10 Things You Need For Your First Day of Clinical Rotations

by Pavan Lohia | Jul 7, 2020 | Health Care, Knowledge Hub, Medical school

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My name is Keshu Mahesh and I’m currently a 3rd year medical student in New York City. Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly where to start, so to make it easy I compiled a list of 10 things that every 3rd year medical student should have on their first day of clinical rotations. Let’s get started!

— Everything mentioned will be linked below —

1. White Coat

First and foremost- the white coat! For the love of god please don’t be THAT med student that shows up on the first day of rotations with the LONG white coat. Medical students wear the short white coats (mainly to differentiate between the students and residents/attendings). I ordered 2 online. One from Allheart which I got customized & embroidered with my name and a spare one from Amazon. The short white coat lengths are somewhere around 28″ min and 32″ max. Things to keep in mind when choosing a white coat — how many pockets does it have and how big are they? Is it durable enough to last you two years? How does it fit? I like to have a coat with secret pockets on the inside to store extra items and for it to be fitted — so that it looks a bit more professional.

Medical Scrubs, Nursing Uniforms, Shoes & Medical Supplies | allheart

2. Stethoscope

When I started medical school, we got a stethoscope along with other instruments and our books. But for clinical rotations my parents gifted me a Littmann Stethoscope. These are a little bit more on the pricey side, but will last you a very long time. The quality is amazing, and they have a range of different stethoscopes from cardiology to pediatrics if you already have your eye on those specialites.

Littmann Cardiology IV Stethoscope Limited Edition, 6180, black tube 27 inch

Littmann Stethoscopes | 3M United States

3. Scrubs

One thing I will say is get yourself a GOOD PAIR OF SCRUBS. Especially if you’re going to be spending hours on hours in the hospital — comfort above everything. The scrubs company I absolutely swear by are Figs. These scrubs make me feel like i’m in my PJ’s all day long. But the thing I love the most is that they have pant sizes in petite for my short lil legs. My fav pair are the catarina scrub top and the zamora joggers (joggers as scrubs? WIN). I’ll probably have a pair in every color by the end of the year.

pro tip — keep an extra pair of scrubs (or business casual clothes) in your backpack or locker.

FIGS – Premium Scrubs, Medical Uniforms & Apparel

4. Foldable clipboard or mini notebook

This clipboard is perfect for students. It’s foldable and you can put it in your white coat pocket to carry around during the day. I use this clipboard to store my patient notes or any other papers I accumulate throughout the day (so that your pockets aren’t filled with random papers everywhere and you look like a hot mess). You can either get printer paper and use the clipboard to take notes, or even a small notebook that can fit in your pockets.

whitecoatclipboard.com

5. Pens

This might seem like a no brainer, but I can’t tell you how many times I ended up losing pens or having them run out — in the middle of taking a history. Make sure you have 2–3 on you at all times. Especially if you have that one fancy pen that your great grandfather handed down to you after generations that you swore you wouldn’t lose. People around you will ask to borrow pens and once you give it to them, don’t expect to see that bad boy ever again.

6. Penlight

I got a pack of 2 penlights off of Amazon. Never really used this much in the hospital, but it might be useful if you’re on a Neuro rotation! A lot of times people will just end up using their phone flash as a light, but I don’t like to touch my phone when I’m in patient rooms so I carry the penlight just in case.

7. Pulse oximeter

Again, this is not an essential, but useful to have on your Internal Medicine rotation when the resident or attending asks for a quick O2 sat. I ordered mine off of Amazon.

8. Gum / Mint

You’re gonna want this when you’re 4 coffees deep by 9 am. Just trust me on this one.

9. Snacks

If you’ve never snacked before in your life — rotations is where you’re gonna start. Please please PLEASE keep snacks on you always. I keep either a granola bar or a banana on me at all times. There are going to be days when you’ll be on the run for hours, or stuck in the OR and won’t have time to fit a meal in. Have something on you at all times so you can avoid that awkward moment of silence where your stomach grumbles like a bear in the middle of rounds.

Pro tip: If you haven’t eaten breakfast and you’re summoned to the OR, scarf down your snack right before going in. There have been numerous times where students faint in the OR because of hypoglycemia. It might be a funny story to tell later on in life, but you do not want to compromise the patient on the table in any way if all the staff in the OR have to now concentrate on you instead.

10. WEAR. A. MASK.

This should honestly be bumped up to #1. Before going into the hospital on the first day, make sure you have a reusable or disposable mask that you’re able to wear all day long. Inquire about your hospital’s policy on masks, and if they’re providing them to students or you’re expected to bring one on your own. I keep a separate plastic bag in my pocket with my normal mask and my N95 and use those ONLY for when I’m at the hospital.

Remember that just because you’re not showing symptoms, you can still be a carrier for covid. And now that you’re in the hospital you pose an actual risk of transmitting this disease to patients that are already very sick.

extra things to keep on you:

Hair tie — Especially if you have long hair. I like to tie my hair up before wearing the hair net when getting ready for the OR.

Alcohol swabs — for wiping my phone or stethoscope down at the end of the day.

Hand sanitizer — the hospital should have many of these around anyways, but I keep one in my backpack just in case.

Last but not least remember that being in the hospital is a learning curve. You won’t know where or what everything is on the first day. Be courteous to your peers and respectful to your nurses, residents, and attendings. Ask for help when you need it, the staff will be more than happy to help you. Everyone is here to learn and succeed. Good luck & kill it on your first day in the hospital!!

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns feel free to reach out to me.

Instagram: @keshu

Email: keshumaheshmd@gmail.com

Written By Keshu Mahesh.

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