We often watch people in the medical field carrying a lot of things with them even after their shifts. Working as a nurse is like dealing with everyday challenges where you expect to make spontaneous decisions. So in order to be prepared for the day, there should be some tools present in your nurse purse. Have you wondered do CNAs use stethoscopes in the nurse purse?
Being a CNA or nurse is to be an individual who can be kindhearted, caring, and at the same time spontaneous and energetic to the world. A nurse purse can be considered a little first aid bag because it may have all the necessary items, which make them enthusiastic in their profession.
So, let’s look over the things in a nurse purse.
What Should Be in the Nurse’s Purse?
If you really wish to lead a medical life as a nurse, you should be aware of 7 things that should be present in a nurse purse.
Stethoscope
Do CNAs use Stethoscopes? You may have this question because we have seen stethoscopes mostly used by Doctors.
Yes, the Stethoscope is one of the important tools that should be present in a nurse purse.
CNA begins their day with visiting different patients assigned to them and taking care of them.
It is necessary to carry a stethoscope while approaching patients who have different conditions during daily checkups. It helps to diagnose the lungs, heart, and abdominal conditions of patients while visiting each of them.
Medical Tapes
As I said before, a CNA or nurse should carry all the things included in a First Aid kit. Medical tape is among those items, which should be always present in the nurse purse. Medical tape is mostly considered a first aid tool, used in dressing wounds and fixing bandages.
There are different types of medical tape. Micropore paper tape is one that helps in sticking the bandage to sensitive or fragile skin.
So, carrying medical tape in the purse can help in emergency situations.
Saline Flushes
Do you know why nurses need to carry saline flush with them?
A saline flush is a combination of salt and water, used daily for infinite patients in hospitals and health cares. It is one of the most common and important medication tools used to push the fluid in IV lines to patient’s veins. But sometimes it can have a bad impact, such as infections on patients through contaminations.
CNAs or Nurses have to keep in mind about the safety of patients while dealing with saline flushes. So, carrying a saline flush in a purse or bag can prevent you from rushing and save you time in dealing with patients.
Alcohol Swabs
You may have often noticed while taking an injection, nurses wipe the skin with swabs dipped in alcohol.
These are alcohol swabs which are commonly used in hospitals, laboratories, and healthcares. CNAs or nurses use alcohol swabs to get rid of blood from the skin after injections or different tests. Alcohol swabs act as a good disinfectant, which prevents and controls the bacterial infections in patients.
If you are not using alcohol swabs while dealing with such procedures, it can cause serious bacterial disease or infections. You cannot reuse the alcohol swabs.
As there is always a need for disinfectants for the people in medical feed, alcohol swabs should be present in excess in a nurse purse
Sanitizers
The moment we enter the hospitals, we always get a smell of disinfectants and cleansing lotions because different kinds of patients with different diseases come there. So it is necessary to maintain a hygienic and germ-free environment in hospitals. Similarly, people working in this field should also maintain cleanliness through sanitizers.
A nurse should always have a sanitizer or hand lotion in the purse. A day in the life of a nurse starts and ends with visiting patients and taking care of them. So they should sanitize themselves before and after visiting them. It will help to stay away from infections for both nurses and patients.
Even though now, everyone carries sanitizers in their purse or bag, it is mandatory for people working in this field to carry it.
Thermometer
Do you know? Our body temperature can give a lot of information about our health and condition.
Clinical thermometer is an instrument mostly used by nurses for checking the body temperature of the patients during diagnosis. It can give rapid information about the individual’s conditions. It is the daily routine of a nurse to diagnose the patient’s temperature while visiting each of them.
Like other tools, a thermometer is an important thing to be present in a nurse purse.
Pens, Markers, or Highlighters
You may feel that a pen is the silliest thing.
Yes, a pen is the most common thing that everyone has in their bag or pocket.
Sometimes we find ourselves not having one and search for a pen to mark or note down some important information.
Being a CNA or a nurse, you should always carry pen, markers, or coloured highlighters in your purse.
Coloured highlighters are used to differentiate things. For example, you can note down information about patients through shifts or conditions by using red, green, or blue highlighters.
Nursing is an art, and if it is to be made an art, it requires exclusive devotion, as hard a preparation as a painter’s or sculptor’s work,” said
Florence Nightingale
So, these things can be considered the tools of the art of nursing, which you should carry with you.
Other than these tools, there are more things that can be included, such as a penlight, cotton balls, scissors, and pharmacy items, such as medicines for cold and headache, a notebook, and a hemostat.
Wrapping up
A Day in the Life of a CNA or nurse goes with using many tools and things, which are useful in different emergency situations. So being a nurse, you should always be aware of the dress code, skills, responsibilities, and emergency tools that should be present in your purse.
“As a nurse, we have an opportunity to heal the heart, mind, soul, and body of the patient, their families, and ourselves. They will not remember your name, but they will never forget the way you made them feel.”
If you really wish to make a career by being a CNA, check out our free CNA practice test.
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