Wow, never though we had it this bad o_ô... Okay I'll chime in as a student that is used to helping his fellow students: In Belgium, you pretty much have to turn yourself into a walking garbage truck during internships, or suffer the loss of time that can be counted in dozens of minutes per round ... As there isn't enough tools to accomodate for students. SO... What you do is buy a fanny pack on amazon, then 1. your own stetho (the ones they provide at the start of the year will break down within a week of use, the diaphragm dissolves in alcohol and you are bound to touch it) 2. your own watch (once again: you are provided ones that will die within a month) 3. your own oxi (buy a decent one with certified electronics, you do not want to get a bad reading and damage someone's brains because of it, respect your fellow human beings) 4. your own BP cuffs (why are these so expensive when the automated variants are so cheap?) 5. your own set of kocher scissor-thingys (nnnope, I do not know how they are called in english, In french we use the word for tweezers ... These. are. not. tweezers.) 6. your own scissors (avoid getting too attached) 7. your own tourniquet 8. your own tape 9. your own alcohol (do not hesitate to purge and refill when needed) 10. your own non-sterile non-woven gauze (cheap) 11. your own hand gel (refill when no-one is looking as people can get quite protective of their bottle and make a fuss) 12. your own injection-spot-bandage-thingys 13. your own gloves for use when they become scarce (gloves seem to be akin to toilet paper during the pandemic: nobody has any spares, and you get tired of begging and working without them when you are supposed to wear them for very. good. reasons. FAST ... Also I do not like chocolate chips in my gloves as I wipe someone's butt one bit, thank you. As you do not get paid a single cent during the 3 weeks of your 4 yearly internships and have to buy your own boxes, slow down on the "here, a pair for you" mindset, your bank account will thank you as the way these are priced isn't thought for pennyless students like yourself - if you do not have a few pairs at the ready before a surprise teacher visit you're toast.) Also: Do not lend anything when possible and always let the staff know that you expect the tool back. Why? Because 90% of the time it's not coming back, you do not follow the same working hours as the rest of the staff so a nurse could very well go home with your expensive steth never to be seen again. If you are lucky, management will have it come back your way, if you are unlucky they had prior bad encounters with s####y students and will actively avoid making any meaningful connections with you - your 80€ steth is gone jim, seen it happen more than once) Same goes for your 4-colour pens, tired of theft? These cost upward of 7€ around here. Buy an odd metalic one from Amazon with a ball-system that will confuse most people. No confusion as to whether the one in the nurse's hand is yours or not anymore, if it looks like a fugly chunk of poor quality aluminium that should never be put next to a geiger counter: ask for it back politely once she's done. Lastly: never ever EVER obey to do something you either do not know how to do because of lack of training or are not ALLOWED to do. They may pesker at how "nurse students do not know how to do anything these days", but if you haven't learned how to do an IV yet know how to thanks to nurse friends teaching you and making you practice over and over again: don't. If something goes wrong, you can bet your left and right buttcheeks that you are the one going to court, and since you weren't taught the technique at school yet: guilty by default. No matter if the rules were followed to the letter or not. NOW you can relax and enjoy your stay ^^. EDIT: forgot to mention that this is mostly valid for internships outside of the hospital such as in nursing homes. If you are assigned an internship in a hospital: don't sweat, you will have everything you need at hand, no matter how wasteful you can be. Pro-student-tip: do not hesitate to ask questions to a doctor as he is writing down prescriptions as It does not require their full attention. So if there is anything that your teachers are either clueless about (if they admit it: you can trust them) or will actively try to drown the fish about - Ask. Most are very kind to nurse students and will not hesitate to go into overwhelming detail. Last pro-student-tip: You do not suck for having your heart crushed by your favourite patient's death. A lot of nurses will seem numb to it, don't become one of them as you could very well lose your humanity as soon as you feel death rear it's ugly nose. If you need to: go hide and cry a bit and come back as if nothing had happened, burry it as deep as possible as you're never getting used to it.
It's funny that both you and Katherine say they are a good addition... because I've been told by multiple people (preceptors, teachers) that they are just an "extra" thing that doesn't get used. I've been really on the fence about having one with me at clinicals because I don't want to be a dork, but I do think I would get good use out of it...
starting as a nurse extern next week, really helpful!! every other video seemed like so much more things than necessary
Awesome Renee! What kind of unit will you be on?
@@Katherine_Ann Palliative Care Unit
This was so helpful. Thank you and I start my Nursing orientation tomorrow
Wow, never though we had it this bad o_ô... Okay I'll chime in as a student that is used to helping his fellow students:
In Belgium, you pretty much have to turn yourself into a walking garbage truck during internships, or suffer the loss of time that can be counted in dozens of minutes per round ... As there isn't enough tools to accomodate for students. SO... What you do is buy a fanny pack on amazon, then
1. your own stetho (the ones they provide at the start of the year will break down within a week of use, the diaphragm dissolves in alcohol and you are bound to touch it)
2. your own watch (once again: you are provided ones that will die within a month)
3. your own oxi (buy a decent one with certified electronics, you do not want to get a bad reading and damage someone's brains because of it, respect your fellow human beings)
4. your own BP cuffs (why are these so expensive when the automated variants are so cheap?)
5. your own set of kocher scissor-thingys (nnnope, I do not know how they are called in english, In french we use the word for tweezers ... These. are. not. tweezers.)
6. your own scissors (avoid getting too attached)
7. your own tourniquet
8. your own tape
9. your own alcohol (do not hesitate to purge and refill when needed)
10. your own non-sterile non-woven gauze (cheap)
11. your own hand gel (refill when no-one is looking as people can get quite protective of their bottle and make a fuss)
12. your own injection-spot-bandage-thingys
13. your own gloves for use when they become scarce (gloves seem to be akin to toilet paper during the pandemic: nobody has any spares, and you get tired of begging and working without them when you are supposed to wear them for very. good. reasons. FAST ... Also I do not like chocolate chips in my gloves as I wipe someone's butt one bit, thank you. As you do not get paid a single cent during the 3 weeks of your 4 yearly internships and have to buy your own boxes, slow down on the "here, a pair for you" mindset, your bank account will thank you as the way these are priced isn't thought for pennyless students like yourself - if you do not have a few pairs at the ready before a surprise teacher visit you're toast.)
Also: Do not lend anything when possible and always let the staff know that you expect the tool back. Why? Because 90% of the time it's not coming back, you do not follow the same working hours as the rest of the staff so a nurse could very well go home with your expensive steth never to be seen again. If you are lucky, management will have it come back your way, if you are unlucky they had prior bad encounters with s####y students and will actively avoid making any meaningful connections with you - your 80€ steth is gone jim, seen it happen more than once)
Same goes for your 4-colour pens, tired of theft? These cost upward of 7€ around here. Buy an odd metalic one from Amazon with a ball-system that will confuse most people. No confusion as to whether the one in the nurse's hand is yours or not anymore, if it looks like a fugly chunk of poor quality aluminium that should never be put next to a geiger counter: ask for it back politely once she's done.
Lastly: never ever EVER obey to do something you either do not know how to do because of lack of training or are not ALLOWED to do. They may pesker at how "nurse students do not know how to do anything these days", but if you haven't learned how to do an IV yet know how to thanks to nurse friends teaching you and making you practice over and over again: don't. If something goes wrong, you can bet your left and right buttcheeks that you are the one going to court, and since you weren't taught the technique at school yet: guilty by default. No matter if the rules were followed to the letter or not.
NOW you can relax and enjoy your stay ^^.
EDIT: forgot to mention that this is mostly valid for internships outside of the hospital such as in nursing homes. If you are assigned an internship in a hospital: don't sweat, you will have everything you need at hand, no matter how wasteful you can be.
Pro-student-tip: do not hesitate to ask questions to a doctor as he is writing down prescriptions as It does not require their full attention. So if there is anything that your teachers are either clueless about (if they admit it: you can trust them) or will actively try to drown the fish about - Ask. Most are very kind to nurse students and will not hesitate to go into overwhelming detail.
Last pro-student-tip: You do not suck for having your heart crushed by your favourite patient's death. A lot of nurses will seem numb to it, don't become one of them as you could very well lose your humanity as soon as you feel death rear it's ugly nose. If you need to: go hide and cry a bit and come back as if nothing had happened, burry it as deep as possible as you're never getting used to it.
Funny as ER tech and AEMT I have 3 black pens, trauma shears, penlight, stethoscope, Kelly clamps and etoh pads for disinfection.
Woah Sam that is more than I ever carried in my pockets when I worked ER. You, I'm sure at the go to person!
I love the less expensive version of a a yeti water jug
Me to; I use mine every day.
Pro trick : watch series at flixzone. I've been using them for watching a lot of movies these days.
@Roger Ronan yup, I've been using Flixzone for months myself :)
@Roger Ronan Yup, I've been watching on flixzone for years myself :)
What about scissors and pen light?
Thank you. I bring the minimum.
Where did your sister get the bag? I also have realized so much is not needed
Hi Jolayemi! I believe off of Etsy (most likely)
Where did you get that small bag? Love that!
My sister got it for me, I believe off of Etsy!
Great list! The clip board is SO underrated. #SimTribe
It's funny that both you and Katherine say they are a good addition... because I've been told by multiple people (preceptors, teachers) that they are just an "extra" thing that doesn't get used. I've been really on the fence about having one with me at clinicals because I don't want to be a dork, but I do think I would get good use out of it...
Are the foldable clipboards with nursing notes necessary then??
Some would say yes, some would say no! :) it all depends where you are working and how you like to organize your day!