Supplies that helped you through nursing school?

RegularNurse · Mar 17, 2017

Get the cheapest littman stethoscope, and learn how to navigate wikipedia.

I never purchased a textbook. Most tests come from recycled powerpoints that are distributed with the educator version of the book. Download the powerpoints and study them.

Nature_walker, ASN, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2017

Chocolate and a very supportive spouse. :yes:

Extra Pickles · Mar 17, 2017

All the ingredients needed for a frozen Margarita. Seriously. Ok, only serious if you love Margaritas :)

A good backpack to carry laptop and other essentials to classes. So much is now online you won't get a broken back from lugging around giant textbooks like my generation of students did lol! But you still should get something decent that can handle being tossed on the floor, backseat of car, and everywhere in between.

I think you'll have a better idea of what you'll need and what might help you best when you start school and see what it is you're required to buy, have, use, etc. It's hard to know until you see what you're facing.

OH, don't forget good pens, that's an easy one. I could never understand the students who would look around and ask if anyone has a pen they can use for class that day. How can you NOT have pens??

Good luck :)

midwifemae · Mar 18, 2017

Him a huge fan of pens! Colora help me learn better when I rewrite my notes from power points.

I do buy all the books bc I am such a visual and tactile learner. I need it in front of me to get through each chapter and reading.

A good water bottle and a lunch bag with tons of snacks! Our lectures are 4 hours long and I can't go that long without anything.

good luck!

Purple_roses · Mar 18, 2017

A physical planner. Don't plan everything electronically, because if your computer or phone crashes, there goes all your information.

An NCLEX prep book. I personally liked Saunders NCLEX review. It outlines topics and it's a nice, succinct resource for reviewing classroom topics. It's also helpful to practice these NCLEX style questions to get used to the format.

Buy resources for practicing questions, whether it be Evolve (online Elsevier adaptive quizzing), Success books, or whatever. I found practicing questions to be far more helpful than memorizing my notes.

Buy comfortable shoes. Try them on in the store and walk around in them before you buy them.

Get your penlights in a bundle on Amazon.

Buy a small notebook that can fit in your pocket for taking notes at clinical.

pink_kola91 · Mar 18, 2017

Congrats! Study hard and practice your skills and you will do great. Supplies wise get the following:

- Comfy shoes that are easy to clean. Don't wear sneakers with mesh tops. One student helped a guy go to the bathroom and the patient peed all over his feet. So, get leather shoes.

- Compression socks - Just do it. It really does help with leg and foot swelling after a 12 hour clinical.

- Shoe inserts - I have a couple different orthopedic inserts I rotate through. Don't ignore your feet no matter how young you are.

- Pre Make All meals - So many students gain weight, feel like crap, break out, and waste money on buying food from fast food joints or the cafeterias. Don't do it. Save yourself some money and a couple pounds and premake your food.

- Pens - I personally like the pens that have multiple pen colors.

- Bandage scissors - There is a company on Amazon that has bandage scissors that have a clip built into the handle. I have those and it is really easy to clip them to my pants loop during clinical.

- Backpack - Don't get sucked in and purchase some expensive rolling backpack. I did and I regret it. Now I simply have a normal backpack with a padded section for my laptop.

- Clinical bag - In addition to my normal backpack that I take everywhere (including clinical), I have a separate clinical bag that holds extra pens, penlights, pencils, both stethoscopes, tape, alcohol wipes, etc. My clinical bag is a simple travel bag meant for makeup and toiletries (like $10). It makes everything centralized. So many times students forgot different supplies because they weren't organized.

- Folding metal clipboard - You can find these on Amazon for a good price. Some have different diagrams on them so look at what they include and pick one you want. These are easy to clean and can fold up and fit into your pocket.

- Scrubs - I don't know you have to purchase specific scrubs or not that are school specific. I had to simply buy the correct colors and not a specific type of scrub. If your school lets you pick your scrub tops/bottoms styles, remember this stuff shrinks especially the bottoms. So get a size larger, or get talls. Also, pockets on scrubs are your friend. Use them.

Hope this helps. Good Luck.

HappyGirlâ�¤ï¸� · Mar 20, 2017

-Set of sharpies

-Folding pocket clipboard (Nursing Edition)

-Planner

-Stethoscope (Littman)

-Sticky notes to tab your textbooks

-Flashcards

-Highlighters

That's all for now :)