You’re a nurse with a lot of gear to carry. How can you lighten your load?

As a nurse, carrying a lot of gear can be challenging, but there are several strategies you can use to help lighten your load and make your work more manageable. 1). Organize your gear in a way that prioritizes accessibility and ease of use. 2). Invest in compact and lightweight versions of equipment whenever possible. 3). Utilize digital resources such as electronic medical records (EMRs) on a tablet or smartphone to reduce the need for carrying physical paperwork. 4). Regularly review the contents of your bag and identify items that you rarely use. If possible, leave non-essential items behind to reduce the weight you need to carry. Obviously your necessities will vary depending on your speciality so think efficiently and optimize.

Determining what equipment and tools you will need for your specific job is key. Understanding your setting and role will help to identify what things to pack and which ones can be considered to be left at home.

Having a bag that is sturdy and has straps can help to distribute weight evenly. Backpacks can also prevent weight from being on one arm or shoulder, as many shoulder bags would be.

Placing your items in your bag in an organized fashion is key. This will help to include items that are necessary for your role but also to be able to find them with ease when they are needed.

I’ve found that wearing scrubs 👕 with multiple pockets are not only cool looking but come in handy for carrying around smaller work supplies! (eg pen 🖊, 🩺 , calculator, flashlight 🔦, pocket notes 🗒 etc 😄

I have an backpack to taking my supplies to and from work. I always kept it at my station that I normally charted at. Many nurses also carry a Fanny Pack to keep saline flushes, red caps and ink pens in. I personally always wear scrubs that can hold my stethoscope and scissors in. The most important thing in my opinion is to not overload your bag, whatever the style. Just because there is room left doesn’t mean that you should overload the bag. Keep it fairly lightweight and add supplies as needed.

Cargo pants and scrub jackets. Use the bare nessecities: 2-3 pens, a highlighter, a pen light, an expo marker and a permanent marker. That's all I carry on my scrub shirt. I use my cargo pants for flushes etc. I ALWAYS take my own stethoscope.