Pocket Junk Every Nurse Should Carry

Some call it "nurse junk." I call it survival gear. If you've ever sprinted for a code or tried to find a pen that wasn't stolen, you know exactly why having the right tools in your pockets matters. Just a note on scissors, if you work in the ER you most likely want good trauma shears and not that free junk they hand out for nurses week that won't cut an ace wrap after the first week. Leatherman has the best serious trauma shears, that I've seen, which can include a car window breaker and ring cutter all in one foldable package.

If you want to graduate from hospital ghetto pens and show your coworkers what peasants they are try a nice Cross pen.

I have a number of different hemostats. One for clamping a chest tube, one for peeling tops off some of the annoying med vials, a smooth jaw for pulling slivers out of myself and getting ticks off the pets and a 12 or so inch one for pulling my wife's hair out of the shower drain once a month.

Although it could be done, carrying one of those wrist sized BP cuffs would be a bit much. A pocket oximeter however is not too uncomfortable to carry and sure beats running up the hallway for a machine to get a quick SAT and HR especially for road testing someone on RA.

Here's a quick pocket checklist that's saved me more times than I can count:

Pro tip: Don't lend your favorite pen without collateral and 2 forms of ID. Maybe tie it to your body with some string like they do at the bank.