Friday, January 21, 2022

First OB Clinical

Happy happy Friday everyone! I think it’s gonna be a very interesting semester this year in nursing school

I was scheduled to have my first OB clinical yesterday. We were going to a Pittsburgh hospital from 2 PM until midnight. Around noon we got an email from our instructor that we were doing zoom from home. Apparently the school did not get the papers filled out in time so we were unable to be on the floor at Clinical.  Because the hospital is so far away from me (about 1 1/2 hours) I was already in the car on the way to a fellow students home to drive from there. So I was all dressed with my gear when she texted me and told me it was canceled in person and we would be zooming at 2 PM.

Needless to say it was a very long day being on a zoom clinical from 2 PM until midnight. The instructor let us go around 1130 but that was still a very long day.

Hopefully we will have better luck next Thursday!!!

in the meantime I will leave you with a picture of all my clinical gear that I systematically took off after I heard in person Clinical was canceled.

Our cute navy scrub tops and pants… and yes I am working on the weight loss… UGG I hate seeing that size on my scrub top but you can not change that which you do not acknowledge, right?!?! (I blacked out the school because we’re not allowed to put any kind of school names on any kind of social media.)


My awesome stethoscope… It was a gift for my parents the Christmas before I started nursing school! Love it!


My awesome bandage scissors… We have to have these with us for every Clinical. Mine are from Amazon!


Just like the scissors… We have to have our medical pen light with us for every clinical. I got mine from Amazon I think!


I got this adorable lanyard for my badge from my nieces and nephews.  It was a Christmas gift right before I started nursing school. They found it at Bath and Body Works…it’s has sanitizer built right in!!!


I also use these awesome pens I found on Amazon. I saw another nurse with them at my first Clinical and they are so helpful. They hang right from your badge holder so they are always ready and available when you need them! They’re perfect for writing vitals or labs and initialing IV tubes and the sharpie comes in handy when you have to label bandages.  I found them on Amazon and it was the best investment for nursing school!

I always have a little cash on hand… The instructor told us the cafeteria would be closed except for grab and go but they have vending machines. Usually these hospitals have vending machines for Panera soup. That’s what I was hoping for at least. I also packed a dinner of protein bars almonds and dried mangoes just in case the vending machines only had candy. Lol!




I always keep this little baggie in my zipper pocket of my scrub pants. I have Bayer baby aspirin to chew in case I start to get migraine lights ( if you get migraines you’ll understand.) and it also has some cough drops and some ibuprofen. You just never know when you’re going to need that. We can’t have any items on the floor with us so this is the easiest way to be prepared if you yourself have an emergency.



This is my best friend! I got it at a local health store and it is like a natural version of a Vicks inhaler! One thing I have learned is that nursing doesn’t always smell pretty. This is perfect you sniff it up both nostrils before you take care of some not so pleasantly scented issues. It has made Clinical life much better.



This is my nursing watch. It has a secondhand and the plastic repels germs. It’s fully waterproof too! This was a gift from my parents for Christmas before I started nursing school also.



I found this little gem on Amazon. Another girl in my clinical was using one and I loved it. It’s a metal folding clipboard. You can put all of your patient files and important information in this clip… Then you can fold it in half and it fits right in your scrub pocket. It is fantastic because it also gives you a hard surface to write on!


As you can see on the outside of it there’s a little cheat sheets for different lab values, needle gauges, eye millimeter sizes and shot locations, etc. 



This is one other thing I always make sure I take to clinical. Nurses are not able to hydrate throughout the day. You’re so busy that before you know it it’s been four hours. So it’s super important to stay hydrated however you can… especially when nurses work 10 and 12 hour shifts. This stuff has been a godsend! The swell bottle was a gift from one of my very best friends Donna. I fill it with water and then add 1 1/2 of the liquid IVs. They taste amazing and it keeps you hydrated and feeling good all day!


So that’s it! Just a little view of what prep is like for Clinical… And then just like that it was canceled. Ha ha! I guess if nothing else you have to be flexible in nursing school!

And as you can also tell nursing school isexpensive! Once I graduate and get established I’m going to figure out how to do a grant for new nurses. When I started I had no clue how expensive it was going to be. I knew how much school cost but you really don’t have a clue as books and testing software are more expensive than school each semester! I had no idea about that. Also all of the gear that you need for nursing school is unbelievably expensive! Between the equipment and the special embroidered scrubs it ends up costing a whole ton of money. 

I would love to help someone else once I graduate and get established!

That’s all for me! As you can tell, I think now that school has started up I’m going to try my best to at least post once a week. That should be doable. Monday is dosage Calc and I will definitely post after that to let you know how it turns out.

Have you ever thought about starting a scholarship for someone less fortunate? have you paid it forward lately ? How do you pay it forward? 

Thanks for all the well wishes and support! You guys are amazing! Hugs and stay safe out there!!!

20 comments:

  1. That is exciting as much as it is a lot of work. I love seeing your supplies. I don't really know what nurses "need". I was a biology major in college and went into high school teaching instead of nursing, even though I thought about nursing. I am very impressed. Thanks for sharing and happy weekend. Hugs-Erika
    I'll also follow you back.

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    1. Hi Erika!! Well - thank you for your service because I could never imagine teaching high school students let alone teaching them biology!! That takes a special person also!!! Have a great weekend also!!!! HUGS

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  2. That does sound like a loooong day. I am sorry the in person visit was postponed but love all your practical, clever gear.
    And sadly yes, I do know about migraine lights. I didn't know that aspirin could hold them at bay and will have to try it. Thank you.

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    1. I don't know if it works for everyone but the aspiring sure works for me! As soon as the lights start to appear on the outside of my peripheral view; I chew about 6 baby aspirins and close my eyes for a minute or two and the migraine never comes. May not work for everyone but it has been a lifesaver for me! Let me know if it works for you if you try it. HUGS

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  3. Girrrrrl, I also Hate to see all those XXX's on my Size Labels! I like to Imagine that since most things are manufactured in the Orient now, since they tend to be Smaller people, their Idea of 'Extra' is exaggerated... of coarse I'm deceiving myself, but it makes me at least Imagine I'm not THAT big. *winks* Keep on keeping on and I do think it would behoove our Govt. to fund certain Scholarships for certain Essential Jobs that need to be filled... if Students knew they wouldn't be burdened with Student Loan Debt perhaps we'd have more getting in to School to become Doctors, Nurses, Scientists, Teachers... making it worthwhile to be in the Fields that most benefit all of Society.

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    1. I agree that they are making them smaller however, all of the clothes in my closet appear to be shrinking also because they used to fit! HAHA! Oh well, I am addressing it so there is that! I agree that there should be something to entice people into the field...lately there has not been many perks to the field - HA! Have a great weekend! HUGS

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  4. One of my cousins is a nursing student at the University of North Dakota and had to go remote for a while in 2021 - how do you even learn nursing remotely, I wondered? I marvelled at your list of supplies.

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    1. That is awesome Alana! I am super excited for your cousin!! It is really interesting via zoom - ours is a lot of movies and virtual simulations but it is definitely not the same as hands on experience. Such is Covid though! Not convenient or helpful for anyone right!?!?! It is definitely a large list of supplies and lots of money invested for sure. Have a great weekend - thanks for stopping by!

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  5. I'm surprised at how much you have to carry around. Yes, some is optional but still... I would like to see an upfront grant, maybe repayable, to cover equipment costs and encourage more to the profession.

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    1. Yes Andrew that is a great idea!!! I am going to a community college so it is the cheapest "learning" in the area. The part they don't figure in is the cost of book and online testing. The testing alone is $800 a semester and then book are even more than that! It is crazy how much you spend and that is not even counting the equipment! HAHA! A grant would be perfect! I would like to give some amount to help students afford all the equipment and testing they don't warn you about. Hopefully I can figure that our after I pass my NCLEX. Have a great weekend!!

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  6. Way to go. I am awed and amazed that anyone would go into nursing right now! We need folks like you!

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    1. Thank you for the kind words. It just somehow lined up as the right time to go back to school when my company closed. I never realized what a large role COvid would play in it all. HA! Hindsight, right?? Sending hugs - have a great weekend!

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  7. Your scholarship plans are brilliant. All I can say is God bless you and ALL healthcare workers. Thank you for taking this journey to bless so many with your healing care. xo

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    1. Than you for the blessings Terri! That is the sweetest thing to say. It has been interesting and confusing at times but I just want to make it a little easier for someone once I get through. Sending so many hugs! Have a great weekend!

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  8. It was nice reading about what you do and nursing school. My daughter is a medical assistant and works in an ob Clinic. She was going to go to nursing school, but decided she wants to go into medical admin. She gets good pay now. Nice to meet you!

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    1. That is awesome!! Any one that works in the medical field has my respect!!! I am also super happy to hear that she is paid well!!! She risks her health just going to work - she should be compensated as such! Have a great weekend Susan!!! HUGS

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  9. You've got a lot of cool little gadgets to help you through the day. Those scrub pockets must get pretty full.

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    1. LOL Ann - yes my pockets are stuffed in clinical!!! We are required to bring it all though. LOL!

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  10. Wow you have a lot in your pockets! Good luck with the dosage calc.

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    1. Thanks for the positive wishes Wendy -fingers crossed. I am pretty sure I am prepared this time with all the questions. HUGS

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