I graduated outside of the United States. Took the NCLEX here in US right after graduation. Basically, aside from clinical hours in nursing school, I have no work experience in my home country and here in US.
I just want to ask what to most nurses bring during duty? I am recently hired in a medsurg unit in a small hospital. I do not want to bring too much stuff. I do not want to underprepare either?
What are inside nurses' bags during duty?
I want to look like I am just carrying a not so big bag and yet I am bringing everything I need.
And yeah... as the newbie in the unit, I do want to make a good impression :)
Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.
1 med sized bag is what I carried. It held: non perishable healthy snacks like nuts and dried fruit, water bottle, energy drinks.
Chapstick, neutral lip gloss, hand lotion. Feminine hygiene products, Deodorant. Gum and mints, hand sanitizer.
Stethoscope, pens in different colors including black and red, highlighters, sharpies, notebook with room to write plus company policies and procedures, bandage scissors.
I don't bring as much as some nurses because I would just lose it. I bring my lunch of course. My facility has a vending machine with reasonably priced protein items as well for staff. I keep my drug guide and lab diagnostic books in my locker. I have on my person, Staff ID (always, can't get into the med room without it), stethoscope, pen, and bandage scissors. That's it. I grab as many flushes as I have patients and a few alcohol wipes from the med room at the beginning of my shift.
Scissors, penlight, scrap paper, chapstick, 5-6 pens (or none as soon as I misplace them), stethoscope (only until all assessments are done; then I put it away). When I first started, I carried my own clipboard with a to do list for my assessments to keep from leaving anything out; after a while though, I didn't need it & started using the dept's clipboards. I've carried tape in the past, but it just ends up accumulating a lot of funk along the edges, so I just make sure I have one in my wow.
on me i usually have several black pens, a permanent marker, bandage scissors, my "brain sheet", alcohol swabs, a couple of saline flushes, a carpujet, pen light, wrist watch, my cell phone, work phone, and chapstick or lip gloss. If my hair is not up, i have a hair tie around my wrist.
In my work bag I keep my stethoscope (gets put away after initial assessments), advil, floss, gum, tampons, deodorant, and glasses (I wear contacts). Maybe a few other things I missed.
Not a dumb question, not everyone uses different colored pens. Some do it to organize their brain sheet (seen a lot in ICU, different tasks get different colors or things get checked off with another color) and some who are still using paper charting need a red pen to chart check orders.
Working in LTC... Things I carry on my person - a clipboard for my papers, blue or black pen (if I carry more than one, I WILL lose one of them), sharpie, bandage scissors, penlight, pulse ox, stethoscope, med cart keys, bottle of hand sanitizer (we don't have wall dispensers), cell phone (only at the facility where it's allowed), chapstick, and a bunch of minor dressing supplies, alcohol wipes, and the like in a plastic bag - we're not allowed to keep that stuff on the med cart, and someone needs a bandaid regularly.
This keeps me from having to run and find stuff 95% of the time.
In my bag - spares (often multiple - my facility doesn't stock bandage scissors anymore so those are gold) of pretty much everything I carry in my pockets, lunch/snacks/drinks (I try to avoid buying anything at work), tea bags, packets of emergen-c, instant coffee, and creamer, a small bottle of advil and tylenol (yes, I know sticking multiple meds in the same bottle is bad juju), hair ties, comb, toothbrush and toothpaste, sometimes gum, feminine hygiene stuff, a little bottle of hand lotion someone gave me that I should just get rid of because I can't stand the smell and rarely use the stuff anyways, a copy of RNotes, which I think I've referred to about twice but still carry as a security blanket, a phone charger, a pair of nail clippers, a stock of vials of saline, alcohol wipes, and so forth that ended up in my pockets at the end of the day, a change purse with a spare ID card, a bunch of inspirational quotes, nice notes from patients/families, and sometimes actual change, identification badges for my other jobs, my old watch which my daughter gave me with a broken wristband, which I eventually intend to do surgery on and turn into something to wear on my lanyard but haven't gotten around to yet, and a magnet rock my mother gave me that says "Shikataganai", which serves as a handy place to store a spare back for my magnetic nametag.
Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.
Not a dumb question, not everyone uses different colored pens. Some do it to organize their brain sheet (seen a lot in ICU, different tasks get different colors or things get checked off with another color) and some who are still using paper charting need a red pen to chart check orders.
I think the op said it well. However, I'll add on:
Different colored pens to signal to our brains (shift worksheets) the items that are super important vs not that important.
I currently use black red and a highlighter. I use black for things to do. Red for urgent things to do and yellow highlighter for things I must follow up on.
vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN
2,717 Posts
1 med sized bag is what I carried. It held: non perishable healthy snacks like nuts and dried fruit, water bottle, energy drinks.
Chapstick, neutral lip gloss, hand lotion. Feminine hygiene products, Deodorant. Gum and mints, hand sanitizer.
Stethoscope, pens in different colors including black and red, highlighters, sharpies, notebook with room to write plus company policies and procedures, bandage scissors.