As I was going through my bag of "doctor" stuff that I usually bring with me to work, I pulled out my white coat. It's a short one, of course, since I'm still a medical student. Real doctors get to wear the long ones. Anyways, after noticing that it was quite dingy and needed a good bleaching, I started to take everything out of the pockets. I noticed that I carry A LOT of stuff in my white coat. And because I know you're all sitting on the edge of your seat in suspense, I'll tell you what I found.
Pocket Medicine. I recently got this for Christmas. It's basically the bible for any physician doing an inpatient rotation. Need to know which drugs to give a patient in heart failure? It's in there. How about the diagnosis and treatment of Rocky Mountain spotted fever? Yep, you can find that too. Why I waited so long to finally get this is beyond me, but I'm sure I will get ample use out of it next month on rotation.
White Coat Clipboard. This thing is pure genius. It's a clipboard that folds in half and fits quite perfectly in your white coat pocket. I've seen residents and students everywhere I go with these things and decided to scour every office supply store in the state for one. Luckily, one of my best friends who is quite savvy at finding stuff on the internet found that one company actually has a monopoly on these things. A few weeks later I got a nice surprise in the mail and now I have one of my own! Perfect for taking notes on rounds.ACLS card. In the hospital you certainly never know when you're going to hear the words "code blue" come over the intercom. That's when I go running. The only way to get good at running a code is to watch them. And on the off chance that I get to participate in resuscitating someone, it's good to have a cheat sheet of drugs and protocols for when you're brain gets overloaded. Every doctor has one of these in their pocket. Trust me.
Stethoscope. Usually it's around my neck, but occasionally it's in my white coat pocket. No brainer.
iPhone. Quite possibly one of my greatest tools. I'm sure most of you have a smartphone and, like me, completely rely on it for everything and anything. The best thing about my iphone is all the great medical apps that I have. Most importantly being Epocrates, where I can look up every single drug and dosage that there is. Also, my Medcalc which allows me to calculate any medical formula I may need. Not to mention just having internet at your fingertips. The biggest problem is, trying to not be glued to your phone. I make it a rule to never take my phone out in front of a patient and to only use it for medical stuff when I'm working.
Maxwell Quick Medical Reference. Another small pocket book of must-knows for any physician. I use it mostly to quickly check normal lab values and to see what needs to be included on admitting orders or discharge summaries.
Odds & Ends. Chapstick, mints, plenty of pens, notebook of important things I learn, Luna bar, patient list. All very important.
By now you probably think that I couldn't fit anything else in there! You'd be surprised. By the end of the day I end up with random things like alcohol swabs, gloves, masks, more pens, tons of notes, those little plastic pieces that go on the end of an otoscope..... I know it's a lot, which is why wearing the darn thing is so uncomfortable just due to the sheer weight of it all, but quite honestly I don't know what I'd do without it. If I didn't wear my white coat, I'd have to carry a backpack.... or a fanny pack, which is definitely a no-no!
For all my doctor friends out there, I'll ask you. What's in your white coat?
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