Work bags: What do you take and what's in it?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I am starting a new job tomorrow and and just started cleaning out my work bag...what a mess! I've carried the same huge Vera Bradley tote for a little over a year and it's filled to the brim with a bunch of old bills, lotion, carbon copies of PTO requests, etc.

What do you use to carry your stuff to work? I probably need to downgrade to something smaller as my new work environment is cramped. What do you put in it? I have a makeup bag, extra car key, calendar, change, a calculator, my badge, pens, pencils and highlighters.

Specializes in Rehab, critical care.

Umm...I just have my purse with my keys, and wallet? I keep my stethoscope, and scissor pack, penlight in my locker, toss it in there, happily, at the end of my shift. It may sound weird, but I have a designated jacket that is used only for the hospital. Nowhere else.

I travel light...my clipboard, snacks, feminine products and my steth. One of these days I will get a lock for my locker and stash a change of scrubs in there.

I take a backpack.

Currently has:

Laptop/charger

Pens

Lunch

Pocket mask

Rain Jacket since the weather is ridiculous lately

Just curious : why a laptop?! Do you really have time as a nurse to use your laptop at work? :D

Pens, mechanical pencils, folder full of project papers, nice critical care book that I got for Christmas with drip tables, ACLS guidelines, etc. (although I never seem to to actually use this on the job it's more for reading when I'm bored), travel sized deodorant, approx 500 different chapsticks, my glasses that I refuse to wear but really should, mints for coffee breath, my schedule book. Believe it or not I never carry a stethoscope (each room has a disposable one for infection control) nor do I carry scissors, clamps, tape, or alcohol pads. I think I'm spoiled because each of our rooms have all the supplies I could ever need :) I travel light!

Carrying a heavy bag drives me crazy. For a reason I can't explain, I take pride in the idea that I feel perfectly comfortable walking out of my house needing little more than cash in my pocket.

Specializes in Obstetrics.

A bottle of ibuprofen, lotion, stethoscope, scissors, cord clamp remover (I'm in OB), a few spare pens, my big tumbler for water throughout the shift, usually some random cough drops, gum, I do the schedule so always have my book for that in there as well , which takes up most of the room. A ton of alcohol wipes of course, hair ties...and of course, most important... chapstick! :)

Specializes in Pediatric.

I bring a binder w extra copies of my hh agency's flow sheet, keys, phone, wallet with cash (I take a cab for part of my commute and get reimbursed) my stethoscope, food and a water bottle, book and or magazine to read on the train... That's about it

Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.
Just curious : why a laptop?! Do you really have time as a nurse to use your laptop at work? :D

When I wrote that 2 years ago :p I was on days and was not doing full shifts yet. So between class and work I would jump on and do some certification stuff.

Now its a much different

Specializes in ER, progressive care.

Okay, so comparing to my post back in August of 2011...most of that stuff is now in my locker. Carrying all of that stuff to and from work got really old really fast! Now I just bring my purse that always has my credit card + some cash, chapstick, Critical Care Notes, keys, phone. In my locker:

* stethoscope (both my Littmann Cardiology III and my Classic II SE that I use as a backup...or that I loan out to coworkers when they can't find their own stethoscope!)

* storage clipboard...got a lot of random references inside as well as reference papers + a lot of copies of my brain sheets

* a lot of pens that I store in a plastic cup + a highlighter and white board marker

* pen light, bandage scissors

* some snacks...like granola bars & almonds. I also have a can of spicy tuna and some crackers just in case lol

* assorted tea bags/instant coffee for when I'm not feeling the coffee that is made at work

* water bottle

* ibuprofen, Tylenol, Zyrtec

* drug book, though honestly I just use Micromedex on my phone or Lexicomp that is built into our computers...or our pharmacist :)

* gum

* Bath & Body Works pocketbac hand sanitizer

* hand lotion (I love B&BW's Look Ma, New Hands! by TrueBlueSpa)

* some tampons

Not much has changed. I just now walk in and out with much less stuff.

I too have a Vera Bradley large tote: I carry tea bags, a bamboo utensil set, Kindle, stethoscope, lots of food, extra pen, lotion, breath mints. I have a locker at work with extra scrubs, floss/tooth brush/tooth paste.

I have steth, feminine products, crackers, nuts, an energy drink, Advil, zinc tablets, pepto, neosporin, cough drops, umbrella, pens, Chapstick, my Comptia A+ study book (that takes up a lot of space) socks, lotion, deodorant, a magazine, gum. I'm a float nurse so I don't have a locker to keep my things in.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

As for what type of bag I have.... I used to bring whichever one was given out for free that year for Nurses Week. It was functional, I'd proudly wear the hospital's name, and it throw it out after a year. Then I started working at a hospital in a fashionable area...where even the male nurses were using LV's as their work bag. After a few comments on my brand of choice, I sacrificed an old Coach to the cause. Now that I've moved back home all I get are compliments on it.

+ Add a Comment