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Bags In The Hospital And Having Access To Personal Stuff


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Hey PM101 - long time lurker, first time poster. Any help here would be welcome.

 

I was scrolling through the forums for advice regarding a question yesterday, and found this thread: http://forums.premed101.com/index.php?/topic/60479-carrying-stuff-on-the-wards/?hl=bags#entry697521. I had some follow up questions as I am in a unique situation, and could use some insight.

 

Question I

 

First, I'm sorry if this sounds like a stupid question. I'm a pretty shy person and this seemed like a good place to ask.

 

1. Why do clerks carry huge backpacks on the wards?

 

I have one friend who is a PGY3 and I asked her, and she said that on her clerkship rotations, it was very minimal. She took an iPad, maybe one or two relevant books, wallet, keys, tampons, stethoscope, clipboard, pens. 

 

Whenever I've been in the hospital for observerships, regardless of the wards, I see clerks from my school carrying around their backpacks and those things look packed. I know you can't carry them into patient encounters or even when you're on active on the floor of a given ward.

 

Where would they put them when they were on the floor? Do I also need to bring a backpack? My school's orientation is not focused on addressing "What to bring" and more about how the administrative / medical sides of clerkship work, so I couldn't ask there.

 

Question II

 

My second question is more personal. Please excuse the length and potential confusing bits. I have a medical condition where I need personal supplies close by. It has never been a problem before because on observerships, nobody cared about the preclerk. I would bring a small little satchel with the above professional stuff, and put my wallet, keys and medical stuff in a small little purse and just take that with me to the bathroom. I am worried about the fact that doing that would look very obvious now. If I'm carrying a backpack, it would look weird to go and pick it up during my breaks to take it to the bathroom. If I'm carrying a satchel, the same thing might apply unless it looked like a purse. If I have a purse with everything in it, that might be the best solution, because it would double for work stuff as well as personal items. I could even keep continuing with a satchel + purse, unless there's some reason I could only roll with a backpack as per the clerks of previous years. My big question related to this scenario is: 

 

2. Do I have time / the ability to access my personal items bag?

 

I've heard horror stories of clerks and residents not even being able to go to the bathroom for 12 hours, so it doesn't seem like there would be a ton of time for me to go grab my stuff from a locker room, call room, or staff room.

 

If I do not have time to get this stuff, how should I go about having close access to it? Do I just bring my smaller purse onto the floor and leave it at the nurses station?

 

Thank you very very much 

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Backpack/bigger bag in a locker/resident lounge.

 

I carry a small flat cross body bag on the wards with my iPad, phone, pens, snacks etc. I just carry it all the time. Isolation gowns go right over it. It's worked out perfectly so far.

 

Thank you so much! That is very helpful and that would allow me to pack other things in the bigger bag. Would you please be able to link to a brand that you like or a size that you find appropriate?

 

Also, do you take it into clinics? 

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Not a clerk yet, but while I've been doing electives, I keep my backpack fairly close by as I have medication I need to be able to access fairly quickly in there. I usually just ask when I arrive where I can keep it. I've never once been asked to explain why I want to have my bag close by. Once I start using locker rooms, I'll likely just transfer a few things to my purse and keep that at the nurse's station or on a shelf for personal objects; everywhere I've been so far has had some small spot in the main working area to stash a purse.

 

I'm also concerned about getting time away during clerkship rotations as I'll be pumping milk for my youngest (due two weeks before clerkship starts.) This'll mean about 20-30 minutes away every 3-4 hours or so, which is quite a lot during a longer shift. Thing is, though, it'll be a necessity for me as your medical stuff is for you. I've been assured, repeatedly, that while stories do exist of clerks being not allowed to even go to the washroom for twelve hours, you have every right to advocate for yourself and communicate your needs and have reasonable accommodations for those sorts of things. Now, I say this as someone who hasn't really had to address these issues with a supervisor yet, but all the higher ups I've met with have assured me that accommodations are absolutely to be respected so I shouldn't run into any problems.

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All hospitals and clinics have a secure (or relatively secure) area to place your belongings. Just ask where it is. In the unlikely scenario where there isn't one, keep things in your car.

 

Helpful hint: If you find yourself referring to an informative source frequently (e.g., instructions, templates, passwords, etc), take a picture of it on your phone to minimize the number of papers you carry.

 

If you need medication, make sure it's clearly labelled as yours, and keep it nearby or on your person. Nobody wants the alternative scenario where you don't have it and something bad happens.

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Hey PM101 - long time lurker, first time poster. Any help here would be welcome.

 

I was scrolling through the forums for advice regarding a question yesterday, and found this thread: http://forums.premed101.com/index.php?/topic/60479-carrying-stuff-on-the-wards/?hl=bags#entry697521. I had some follow up questions as I am in a unique situation, and could use some insight.

 

Question I

 

First, I'm sorry if this sounds like a stupid question. I'm a pretty shy person and this seemed like a good place to ask.

 

1. Why do clerks carry huge backpacks on the wards?

 

I have one friend who is a PGY3 and I asked her, and she said that on her clerkship rotations, it was very minimal. She took an iPad, maybe one or two relevant books, wallet, keys, tampons, stethoscope, clipboard, pens.

 

Whenever I've been in the hospital for observerships, regardless of the wards, I see clerks from my school carrying around their backpacks and those things look packed. I know you can't carry them into patient encounters or even when you're on active on the floor of a given ward.

 

Where would they put them when they were on the floor? Do I also need to bring a backpack? My school's orientation is not focused on addressing "What to bring" and more about how the administrative / medical sides of clerkship work, so I couldn't ask there.

 

Question II

 

My second question is more personal. Please excuse the length and potential confusing bits. I have a medical condition where I need personal supplies close by. It has never been a problem before because on observerships, nobody cared about the preclerk. I would bring a small little satchel with the above professional stuff, and put my wallet, keys and medical stuff in a small little purse and just take that with me to the bathroom. I am worried about the fact that doing that would look very obvious now. If I'm carrying a backpack, it would look weird to go and pick it up during my breaks to take it to the bathroom. If I'm carrying a satchel, the same thing might apply unless it looked like a purse. If I have a purse with everything in it, that might be the best solution, because it would double for work stuff as well as personal items. I could even keep continuing with a satchel + purse, unless there's some reason I could only roll with a backpack as per the clerks of previous years. My big question related to this scenario is:

 

2. Do I have time / the ability to access my personal items bag?

 

I've heard horror stories of clerks and residents not even being able to go to the bathroom for 12 hours, so it doesn't seem like there would be a ton of time for me to go grab my stuff from a locker room, call room, or staff room.

 

If I do not have time to get this stuff, how should I go about having close access to it? Do I just bring my smaller purse onto the floor and leave it at the nurses station?

 

Thank you very very much

Question 3:

 

Honestly, there is always time to go to the bathroom. Nobody should have to go 12 hours without peeing. You just make time. You say to your resident/staff "give me a minute, I gotta rock a piss". Even as a surgeon I can find timers pee if I'm busting, even in the middle of an OR (as long as an assist is there). If someone is so touch and go they can't survive 1 extra minute for you to pee, they'll likely be dead in a few minutes anyway, at which point you can go then.

 

People not peeing is a time management problem not a workload issue. Eating/drinking is similar. You can always mow down a granola bar/cheese block or chug a cup of water while walking between patients or writing a note.

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Thank you so much! That is very helpful and that would allow me to pack other things in the bigger bag. Would you please be able to link to a brand that you like or a size that you find appropriate?

 

Also, do you take it into clinics?

https://www.fossil.com/us/en/products/corey-crossbody-sku-zb6881249c.html

 

Something like this, although they've changed the style a bit since I bought it, and mines mostly black.

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