What’s in my clinical bag?

Clinical experience is a major part of all nursing programs. This is your opportunity to take what you learned in the classroom and apply it to real life. You will also see a lot of things they do not teach you in school. You will do everything from performing a bed bath, taking vital signs and assisting in procedures. Every week before I go to clinical I grab my bag and get prepared. I have to make sure I have all my supplies and paperwork in order so that I can be effective and prepared for the day ahead.

When I chose my clinical bag I made sure the bag has plenty of space for all my supplies. I actually have had this bag for a few years prior to starting nursing school and it is perfect for me. It is from Thirty-One and called Retro Metro Fold Over. This specific design does not seem to be available but you can find a similar one (here). I love the two different styles of straps on the bag.

I always carry my Slimcase Clipboard (here) because it provides a hard surface for me to write on and it opens up so I can store extra forms and pens inside. It really comes in handy. I do not like to shove papers in my pockets because they get wrinkled and look unprofessional. I also always carry my Drug Guide (here), Pocket Guide (here) and Laboratory Testing Book (here). I am always looking up medications, diagnosis’s and labs on the patient. You need to understand medications before you administer them to a patient and you need to understand lab results and why they were ordered and what the results mean. My stethoscope goes everywhere with me because I am constantly taking vital signs and performing assessments on my patients. I am obsessed with my rose gold stethoscope from MDF Instruments (here). It is beautiful and I can hear sounds clearly.

I always keep a good supply of tape and alcohol wipes in my pockets because you never know when you will need them. I also always keep my penlight, measuring tape and bandage scissors handy. Those scissors come in handy for so many things from cutting bandages to opening pill containers. I usually carry a small notebook to jot down any notes that I think are important. A sharpie comes in handy if you need to label anything or time an IV bag.  Last but equally as important are my binders. My nursing school requires us to turn in our assessments, care plans and any other misc. papers they find important. We are also required to fill out medication forms on any and all medications our patients take. So I have a binder that contains my medication forms and another binder with clinical paperwork and extra forms. And that is a wrap! These are the items I always carry in my clinical bag and they get me through the day! What does your clinical bag contain?

– Rebekah

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