What do you have in there??

This is my last semester before I graduate, and I have just started carrying a tote bag - too much stuff without it!

My purse, drug handbook, med-surg reference handbook, EKG handbook, stress ball from my instructor, stethescope pieces, stethescope hip clip, stethescope, stethescope clip-on clock/stopwatch/alarm, watch, badge, and all the stuff that gets put in my pockets when I show up: pens, highlighter, Sharpie, pen light, hemostat, bandage scissors, alcohol swabs, sugar packets (in case I miss a meal...), and bandage tape.

All this goes on my shoulder when I walk, and my paperwork is in one of those storage clipboards and I just carry it in my other hand. Works beautifully!

A 12 pack:idea:

LOL. I try not to carry too much in there. I have a bin kept in my car with bandages, foley kis, etc. I usually keep my drug handbook, stethescope cuff, basic bandages, penlight, scissors, gloves and soap.

A 12 pack:idea:

BWWAAHH!!! :biere:

Hey ... it was supposed to be a secret ...

No tote bag here, unless I'm going out after work & need a change of clothes.

I have a "Critical Care Made Incredibly Easy" book, a "Hemodynamic Monitoring" book, drug guide, my journal, makeup bag, personal hygiene items (toothbrush/toothpaste, hair spray, makeup, deodorant - hey 12 hrs is a long time - feels good to freshen up midway through the shift if time permits). In my pockets, I have alcohol preps, pens, hemostats, scissors, hi-liter, black marker. On my stethoscope I have another miniature light that is velcroed around it (in case pen light goes dead), and a roll of tape.

One of the more seasoned ICU nurses that I work with was picking on me the other night because no one had a black marker except me (she was needing one). Always find the newest nurse around and she/he will have everything in their pockets!

One of the more seasoned ICU nurses that I work with was picking on me the other night because no one had a black marker except me (she was needing one). Always find the newest nurse around and she/he will have everything in their pockets!

or a nursing student- they laugh but who do they turn to when they need a hemostat...????

sometimes they seek me out- hey you are a student you will have....

why yes, yes I do.

ok, still a student and just curious. what is it that all you nurses carry in your nursing tote bags you bring to work every day?

my lunch, a snack and a couple of bottles of water. a paperback book to read just in case i get to sit down for lunch. extra pens and pencils, calipers and my pda. my wallet, hairbrush, a bottle of alleve, contact lens case, glasses and a few sanitary napkins just in case. also my cellphone and sometimes my stethescope if i forgot to leave it in my locker when i left work the day before.

We have drug books on the unit and all the supplies that we need in the supply room. I don't like carrying items from room to room either - so I rarely use my steth and use one of the disposable floor stock ones that I leave in the room. I work ICU, so the steth stays in there for the length of the patient's stay.

When I worked night shift, I'd take a book or a magazine. Sometimes I bring a snack and a bottle of water.

Blee

or a nursing student- they laugh but who do they turn to when they need a hemostat...????

sometimes they seek me out- hey you are a student you will have....

why yes, yes I do.

Don't ever change either...had another nurse that I worked with on med/tele who was such a b**** one day about all the stuff that I had in my pockets. She told me that once I was a nurse about a year, that I would quit carrying all that. Well...I've been an RN for 17 months and my pockets are still full!

also a type A nurse will never stop having "all that stuff" (i'm one of them)...but funny when they need something, who do they come to???

LOL. I try not to carry too much in there. I have a bin kept in my car with bandages, foley kis, etc. I usually keep my drug handbook, stethescope cuff, basic bandages, penlight, scissors, gloves and soap.

Foley ? In your car ?

at least one novel

my 1001 Soduko Puzzles Book with pencil

Bag of some sort of chocolate candy (for those extra special moments )

lunch

Excedrin, motrin, sudafed, imodium, tums and my Rxs (because I never remember to take them before I leave for work)

PDA

cell phone (and charger sometimes)

wallet

Spearment gum (for gunga breath and/coffee breath)