The Supplies You Need to Thrive in Nursing School

Who doesn’t love a good set of accessories? No, I’m not talking about bracelets and hair ties…I’m talking school supplies! What do you need and what’s the best way to use them? Please note that this post contains affiliate links which help support this website :-). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Tabbies

I don’t know what the official name for these are, but I call them tabbies. They’re the plastic page tabs/flags that you can write on with a Sharpie. They look like this and are easily the item I used the most in nursing school. #ad

I used them most frequently to mark areas of interest in my textbooks and label different topics in my Daily Binder and Mega Binder. If you ever have trouble getting your hands on the right information, then you might just need some tabbies to make your life easier.

Highlighters in various colors

Highlighters played a huge role in my nursing school life, but not in the basic “highlight important information” kind of way. If that were the case, EVERYTHING would be highlighted! Instead, I used my highlighters as part of a color-coding system that would help me identify key information quickly. For example, meds I needed to know were highlighted green; Numerical values such as how often to do things or what size catheter to use are in blue; key signs and symptoms are highlighted orange; and key treatments are pink. You can do whatever colors you like and highlight whatever information you think is most important, but this is what worked for me.

Binders

If you’ve read my book or seen my video, you’ll know how important binders are! However, you don’t need a binder for every course…with my two-binder system, you’ll have everything you need for your courses with you at all times. Go back and watch the Mega Binder video to see how to use it, but basically you’ll need a 2-inch Daily Binder and a 5-inch Mega Binder for your coursework and then one more 2-inch binder for clinical.

A bookstand

I used this sturdy bookstand (#ad) all the time…it propped up my notes as I re-typed them and those big heavy textbooks as well. My neck was getting sore from bending forward all the time. This bookstand made a huge difference, and now plays a role holding cookbooks in my kitchen! #ad

A rolling backpack

You’re going to be schlepping a lot of books, binders and whatnot all over the place. A rolling backpack (or “mobile office” as I like to call it) helps ensure you have everything you need with you all the time. I used this one, and still love it! #ad

It doubles as an overnight bag, too! And, don’t get thrown off if you don’t like flowers…it comes in solids and other patterns. Get one!

Hole-punch reinforcements

You know those little stickers that you place over a hole-punch that has been overused? Trust me, you’ll be using the heck out of your binders and some pages are going to lose their hole-punchiness (is that a word? I don’t think it is). With a sheet of these bad boys in your Daily Binder, you’ll be ready to repair those holes on the fly.

Mini office supplies

In your “mobile office” you’ll feel super organized if you have a few small office supplies with you…a mini 3-hole punch, a mini stapler and a staple remover. These will come in super handy!

What items do you use most when you’re studying? Join the conversation in our Facebook group, Thriving Nursing Students!

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