medical school supplies

[turnster]

I was wondering if someone could shed some light on what most students buy for their first year in medical school(ie. what type of stethoscopes, diagnostic kits)?...name brands and model types etc.

Thanks

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[Aloha Kid]

Most of us at AZCOM ended up with Welch Allyn products. My advise would be to just wait and see what kind of deals they give your class. Sometimes the class can cut a deal with an internet company for Welch Allyn products as well.

As far as books go, you may want to start purchasing some of the essential ones now over the internet. (Netters Anatomy etc.)It's cheaper that way than waiting to buy it at your schools book store for a jacked up price.

 

[Stickboy]

Hi Turnster-

Concur, most of us at NSU-COM bought Welsh-Allen products. Their "deal" to med students was around 20% less than their internet retail prices.

A couple of other (unasked for?) words of advice:

Regardless of how hyped a particular product is, buy stuff that *you* like. I realize it's a little hard, since as a Pre-M1 (or even as an M1+) you don't *really* know the differences between one piece of gear and another, but just do your best. The most expensive or the one with the best reputation will be a waste of money if you don't like it. For example, I liked the "feel" and "sound" of a WA stethascope over a more expensive Littman.

The new opthalmascopes are kick-ass. They have a cup that fits over the patients eye, making it a lot easier to see (They're called "Panoptic" opthalmascopes). I would definately hold off on buying one of these 'til school starts. Our clinical instructor was specific that she was requiring us to use the "old school" opthalmascopes for our class. (WA did give us a really good deal to buy both, though).

Some things might be cheaper to buy somewhere other than a medical supply company. (Penlights, tape measures, exam gloves, etc.) Shop around. CostCo has a great deal on exam gloves, for example.

Don't overlook a bag to carry all this crap around in. You can opt for the classic leather doctor's bag, or a more utilitarian EMT type pack (Internet has a number of sources...do a search)

A word on scrubs: We can wear scrubs to class, so I got a bunch of scrub sets for daily wear. Once again, I shopped around and found sets with an array of hip and mid-thigh pockets. (Most "cheap" scrubs have only 1, if any, pockets). They run generally from $15 to $35 a set. I bought a really cheap set to use in anatomy lab. Since I'm convinced that I will never get the formaldahyde smell out (regardless of how many times I wash them with vinegear) I plan on throwing them away after Gross Lab is over...no, burning them.

You may need your own dissection kit for Gross Lab. The tools I use most often are: Scissors, scalpel and tweezers. After that, a probe. I rarely use the "toothed" tweezers or hemostats. Make sure you get fine pointed scissors, it's easier to move them around in a tight spot. It's also possible to use the fine points to work through connective tissue without hacking stuff up: Push the point of the *closed* scissors through the connective tissue, then *open* them, pushing the tissue apart. You do less damage to the surrounding tissue that way, and you're less likely to accidentally cut an important nerve or vessel.

Probably more than you wanted to hear, but hope it helps.

Cheers,
-sb

 

[Slingblade the Surgeon]

Hey stickboy or anyone else who is a med student,

I will be starting NSU next fall. Should I ask for some of this stuff for Christmas or do you think its best to wait until I actually get the list of what I need? I assume it is the same each year. I was thinking I might be able to get some of the cheaper stuff like scrubs and a bag and maybe a knee knocker hammer (technical term) and some exam gloves or something. What do you recommend I ask for? Also, do students there buy portable OMT tables?

BTW, do you have any 1st year syllibi scanned and online that one could download?

 

[PalCareGrl]

I second Slingblade's question- I'm also starting NSU in the fall and wasn't sure if I should get some of this stuff for Christmas, or start looking into books, equipment, etc...

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Stickboy]

Hi Team-

It is my opinion that you need to "try out" a lot of the stuff that you might consider buying. Of course, others will say that as M-1's, you really don't know what to look for, so *anything* will do. I guess it's just up to you.

Here's the list of stuff we needed for our clinical class (prices are the student deal prices):

Blood Pressure Cuff: Most of us got a Welch-Allyn "Tycos Classic Hand Aneroid" BP kit ($105). They also have one called the "TR-1" which has a trigger release instead of the screw-knob ($79). Here's an example of how you might want to try them out for yourselves. I didn't like the trigger release, so I got the classic.

Stethoscope: Littman is the gold standard, but I didn't like the feel and sound, so I got a Welch-Allyn Harvey DLX ($115)

Diagnostic Kit (Opthalmascope/Otascope): Another "try it, you'll like it" item. I got a WA "Classic Smart Set" ($439) which has a rechargable battery built into the handle. They have a cheaper version ($356) with a NiCd battery (replaceable with 2x "C" batteries), but I liked the feel of the "Smart" version. The "PanOptics" run $500+

Other stuff on our list of for our clinical class:
(That I can remember):

Reflex Hammer (aka "Knee-knocker-hammer"

2 tuning forks
Penlight
Tape measure
Pocket eye chart

Scrubs would be a harmless item to get early. People wear any color except prints. Ciel Blue (powder blue) seems to be a popular color, as well as Navy Blue and Teal. Just so you know, "Geranium" is an odd pink color. The surgery club will send you an order form to get some silkscreened with the NSU-COM logo. A lot of people buy those.

Exam gloves (mostly for anatomy lab) would be useful.

Dissection kit...discussed in previous post.

The normal collection of school supplies.

If you don't have a lot of "dressy" clothes, you might consider re-stocking your wardrobe. During orientation week, most guys wear shirt and tie, women wear the appropriate equivalent. Then, you'll be "dressed up" every other Friday for your IGC mentoring session. All the other times, you wear scrubs.

I'll see about emailing you a syllabus/schedule after finals are over.

Keep the questions firing...I'm happy to help.

Cheers,
-sb

 

[Slingblade the Surgeon]

Cool!

Very helpful indeed. Since those leather doctor bags are so expensive, I would like to have one of those "given to me" for Christmas too.

thx stickboy

 

[Slingblade the Surgeon]

I wonder if they make Trapper Keepers with some sort of medical stuff on it. hehehe

 

[med student]

On getting exam gloves you might want to wait because we were required to use nitrile gloves ($20 a box) for anatomy lab instead of latex ($6 box)

 

[Scarlet Cross]

I have found that Gray Physicians Supply has several different styles of medical student bags already put together. I do believe they also make custom kits, according to what brands/styles you prefer. Worth a look.

 

[663697]

I have found that Gray Physicians Supply has several different styles of medical student bags already put together. I do believe they also make custom kits, according to what brands/styles you prefer. Worth a look.

This thread is >16 years old.

 

[Neopolymath]

Now THAT was a necrobump!!