for law enforcement I can give plenty of advice on equipment lol.

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