What will I need for nursing school?

[stephanieg1989]

i just got accepted to start a lvn program in january too! good luck! the school gave us a list of everything we need for the year and i can tell you that you will probably need some of the same things... They asked us to get a watch with a second hand, a stethoscope, bandage or trauma scissors, a pen light, blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter, clipboard, and of course your books and materials to take notes. hope that helps! good luck!

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

Many facilities will not let you use a personal pulse ox as they are not calibrated or maintained. The personal pulse ox (around $40) is not designed for clinical or multi patient use and has a higher error rate.

Wait on the BP cuff as that is program specific. Some schools provide, some skills include it in the student kit, some schools make it optional, etc.

Definitely watch with second hand. Pens, notebooks, highlighters, index cards, pen light (several), basic bandage scissors. Folders. Planner/ organizer.

Clip boards are relative. Great in class and lab but they were not permitted in many clinical sites for a variety of reasons. (No place to store, students looked like auditors reading a script rather than novice nursing students and became a barrier to patient assessment. One site required our instructor to collect clipboards at the start of class and not permit them on the floor. Memo pads were recommended/ used (3x5 or 4x6)

[RunBabyRN]

Definitely wait to see what YOUR program requires, and what comes up as needed over time. I would not have needed a pulse ox or BP cuff, and it would have been wasted money at the time. However, now that I do home infusions, I do use these things, as I am an independent contractor, so they are not provided for me.