As a nurse, you might find yourself in situations in your daily life where your services are needed at a moment’s notice. It might be at a restaurant where someone has an allergic reaction and requires immediate medical attention, walking down the sidewalk when someone gets into an accident, or on an airplane where someone could have a medical emergency. Regardless of the place, you will need to drop everything and lend assistance to that person to hopefully, save their life. Because of this possibility, there will always be certain essentials you will want to keep in your bag for such occasions.

Read on to find some of the common items that every nurse should have in their bags.

Stethoscope

These tools are the quintessential item that every doctor and nurse uses in the workplace on a daily basis. The concept of medical professionals and stethoscopes are so ingrained in our culture that, even in TV shows and other media, these professionals are frequently depicted in their scrubs, white lab coat, and a stethoscope wrapped around their necks. And with good reason!

This tool can be used in a pinch for listening to a person’s heart or lungs if they suddenly fall ill and require immediate medical assistance, which could make this paramount for saving their lives at that moment.

Pain Medications and Other Drugs

Long shifts are tough, especially when you’re new and aren’t quite as used to the workload. In these cases, carrying some OTC drugs to take when your body is at its breaking point could help to give you the strength necessary to push through on those last few hours. So, that you can head home and rest up.

Some popular OTC medicine that you should always keep on your person are aspirins for managing headaches, colds, or pain from the physical labor performed at work. Nevertheless, make sure to consult your hospital or workplace policies in order to learn what OTC medicine is okay to bring and use at work.

Blood Pressure Monitor and Thermometer

These two instruments, alongside the stethoscope mentioned above, are the most important tools of the trade for any nurse, which they should always carry on their person. Some blood pressure monitors are compact enough to keep tucked away in the pockets of your scrubs, which will allow you to measure a patient’s blood pressure without having to move them to a room, or having to wait for a monitor to free up in places where there are not enough to go around. 

Regardless of the circumstances, the stethoscope, blood pressure monitor, and thermometer allows you to quickly assess the patient’s situation without having to depend on the hospital’s tools.

Smartphone

Back when they didn’t exist, nurses and other professionals had to keep physical copies of manuals and other textbooks to quickly consult about certain conditions when they were unsure of how to proceed. Smartphones simplify this process by keeping all your knowledge in one small device. Furthermore, they double up as important communication and task management tools, which will help to increase your efficiency greatly.

First Aid Items

You never know when an emergency might pop up and someone might be in need of first aid. For this reason, you should always carry several items in your bag that will allow you to save a life in case someone gets injured. Some important items that you might want to carry around at all times are tourniquets, bandages, medical tape, dressing scissors and, in some cases, suturing thread and needles. As well as rubbing alcohol to sanitize both your tools and the wounds of the patient. Don’t forget to pack some medical gloves for when you need to clean or dress a wound, or otherwise tend to an impromptu patient.

Water and Snacks

This isn’t something you should keep in your bag as much as you should on your person at all times. Working as a nurse will have you pacing back and forth, tending to your tasks for extended periods of time. It’s normal for nurses, especially inexperienced ones, to forgo their personal health in lieu of seeing to their duties. Only to find that they are weak, exhausted, nearly ready to keel over by the end of the shift, dreading the next day where they’ll have to do it all over again.

To prevent this, it’s important to always carry a water bottle on you at all times, and develop a habit of refilling it every time you come up to a drinking fountain or in the rare occasion when you can catch your breath in the nurses’ lounge. The same goes for snacks. Sometimes, all your body needs to make it through to the end of the day is the extra energy from an energy bar. Especially if you haven’t had time to sit down for a proper meal.