What supplies do you carry on you?

[Nire83]

Starting in the ED in a few weeks, and i was wondering what supplies you carry on you daily.

I have a pen light and a stethescope, what else do i need! =)

[Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN]

Stethoscope, kelly forceps, roll of tape, trauma shears, carpuject, pen.

[AlmostJesus]

Stethoscope in my left cargo pocket (I hate carrying it around my neck)

Watch (again, oddly enough I hate having a watch on my hand and rarely need it), pen light, carpuject, tape, IV tourniquet, trauma shears, alcohol preps and sometimes a nitro gtt table in my right cargo pocket.

I also carry my iPod touch with me which is full of reference materials, I use epocrates and micromedex the most.

[emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Stethoscope, kelly forceps, roll of tape, trauma shears, carpuject, pen.

pretty much the same for me. I might also wind up with a bottle of labetalol, metoprolol, narcan, nitro sl or atropine in my pocket. With some pts you just see it coming......

[joeb1, ASN, BSN, RN]

I carry my stethescope, hemostats with tape, reference cheat sheet I made with doses etc. and a 16 and 20 gauge angiocath just in case....used to have shears but after losing 4 pair in six months I've decided it isn't worth it...we have otoscope/opthalmoscopes at the head of each bedso no pen lights thankfully.

[VICEDRN, BSN, RN]

left pocket: tape, trauma shears, hemostats, lip balm, car keys (in case the s--t hits the fan)

right pocket: a couple of dollars, a pocket protector with three pens, all black, one sharpie, alcohol pads and a sheet of paper folded in 4s which i use both side of for patient info. occasionally an IV kit in that pocket too.

Have stethoscope on hip.

[Roy Fokker, BSN, RN]

My brain

Other than that - stethoscope on a clip on my left hip, a Mcgyver'd contraption of hemostat, tape and trauma shears on my right hip (run hemostat through hole in tape roll, clip hemostat to scrub top. Now you have that done, just slide trauma shears through remainder space on tape roll hole. Done!) I carry my carpuject either in my back pocket or I crowd it with my shears. iPhone in back scrub pant pocket (doses and meds and drips etc.)

cheers,

[murphyle, BSN, RN]

On sleeve: Penlight and pen. (I have an old drug-company freebie that I loaded a Space Pen refill into - distinctive enough that nobody steals it, and writes on anything, including lab labels. Cheap, too.)

Badge holder: Badge, $20 emergency cash, Starbucks Card, ammonia inhalant taped to back of card pocket.

Shirt pocket: Miscellaneous junk - lip balm, change, vial tops, blue caps, etc.

Cargo pockets: Tape, alcohol swabs, shears, hemostats, pocket vision card (handy when you don't want to wheel that confused 98 y.o. LOL all the way to the Snellen chart), Leatherman tool (lifesaver for broken IV poles, gronked-on pump clamps, etc). Usually have a saline flush or two, 20ga Angiocath and an IV start packet (pre-packaged tourniquet, 2x2, Chloraprep, tape and Tegaderm) rattling around somewhere too. iPod Touch (Lexi-Comp, Skyscape, Fast Facts) and my SpectraLink go in separate slots on my left leg. Stethoscope is on a waist clip.

[Jennifer, RN]

As a floor nurse, I carried a lot of crap with me.

As an ER nurse, I have downsized, now carry stethoscope, roll of tape, trauma scissors (if I haven't lost them), carpuject (the zofran sticks, really) and maybe a flush or two.

[ReggaeRN]

I feel like a light-weight. I used to carry a bunch of stuff, but the ERs I've worked at most recently are well-stocked. So...

A stethescope, and a couple pens hooked to the pocket of my cargo pants. That's it.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

Stethoscope, trauma shears, tape, small notepad, 2 blue pens, 1 Sharpie, 1 highlighter (we highlight completed stuff on the physician order sheet). And my patrol cap in case I have to go outside for any reason. Nothing like working in a full Army uniform in a very warm ER ... LOL.

[jrivers]

...and some blunt draw needles

[emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

And my coffee mug. Gotta have the joe.