Julia
Starting your clinical rotations feels a little bit overwhelming and confusing. When I first started my clinicals in my junior year, I wasn’t entirely sure what I needed to bring to the hospital aside from my assessment kit. Now that I'm a senior, I have learned a lot about what I should pack in my clinical bag to make my life easier. Here are some additional nursing items and tools that you may be interested in for your clinicals.
a quality nursing clipboard
If you are going to buy anything additional for nursing school, this should be it. A nursing clipboard is the best tool a student can have. My clipboard holds all my report sheets, some errant notes, and a few blank pages of paper (just in case). Having a clipboard is a great help in keeping organized.
Nursing clipboards generally come in two kinds: foldable and storage. Foldable clipboards are nice as they can fit into your scrub pockets, making them easier to carry. However, foldable clipboards hold less paper than storage clipboards, and writing anything on the back of the pages is a bit of a pain. Storage clipboards, with a built-in compartment, are nice to store more paper and even small items such as lip balm and pens. However, like a regular clipboard, storage clipboards cannot fit in your pocket. As such, you always have to be sure not to leave it in a patient’s room, as your report sheets and databases contain private health information.
Both clipboards are great for clinical use, and whatever clipboard you choose is up to personal preference and your own needs.
pens
I know: bringing pens to clinical seems obvious. However, not all pens are created equal in nursing. My #1 piece of advice for pens is to use retractable pens. They can clip onto your scrubs, and you don’t have to worry about losing the cap. Besides, all you have to do is click the button, so you can grab the pen with one hand instead of needing both to take the cap off.
Another great type of pen is a marker with an attached keychain. You’ll often see nurses in the hospital have Sharpies attached to their IDs so that the marker stays attached to them their whole shift. This way, they’ll always have a marker on them to label IV tubing, samples, I+Os, and more, which is super convenient. You can easily buy these online, or just attach a keychain to a marker yourself.
The last pens to talk about are multi-colored pens. With these types of pens, you can write with multiple different ink colors. This is super useful if you want to color-code your report sheet or simply just like having different options. Plus, with a multi-colored pen, there is no need to carry a bunch of different pens on you, which is fantastic to clear up some pocket real estate.
cheat sheets
From anatomy to labs to medications, nurses need to be able to quickly recall a ton of information. As a student, this can feel stressful. For this reason, cheat sheets are super helpful. Cheat sheets, as the name implies, are little sheets of paper that have a bunch of helpful nursing facts crammed onto them, such as conversions and lab values. This is super useful for nursing students, as you can refer to the sheet if you ever need to quickly double-check something.
Cheat sheets are often found either on a nurse’s ID holder or their clipboard. In fact, you can buy ID holders and clipboards that contain a cheat sheet on them. Where you want to place your cheat sheet is up to you.
You can buy cheat sheets in various sizes with various information online. Different sellers on Amazon, Etsy, and nursing supply websites all sell different cheat sheets with different information, so you can shop around for ones that work for you. Of course, you can always make your own cheat sheet with a pen and some paper. Making your own also means you can personalize it, adding information that is important to you. No matter how you do it, cheat sheets are a fantastic resource.
a quality tumbler and/or water bottle
Tumblers and water bottles are obvious choices, but they are easy to overlook. It’s always important to stay hydrated, so taking drinks with you is fantastic to sip on throughout the day or during your breaks.
Water bottles are a given. For hospital shifts, especially 12-hour or overnight capstones, drinking water is crucial. I suggest always bringing a quality, reusable water bottle with you so that you have water to sip throughout the day.
Tumblers are less important than water bottles, but they are nice to have. Personally, I have to drive an hour away for my capstone placement. So, I fill my tumbler with tea and drink it on my drive. It gives me some caffeine for my shift, plus, it’s always a nice little routine. With a quality tumbler, you can fill it before leaving and keep your coffee or tea hot for hours, which is a definite plus during long clinical days.
a bag to carry it all
With all that stuff, you’re going to need a bag to go with it. In addition to everything, you’re going to be carrying your assessment kit. At some locations, you may also need to bring your lunch and laptop. It’s important to get a clinical bag that can carry all your items without being bulky or too big. I’d recommend a bag with a few different little compartments for you to separate your belongings and stay organized. As such, small backpacks and canvas bags are great as clinical bags, but any type of bag is fine as long as it works for you!
All of these items help to make clinical a little bit easier. However, your clinical and capstone experiences are for you to learn, and whatever you want to bring is up to you. In addition, working with your preceptor helps to figure out little tips and items that you may be interested in (I was 100% sold on multi-colored pens by one of my preceptors), so there is no need to buy a bunch of stuff at the very beginning. Feel things out and you’ll get a taste of what tools are available and helpful to you with time. As always, good luck and do great!
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