what's in my bag #16 : placement edition

Whilst on placement, I only carry around a small cross body bag as it is inappropriate to tote around a massive bag with the kitchen sink in it. Here is what I carry around:

From top left, clockwise: an Iconic A6 essay book, two pens, a bottle of water, a pocket textbook that is ridiculously useful, an ASUS tablet (university-issued and contains an app where I have things needed to be signed off whilst on placement), mints, a snack bar and a box of Graze snacks.

The eagle-eyed of you will notice that the Iconic notebook was featured in a post where I talked about some additions from The Journal Shop. In that blog post, you can see the layout of the essay book and it has been ideal for placement use (I will talk more about this in a post towards the end of this year/at the beginning of 2015).

Snacks are essential as lunch breaks aren't guaranteed and fainting during a long morning clinic or ward round isn't a good idea when there are already numerous of patients to care for on a ward. You don't want to add to that list, even if it is for a few minutes!

The tablet is a hassle to carry around. It is university-issued as all procedures and tests that are done need to be signed off electronically now.

You can never carry enough pens around: people are always asking to borrow pens and when they do, don't expect to get it back.

The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine is a great book to have on hand when on the wards. I know that a lot of medics call it 'the bible' and I'm definitely seeing why they do - the information in it is perfect for clinical medicine and it covers an extensive range of topics.

Being on placement is definitely a shift in the way I learn things. Whereas in the past, I was used to sitting in lectures, I have found that I've had to be more assertive in my own learning; using my initiative to visit other wards to see patients with a variety of reasons for being in hospital. After all, patients are interesting to talk to!