1. Manual resuscitator
   Pulse oximeter
2. Sphygmomanometer
   Stethoscope

You can almost always count on seeing a stethoscope hanging around a nurse's neck or hidden away in their pocket. They use this valuable tool to check your breathing sounds, heartbeat and your blood pressure.

1. Lancet
   Syringe
2. Finger needle
   IV starter

When only a small sampling of your blood is needed, a nurse will use a lancet. Often used to check blood insulin levels, lancets are used to make a little prick on the end of your finger.

1. Syringe
   Hemostat
2. IV starter
   Feeding tube

If you are afraid of needles, this is not the nursing tool for you! Syringes are used for administering medicine and for taking blood samples. They are one of the most frequently used tools in the field.

1. Cardiac monitor
   Ultrasound
2. X-ray machine
   Fetal monitor

Nurses on maternity wards everywhere use the fetal monitor to notate the state of a baby while still in the mother's womb. The fetal monitor allows nurses to keep tabs on the baby's heart rate, blood pressure, and any signs of fetal distress.

1. Sphygmomanometer
   Thermometer
2. Stethoscope
   Trauma sheers

If a nurse suspects that you are running a fever, they will use a thermometer to check. These days, thermometers can digitally read the skin's temperature, saving you from being told to bend over.

1. Utility scissors
   Pinking sheers
2. Gauze scissors
   Pen scissors

Tucked away in the pocket of nurses everywhere, you will find a pair of utility scissors. Used for everything from cutting gauze to medical tape, a nurse's job is made easier with this tool.

1. Pencil
   Penlight
2. Pen
   Stylus

You might not think of pens as being nursing tools, but they are listed as a nursing essential. Nurses need to do a lot of calculations and a lot of remembering things. Having an ample pen supply is a necessity.

1. Fetal monitor
   Cardiac monitor
2. Blood meter
   Sphygmomanometer

Along with a stethoscope, a nurse uses a sphygmomanometer to check your blood pressure. Your blood pressure numbers can indicate a lot of different things, and your nurse is highly trained to use the commonly called blood pressure cuff to see how you're doing.

1. Portable desk
   Clipboard
2. Writing tray
   Legal pad

Without the aid of a clipboard, it would be difficult for nurses to keep all of the important patient paperwork together. Using a clipboard also gives nurses on the go a solid surface to write on.

1. Scrubs
   Pajamas
2. Sweats
   Khakis

Specifically made for the medical field, scrubs are outfits nurses frequently wear. Cotton tops and bottoms are interchangeable, and if the medical facility allows, nurses can customize them for their own senses of style.

1. Nursing sandals
   Nursing shoes
2. Nursing boots
   Nursing sneakers

A good pair of nursing shoes is a priceless investment. Not only do proper nursing shoes help prevent slips on wet floors, but they also provide the much-needed support for nurses who spend most of their day on their feet.

1. Hairnet
   Face shield
2. Chest shield
   Face mask

Can you imagine the number of germs nurses are exposed to every day? Wearing a face mask helps to prevent illness, and it helps to avoid any flying fluids that a nurse might breathe in.

1. Apron
   Gown
2. Poncho
   Uniform top

When nurses are in surgery or they are dealing with a messy scene, it is not uncommon for them to use a gown over their scrubs. Wearing a gown provides an extra layer of protection from any unwanted exposure.

1. Analog watch
   Digital watch
2. Stethoscope
   Pulse oximeter

In order to check your pulse rate or your heart rate, a nurse needs to time them. A nursing watch with a second hand is a very important tool for nurses to have.

1. Utility scissors
   Scissor clip
2. Hemostat
   Hand forcepts

Sometimes, nurses need to hold together things like bandages and tubes. With the use of the hemostat, it makes their job a lot easier. The hemostat might look like scissors, but its locking design is quite useful.

1. Laser pointer
   Internal light
2. Flashlight
   Penlight

If your nurse needs to check your tonsils or the reaction of your pupils, they would utilize a penlight. Designed to clip onto a nurse's pocket or lanyard, a penlight really comes in handy when assessing patients.

1. Security badge
   Name tag
2. Badge clip
   Business card

For security reasons, nurses are issued ID cards that allow them access to certain parts of a medical building. Additionally, ID cards are helpful for identifying your nurse. To secure them, a lot of nurses use badge clips.

1. Compression socks
   Gloves
2. Shoe covers
   Hair covers

Shoe covers are an underrated piece of nursing equipment. Whether trying to keep a surgery room clean or working with a messy scene, shoe covers help to protect nurses from fluids. They also help to keep sterile environments free from any contaminants found on your shoes.

1. Gauze
   Medical tape
2. Suture kit
   Alginate dressing

When nurses dress wounds, the use sterile gauze like you see in the picture. With the help of utility scissors, gauze helps keep an infection prone area clean.

1. Duct tape
   Double-sided tape
2. Washi tape
   Medical tape

From dressing wounds to holding IVs in place, medical tape is a nursing necessity. Medical tape is different from other kinds of tape because it easily removed from the skin.

1. Cleaning cloth
   Alcohol swab
2. Prep pads
   Iodine swabs

Before administering a shot or taking blood, nurses will prep your skin with an alcohol swab. Using alcohol helps to remove dirt and bacteria that might cause complications like infections.

1. Lancet
   Splint
2. Pulse oximeter
   Thimble

If you've recently visited the doctor, your nurse has probably placed a pulse oximeter on the end of your finger. The pulse oximeter measures the level of oxygen in your blood.

1. Defibrillator
   Ventilator
2. Bagged resuscitator
   Manual resuscitator

In the event that CPR needs to be administered in a medical facility, nurses often employ the use of manual resuscitators. The manual resuscitator is a bag that works like air being breathed into the lungs. It is a substitute for mouth-to-mouth.

1. Pocket diagnostic guide
   Pocket patient rights guide
2. Pocket drug guide
   Pocket terminology guide

Your nurse is often responsible for monitoring and administering your medications. They often carry a pocket drug guide to keep themselves informed about dosage levels and possible side effects.

1. Heart shocker
   Defibrillator
2. Jumpstarter kit
   Cardiac electrode

When a medical team needs to give someone's heart a little jump start, they will use the defibrillator. A defibrillator helps to restore the heart's natural rhythm and often prevents death.

1. Iodine flushes
   Alcohol flushes
2. Saline flushes
   Water flushes

To keep fluids moving smoothly, nurses must use saline flushes to clean out the lines. Saline flushes might resemble a syringe, but they are designed to make IV tubes stay clear with no disruption to the patient.

1. Smartphone
   Computer
2. iPad
   Calculator

Nurses often have to calculate things like dosages, food intake and urinary output. Using a calculator is a far more accurate way to get the numbers right than doing them in your head. In fact, nurses use calculators so much that they are sometimes incorporated onto their clipboards.

1. Hair covers
   Face masks
2. Gloves
   Shoe covers

One of the most frequently used tools by nurses is gloves. In order to avoid contact with bodily fluids and to keep an environment sterile, gloves are an essential part of every nursing tool kit.

1. Steri-strip
   Butterfly bandage
2. Band-aid
   Suture cover

To help stop the bleeding, your nurse might cover your puncture after taking blood with a band-aid. You might not think of a band-aid as a nursing tool, but they go through dozens of them a day.

1. Emesis basin
   Portable toilet
2. Vomit collector
   Feeding tray

When we expel fluids from our mouths, it is called emesis. Luckily for us, nurses always seem to have an emesis basin nearby that saves you the embarrassment of making a mess.

1. Lancet
   IV starter
2. Syringe
   Vein opener

When you require intravenous fluids, your nurse might be asked to start an IV. An IV starter is used to begin, and then it is left for your arm to be attached to other parts of the IV equipment.

1. Feeding accessory
   Feeding tray
2. Feeding spoon
   Feeding tube

Sometimes patients need extra nutrition, but they are unable to eat. In these cases, nurses use a specially designed feeding tube to get the job done.

1. Fluid basin
   Personal potty
2. Plastic throne
   Medical toilet

During situations where patients are unable to get out of bed, a medical toilet will be brought into the room. Your nurse will either bring you a bedside toilet or a bedpan, but both are known as medical toilets.

1. Computer
   Patient record keeper
2. Medical history cart
   Electronic clipboard

Technology has changed the field of nursing. Instead of being tethered to a desk to punch in patient information, nurses can now travel through the halls with their computers.

1. Cardiac monitor
   Pulse oximeter
2. Blood pressure monitor
   Fetal monitor

Heaven forbid you need someone to watch your heart's function! If you do, your nurse will hook you up to a cardiac monitor like the one seen here.

1. Suction generator
   Suction pump
2. Suction actuator
   Suction dehydrator

During surgery, there may be a little too much blood for the doctor to see what is happening. The doctor may ask the nurse to use a suction pump to remove the excess fluid so that the surgery may safely continue.

1. Emesis kit
   Sewing kit
2. Suture kit
   Wound kit

Cutting yourself may result in the need for stitches. Nurses are prepared to help you by setting up this suture kit for your doctor.

1. Tube socks
   Elastic socks
2. Granny socks
   Compression socks

Nurses are often on their feet for up to 12 hours a day, and it can cause some serious issues with swelling and veins. Wearing compression socks like this will help to regulate the blood flow.

1. Hair pull
   Hair net
2. Hair tie
   Hair cover

Surgery rooms are sterile environments. To prevent hair from getting into unwanted places, both doctors and nurses wear hair covers.

1. Pharmaceutical pump
   Oximeter pump
2. IV pump
   Heart pump

During a hospital stay, you might require medicine for a few days. Using pharmaceutical pumps, nurses can program the machine to administer your dose without waking you up every few hours.