What's in My PA School Medical Bag? (Student Guide)

Jamie carries two bags rather than one giant one. The first is a small Dickies backpack that holds her everyday class essentials, and the second is an Eddie Bauer diaper bag she repurposed as a medical bag because the insulated pockets are surprisingly handy. She does not haul both every day. On lighter days with a single lecture she leaves the med bag at home, and on her clinical skills days she brings it along.

The outside of the backpack holds the small stuff she reaches for constantly: hand sanitizer, a Contigo water bottle she likes because she does not have to bite the straw, and an umbrella. It is a simple system, but splitting gear between two bags keeps her from carrying heavy diagnostic equipment on days she does not need it. If you are about to start a program, think about your own week and what you truly need on each day before you buy a single huge bag.

The medical bag is where the clinical gear lives, and this is the part most pre-PA students are curious about. Jamie's front pocket holds a Littmann Cardiology III stethoscope (around $140 with extra ear pieces) [VERIFY], tuning forks at 128 and 512 cps, Tomahawk and Taylor percussion hammers, EKG calipers, a calculator, a visual acuity card, a pocket medicine guide from the AAPA, gauze pads, and a tape measure.

The main pocket holds the bigger items: a Welch Allyn diagnostic kit (the case, lithium ion handle, Macroview otoscope head, and ophthalmoscope head bought partly used to save money), otoscope speculums, an insufflator bulb, bandage scissors, a thermometer with probe covers, a penlight, alcohol wipes, tongue depressors, nitrile exam gloves, and a blood pressure cuff. She also keeps a lock for her school locker. Buying diagnostic heads used is a great way to bring the cost down, and she points out that the AAPA pocket guide is free with student membership.

For studying, Jamie swears by a Microsoft Surface 3 (128GB, 4GB RAM, about $399.99 at the time) [VERIFY] because it is lightweight, runs full Windows with Microsoft Office, and can charge from a USB power bank when a classroom has no outlets. She lives in OneNote, stores everything in the cloud with hard backups, and loves being able to pull up lectures from her phone, tablet, or laptop. She adds the Type Cover and the Surface Pen for handwriting, though she notes the pen is optional if you prefer to type.

The rest of the backpack holds her anatomy textbook and flashcards, a planner she calls her life, Pilot G2 pens, chargers, headphones, and her glasses. She also keeps practical extras in both bags and her white coat: hand cream (a must if you wear gloves all day), tissues, lip balm, a prescription topical steroid for glove-related contact dermatitis, deodorant, and a few dollars for snacks. The little comfort items matter more than you would expect during long clinical days.

Every program has slightly different requirements, so check your own school's list before you buy anything on this one. Jamie's breakdown is a great starting point for budgeting and for picturing your day as a PA student. If you want more student-life peeks like this, our blog has plenty more to explore.