Worried about my nursing supplies!?

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Here is the deal I start my 1st semester of nursing school Monday woohoo!! I am already super nervous but yet very excited! My 1st semester I have the usual health assessment, communication for health professionals, fundamentals, etc. Anyways........ I have talked to a few of my fellow classmates and everyone went out and got a stethoscope at walmart, BP stuff at walmart, etc. I have NOTHING against this I have been truly blessed to have such a wonderful fiance' and have saved money back myself as well I have a littman cardio III stethoscope, and a Welch Allyn tycos sphygmomanometer I am very lucky to have these and my fiance' and myself bought these as sort of an investment as we expect these to last a long time for me provided they don't get stolen! Plus the BP thing was bought used from a med student I know and it was simply a good deal. My issue is my classmates have kind of made me feel like I have a snotty attitude about these as they asked me what type of supplies I have so I named those two items off to them ( I wasn't like OMG! I have this this and this only top of the line stuff you know) I just stated I have a littman stethoscope and a Welch Allyn BP since they asked. Well now no one really likes me that much and have been saying stuff like "the snotty rich kid", etc. I am in no way shape or form a rich kid! I don't consider myself snotty either and neither do my friends outside of school. I just think I am truly lucky and blessed to start school with nice things. Should I leave the nice stuff at the house now that we already spent money on it or just take it to school and be lucky I have such things? I hate everyone already hates me! This is not what I was expecting! What should I do? 3/4 of me says just ignore them, but the 1/4 of me says are my instructors going to hate me because I have nice things?

Specializes in Emergency.

OK, so you arent worried about your supplies, you are worried about your classmates and instructors. I think within a few days people will forget about it. just use it and if anyone brings it up, just shrug your shoulders and move on. Your instructors will not care about it either way. They will eventually get over themselves, and may even find themselves getting a littman themselves....

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Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

I don't understand why you are putting this much stock into what others think of you. You are willing to use substandard equipment when you have very nice equipment, just to make other people feel better? Excuse me, but I'm pretty sure that putting your hard earned money into quality equipment that you can get years out of is a smart investment on your part. Use it, enjoy it, and let them be petty and stupid if they choose. I bought a Littman Master Classic and I love it and it's awesome and I gave one of my fellow classmates my lesser quality one for free. She is thrilled because she couldn't afford anything. I'm happy someone can get some use out of it.

I also bought Danskos. I know they're expensive, but if they last as long as people say they do, I'm money ahead.

Now, I need to get a good BP cuff. ;)

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What everyone else said. I just wanted to add that if your Welch Allyn is an electronic version, you might want to check with the instructors to see if you will be allowed to use it in labs. My school will NOT let you use an electronic BP cuff in labs; it has to be a manual one.

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I would get your steth engraved for sure, other then that you are good. Now if you are one of those goody goody types that like to rub it in everyone's face with how awesome your goodies are, I would say check that at the door. Instructors HATE THAT!! Good Luck, I started this week!!!!

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Does it REALLY matter? Are all of you guys that class like 15 yrs old? Just use the stethoscope for heavens sake. You bought it so you might as well! There are so many other things to worry about in Nursing school besides what kind of supplies somebody has! Geez!

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Specializes in Hopefully ICU one of these days..

I have a master cardiology with my initials laser engraved, no one has said anything cross to me about it. I have had a few instructors and even a resident comment on how nice of a scope I have but mostly just in passing. Who cares what people think about your "stuff". There is no reason to get low end supplies just because the majority of people in your class can't afford the better instruments. If you can afford the best then get the best is my motto. I'm not going to be self conscious when I buy a new Lexus this year while still in nursing school either just because most of the other students drive beater cars. Everyone comes from a different background. Just don't go around bragging about what you have and people won't really care.

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My community college REQUIRES that we buy a Littmann Classic II SE or better. That's a great stethoscope but is indeed too rich for my blood. I wouldn't be snotty to you, though. It's a great investment & had I not found out I got into the nursing program only a month before it started, I would have made it a priority to buy a Littmann cardiology stethoscope. Your life will be much easier with it! Don't let other's jealousy get you down. This is YOUR future.

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As long as they call you Nurse Snotty Rich kid what do you care?

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Dont pay any attention to them!! I am starting my first semester next week and I also have a Littman Cardio III which was a hand me down from my husband. Im proud and excited to have it and use it!

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Specializes in PACU, presurgical testing.

Time will tell. We were able to order Littmann stethoscopes through the Student Nursing Organization, so I bought a Classic II, I think. I was able to use it through all my clinicals and even on a cardiac floor. Excellent investment (though I don't know if our price was any better than on allheart or another site). However, the cheapo penlight that we also could order for $4.95 was a joke; it worked for a semester and then died, and there was no way to change the bulb or battery! So my husband bought me a Welch-Allyn penlight with spare bulbs, and it is still going strong 1.5 years later. On the other hand, my Kelly clamps came from the fishing department at Walmart, and they work just fine. Sometimes you get what you pay for, and other times it doesn't matter that much. And don't worry about what people say; get the best you can afford and say, "Thank you, God, that I can have good equipment!" Good luck in school!!!

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I agree with the others, I'm not sure why you even care what they think about your supplies. YOU payed for it not them. Who cares what they think, you will have much bigger issues to deal with in school. ( I have never went to school with the hope or expectation of making friends so this petty sort of thing doesn't bother me at all)

I don't see why you even feel the need to justify yourself to them, or to us, as evidenced by your detailed account of how you were able to afford it in your post. Lots of people have expensive supplies in school, and these supplies usually last longer than the cheaper counterparts. I would rather spend more money on something tht will last me then to keep buying cheap supplies over and over.

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First of all, congratu-freaking-lations! haha That is just so exciting. Secondly, those people are going to realize sooner or later what is important and that they can't isolate someone for having nice things. That is so petty it's not even funny. Remember, they're not in charge of how well you do and they're not going to affect your future. Be confident, be yourself, and your preceptors and instructors will absolutely see that. Just don't let the others even phase you. Good luck!

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