Kathlili's Blog

1. A bag that is big enough to carry all my stuff. I like this one that I bought on amazon. I initially bought it for travelling. I fell in love with the olive green color. It has so many pockets, a charging port and a place to store one pair of shoes. I loved it so much that I now use it as my everyday hospital bag.

2. Cute scrubs. Of course this is a must have. They have to be breathable, comfortable and fluid proof. You can find many color and brand options online. I still have to find ones that I love.

3. Scrub caps. This one is not present in the picture above, but it is a must have. Otherwise there is no other choice but to wear the flimsy blue hospital ones that inevitably create frizz. As I have previously mentioned, satin lined ones are the way to go if you’re a curly girl like myself.

4. Cute notebook. As a resident, much of the learning is on the go, with the patient right in front of you. Therefore, we always carry notebooks or notepads on us to quickly jot down that which we must not forget. Hard back ones are more durable but occupy much more space.

5. Pens. A ton of them. Blue ones preferably. But the occational color pen is also allowed. Erasable ones like the pilot ones are wonderful and prevent you from having to write WHOLE pages of whatever form you’re filling again (unlike other countries, perhaps even other hospitals here in DR, much of our work is done by writing. )

6. Our holy grail: the Harriet Lane book. It is our guide. Our go to. Specially when it comes to our formulas for medicating children. It is currently in its 23rd edition (however I own the 22nd edition aka the purple one). A handbook made for residents BY residents. In my hospital we also use plenty of Spanish clinical guides (as in made by the Spanish Association of Pediatrics).

7. A cute sthetoscope, of course. I fell in love with this one by MDF Instruments ever since I saw it a few years back. It wont feel too heavy on your neck, it is not too expensive and sounds great. I currently own a lilac one, but I still dream about the rose gold one.

8. Meassuring tape. Why you may ask? We meassure babies in order to know whethere they are growing APPROPRIATELY for their age group or not. It is the kind of thing I always have in my pocket. I always buy the cute pastel colored ones from amazon. They are so small and easy to carry that I may or may not lose one weekly.

And there it goes. 8 must haves that I carry with me everyday to my nightshifts and regular shifts. There are a few other things missing for which I could make a part two. Otherwise, I hope it is helpfull for someone starting residency in pediatrics or just about to begin their pediatrics rotation. See y’all again soon.

Love, Kath. Xx