Hi everyone!
I've been pretty busy these days since I'm currently on my last few weeks of internal medicine. It honestly feels like I've been on this rotation forever and that's because it's a whopping 12 weeks long! I've learned a lot during medicine and as my knowledge base has grown, so have the contents of my white coat pockets. Now that might sound comical (it is) but it can also be really heavy on the shoulders. So to optimize my pocket contents I've narrowed it down to a few essential things!
As a first and second year rarely getting to see patients, let alone dress like a doctor, wearing my stethoscope around my neck was exciting. Now as a third year with my heavy white coat, one more thing on my neck / shoulders isn't very comfortable so I keep my stethoscope in my right pocket. This is also where I keep a generous collection of alcohol wipes. They come in handy for cleaning my stethoscope before and after each patient. I'd also recommend keeping some on you for when your attending or residents need them - just an extra way to be helpful! I keep my chapstick and phone in this same pocket for easy access. I haven't had my phone run out of battery during medicine but I would suggest bringing your phone charger for longer days or if your institution doesn't have wifi.
If you're on inpatient medicine, having different colors of pens or highlighters can be really useful. Black or blue pens are considered more official so I use those for most things. I use different colors to remind me when lab values are out of range or things that need to be addressed during rounds. I typically use highlighters during patient education so that I can point out important things to them on stuff like discharge notes or medication instructions. Plus it's always nice to have an extra pen or two that you can let others on your team borrow (make sure you don't mind never getting some of these back, lol).
One of my most important tools has been my iPad mini - thanks J! It's small enough to fit into my coat pockets and isn't too heavy. I use it almost daily to do Uworld questions or look things up. I also have a few books like Step Up To Medicine and the MKSAP on my iPad for studying, though I admittedly don't have enough time for these and generally stick to Uworld.
In terms of writing materials, I mostly use two things. Before rounds I like to write my patients' most recent labs and other updates on this sheet from medfools. It's an easy way to keep track of these values and refer back to it to track changes. I also like to carry around that little pink moleskin notebook with me to write down things I learn. The notebook is also great because it has perforated pages which can be easily used to write things for patients or other members of the team.
At my school we were lucky to get money on meal cards for use in the main hospital cafeteria which can be helpful on days I don't have time to pack lunch or need an extra snack. Two other random things in my pocket are floss and tea. I drink a lot of tea and I like to be able to indulge my tea habit wherever I am :). I also carry floss because my teeth are big and prone to getting stuff stuck in them! I can't leave the house without floss in my purse or backpack and I definitely don't want to be talking to patients or presenting on rounds with something in my teeth.
These are the main things I carry in my white coat. I sometimes add a reflex hammer but can often get away with using the bell of my stethoscope. I expect the contents of my coat will change on each rotation, but it likely won't get any lighter. I never thought I would be blogging about what's in my white coat pockets, but I feel very fortunate to be where I am.
Thanks for reading! I've included some links below
