One of the most asked questions that I get, outside of study tips, is what are the essentials that you should bring on rotation and other similar questions related to the clinical rotation experience. Hopefully soon, I can slowly bring those posts to fruition and answer more questions from you all. But for this post, I figured I would start at the beginning by sharing my clinical rotation essentials – basically things that I used every day and are definitely necessities.
If you want to read what I used to carry on a regular basis on my clinical rotations (basically my entire P4 year of pharmacy school), then keep on reading…
Water bottle: Trust me when I say that you need to make sure that you keep a water bottle or coffee travel mug on you at all times. Sometimes it can be hard to find a vending machine while you’re on rotation so it’s best to just bring your own so you have something to drink throughout the day. Pro-hack: Drink a sip of water to break up an awkward moment or when someone asks you a question that you aren’t sure of the answer. It gives you a few extra seconds to think of an appropriate response without looking like you’re taking forever to answer.
Snacks: Snacks are a clinical rotation essential! Literally the most important thing on this list, by far. I would say that I’m joking, but I’m totally not. After a few hours working up patients or rounding all morning, a girl can get hungry (or just need a quick snack to eat). I used to either keep snacks in my pockets if I knew that I would be rounding with the team or I would keep them in my bag. My favorites are peanut butter crackers, Gushers, or fruit snacks. Easy pocket size snacks that are tasty!
A Clipboard that has storage: A lot of my fellow students used to carry around a Pocket Clipboard, which has the most common information that would be important as a future pharmacist. It includes things like common lab values, calculation equations, and some information on antibiotics. I didn’t actually have this on rotations, but only because my school created this clinical pearls pocket guide that had a ton of useful information in it.
This is what I carried alongside a clipboard that has a storage compartment to carry around any loose papers, guidelines, presentation materials, and anything else that I needed. If you have a rotation where you spend a lot of time rounding, I promise this will be a lifesaver for you.
Your laptop or iPad: Depending on your rotation, you may or may not want to bring your own laptop or iPad. I would bring my laptop regardless of the rotation so that way I could keep whatever I was working on, such as a project or presentation, on my computer. This way I could continue working on it at home and wouldn’t have to stay at the rotation site to get it done. But this is totally up to you! You do what works best for you. I will say an iPad would’ve came in handy when I was on rotations that included rounding.
Multi-colored pens and highlighters: I used to keep an assortment of different pens and highlighters in my backpack while on rotation. I personally like to write my notes in different colors depending on the topic and highlight things based on the topic area. Another pro tip is that if you have a favorite pen that you always keep with you, keep an extra one of lesser quality that you don’t mind loaning out on your clinical rotation. Because people will borrow your pens and you’ll never see them again.
Portable Charger: Another clinical rotation essential is to bring your chargers, even a portable charger if you have one. I can’t even count the number of times I would have to plug in my phone or computer into an outlet while on rotation. Some rotations you’ll be on your phone or laptop a ton researching things, finding answers to questions, or communicating with the healthcare team. So stay ready and be prepared!
Planner: Personally, my planner comes everywhere with me because you never know when you need to add or substrate something from your schedule. I used the Recollections planner while I was in college, which was a great planner for college students. I’ve been recently using this planner from Cloth + Paper, which is a black owned company that has the cutest planner supplies. I’ve been quite obsessed so you may have seen it on my Instagram stories where I share my day to day life. #shamelessplug
Compression socks: I actually didn’t get compression socks when I was a P4 student, but now that I’m working 12+ hours on my feet as a pharmacist, compression socks are actual life. I wish I would’ve had them for the rotations where I had to round for hours because they would’ve been so helpful. I bought this pair of compression socks on Amazon, and it’s the best $25 I’ve ever spent. I put them on right before going into work for a long shift, and at the end of the day, I still feel pretty good. I mean I’m still exhausted after a long shift, but my feet aren’t as swollen, and they don’t hurt as bad as they used to.
Comfortable shoes: The golden answer that any healthcare professional will tell you about finding comfy shoes is that you have to try a few different options before you find the right shoe. After I started working full-time, I quickly realized that the Sperry slip on sneakers that I had been rocking for 4 years while in pharmacy school were not going to cut it anymore. I quickly snagged up a pair of Rothy’s sneakers to test out, and I can say confidently that I’m hooked. They are so comfy and paired with my compression socks – a dream. (Use my link to get $20 off your first pair to test them out yourself!) I’ve also heard great things about Dansko clogs or Cloves sneakers but haven’t tested those out personally to give you an opinion on them.
What is one item that is your top favorite clinical rotation essential?
