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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!
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!
cardiac.cure03
170 Posts
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?