It's in the Bag!

"Always come prepared and ready to work..."

This was stated and restated (aaannnnd restated) by one of my favorite clinical professors :) I always listened to what she had to say because she was the closest thing I had to a mentor and she was molding me in to the best nurse that she could!

Whenever I came to clinical I would arrive with my purple gym bag on my shoulder- every time, on time! 

People would always ask what was in it? Why did I need such a big bag? 

The bag was my way of coming to clinical prepared.  Here is a list of thing I found vital in my "packing" efforts- mind you, I only really packed this thing once and just left it alone!

The obvious: Medications book, steth (yes mine was pretty pink!), portfolio with an up-to-date resume as well as my background check and drug screen, Pad of paper for notes, pens black pens out the WAZOO, a watch, and of course my lunch and some snacks

The curve balls: I would pack a tiny make-up bag with over the counter medications that I might need during the day.  Advil, Pepto, chap stick, cough drops, ladies unmentionables, travel sized saline solution and contact holder- just incase something got in my eye- and a few other fun things that mattered to me.  

The first time I was found out about my "Mary Poppins'" bag because it was a little heavy that day, a girl scoffed and said "why do you need ALL of that?! I was a little hurt by her comment- but I was ok in the fact that I was prepared- AND by the end of the day she shuffled over to me and asked for an Advil because she had a bad headache.... 

It took every fiber of my being not say dance and sing "I told ya so- Told ya so! Who is prepared? NOT YOU NOT YOU!"  and while I did in my head, I spared her and handed over some Advil so that she could comfortably finish her clinical. 

She never really made fun of my "duffle of trouble" ever again after that- BOOO YAHHH! 

Moral of the story is to stay prepared- when you are employed at a hospital you will have your own locker to keep your items safely stored, so there will be less worry about tampering in the locker rooms ;) 

A new fad that I have been seeing in hospitals is nurses bringing their own K-Cups for Keurig machines - so I might have to add that to my bag once I get a job!! :) 

Does anyone bring anything to clinical or work that has become their life saver, go-to item, etc.? I'm interested to know!