Pocket talk: As a nurse, and especially a nurse in a hectic hospital or urgent-care nursing environment, pockets can be your best friends. Scrubs brands will often even name their different scrub styles by pocket quantity: from single pocket scrubs to 12-pocket sets. Your nursing specialization has a lot to do with how many pockets you鈥檒l want.聽

The reason scrubs often have so many pockets is you really need them for work. You鈥檝e got to stash your pens, sanitizers, gauze, OTC meds鈥� you鈥檙e a walking, working 鈥済o bag鈥� who needs everything at arm鈥檚 reach to stay nimble and agile on shift.聽

So maybe some days all your pockets are spoken for. But if you鈥檝e got a spare, why not designate it for yourself? Kind of like 鈥淢e Time鈥� but in this case it鈥檚 a 鈥淢e Pocket.鈥� We had a few ideas for what you might keep in that extra scrubs pocket for a little physical or emotional lift on shift.聽

1. A Snack: Of course, nothing sticky or messy. An energy bar is an obvious choice, but if blood sugar is an issue you can opt to keep a few hard candies or small packets of crackers in case you need a little glucose fix to keep going.聽
2. A Sentimental Object: This could be anything that brings you a little mood boost. Maybe it鈥檚 a picture of your daughter, or your dad, or your dog. Maybe it鈥檚 an ornament or a talisman associated with your faith. Perhaps it鈥檚 something as small as a worry doll so you have a little (literally) company when things get extra stressful.聽
3. A Small Notebook: Not the kind you take rounds notes in鈥� this one鈥檚 for you. Maybe you have a little spark of inspiration, an idea, or just a memory that you鈥檇 forgotten and want to make sure you don鈥檛 again. You鈥檝e already presumably got pens in another pocket. Nothing wrong with putting that pen to personal use on occasion. Sketching is also a good stress release and is believed to enhance your memory skills. If you prefer to think out loud, you can also get a small mini tape recorder (or just make voice memos on your phone).
4. A Laugh: If you prefer your stress buster in the form of a gut buster, pick a bunch of quotes that delight you, write them down and fold them up. Before each shift, choose one at random and put it in a pocket. Then it鈥檚 there when you need to turn the frown upside down. We think this one by Dorothy Parker is pretty clever: 鈥淚鈥檇 rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.鈥澛�

We鈥檙e sure you have even more creative ideas and we鈥檇 love to hear them. Join us on聽听辞谤听聽and share!

WCU provides career guidance and assistance but cannot guarantee employment. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or position of the school or of any instructor or student.