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Dedicated to all of my co-residents. I am so grateful for my residency family and all the love and support we give each other!
I am one of those girls out there that loves to read guides and tutorials about different lifestyle topics such as work, beauty, fashion, city, guides, seasonal guides, top 10 guides, etc. You get the idea. Now there are so many blogs describing how to pack the perfect work bag, and I always find myself perusing through them, but they’re never super applicable to me just because my job doesn’t involve professional wear and an office. It involves scrubs, blood, and patient care.
So here is my guide on how to pack your daily bag for residency!
THE BAG
All the women in my program have different work bags from different brands. Whatever works for you as far as size and pockets and comfort, you should go with that. I am the gal that needs something durable, with a few pockets, a size that holds a laptop, and a bag that is very affordable. Plus I am a BIG Amazon shopper. So imagine my delight when I stumbled across this bag and price (YALUXE Women’s Oxford Work Tote).
After using this for a couple months, I can highly recommend it! The bag comes with a smaller bag that holds all of my smaller items and it comes with plenty of room for a laptop + folders + handbooks. The feel of the bag is comfy and there is a zipper if you don’t want to leave your belongings exposed.
The bag costs around $40 and is not super expensive so that you would be sad if it accidentally got exposed to anything in the hospital.
What are your favorite work bags?
EDUCATION
Most likely all residents are going to have the following books in their bags:
- OBGYN Handbook (or whatever specialty you are!)
- Residency Handbook
- Laminated hand outs (my hospital is amazing in giving protocol handouts and my program is excellent in providing relevant ones too – my favorite is the GYN ONC staging one we have)
BEAUTY + ESSENTIALS
Every female doctor has their own specific beauty essentials in their bags! I have polled my residency and am sharing our favorites with you!
- Compression Socks – When you are standing in the OR as much as I do (sometimes up to 10 hours in a day), you need good compression socks to get you through a rotation! Luckily for me, I have found the perfect socks I’m definitely going to use on my Urogynecology and Gynecology Oncology day (those are my longest OR days). Those socks are from Azengear and their knitting technology clearly comes through. Here are all the reasons why these socks are truly my new fav!
- Super comfortable – this beyond all end shocked me. I don’t know how to describe it but the socks were so incredibly soft but at the same time supportive. It did not feel tight and constrictive around my calves.
- Less muscle fatigue – Meaning that the socks work!
- Fashionable – They come in all sorts of colors and designs! I picked the one to match my tennis shoes.
- Multiple uses – These socks are also great for running, but I think I’ll also be wearing these on a regular use underneath my boots!
- Extra pair of scrubs and socks – I don’t always do this (I really should), but this is important considering how easily we get amniotic fluid, blood, etc. on our scrubs on the Labor and Delivery floor.
- Chapstick – A must all the time. I’m allergic to the different flavors of Chapstick so I use Lip Vaseline. It keeps my lips moisturized throughout my long shifts. I keep one in my bag and one in my scrub pocket.
- Hand Lotion
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Deodorant
- Dry shampoo
- Make-up wipes – The Neutrogena wipes are my go to!
- Extra contact lenses
- Rehydrating eye drops
TECH
- Phone charger
- Tablet
- Water bottle
- Tumbler for coffee
- Zojirushi Mug for my hot coffee
- Atlin Tumbler for my iced coffee
- Both of these options hold both hot and iced coffee well and keeps it at that temperature for hours
- Pens – A lot of my co-residents love using Muji pens, but I’m simple and love the Pilot G2 pens
- Snacks
- Ibuprofen
What are your musts in your bag for the hospital?
Check out Azengear at https://azengear.com/. You can also find their products on Amazon! I’ll definitely be adding more of their socks to closet!
