Whether you are a new or seasoned EMT, work for a fire department, ambulance, or a different EMT job, I recommend having a personal bag that you take with you on the job with your own equipment in it. I have worked for a Fire Department, private/public ambulances, and for a hospital, and always carry my own equipment. Yes, most ambulances already have most of this equipment already on it, but I still recommend having your own in case it is misplaced or malfunctioning.
Here is a List of 15 Items that you should have on you, or in your EMT Bag:
- Trauma Shears
- Flashlight
- Stethoscope
- Tourniquet
- Watch
- Pulse Oximeter
- BP Cuff
- Oxygen Key/Wrench
- Multi-tool
- Note Pad & Pens
- EMS pocket guide
- Boots
- EMS Pants
- Gloves
- Power Bank for your Phone
Trauma Shears
If you ride in an ambulance, there should already be a pair of trauma shears on it, but these have a tendency to disappear right when you need them. Trauma Shears (ebay Link) are a must have for any EMT job, and you can buy these for just a few dollars for a cheap pair.
If you are planning on working as an EMT for awhile, I highly recommend purchasing a nice pair of Trauma Shears. You need to be able to expose a patient quickly, and get them to the hospital without delay. The Leatherman Raptor Trauma Shears are a little pricey, but are great shears. There are 6 tools on the raptor, including: a strap cutter, ring cutter, oxygen tank wrench (another tool on this list), and glass breaker.
Flashlight
It is a good idea to have a Tactical flashlight (ebay Link) attached to your belt while working as an EMT. You will be dispatched to dark scenes (example: Motor Vehicle Accident at night), and will need an additional source of light.
Tactical flashlights are also good for self-defense (i.e. combative patients, intoxicated patients, behavioral emergencies, etc…) to temporarily blind or disorient a person, if you need to. Tactical flashlights vary in price, but I recommend spending a few extra dollars on a durable/reliable one that will last you awhile.
Stethoscope
You will quickly discover that not all stethoscopes (ebay Link) are equals when listening to breath sounds. Listening to breath sounds, and properly diagnosing what you are hearing, is very important when deciding how to treat a patient. Your organization may have cheap stethoscopes on their ambulances, since the nice ones may disappear. check the stethoscopes for damage on the ambulance/vehicle that you will be riding on, and request that any broken equipment be replaced.
Stethoscopes range in price from just a few dollars for a cheap one, to hundreds of dollars for a really nice one. I have always used Littmann stethoscopes, and they have worked great for me. I bring the Littmann Lightweight Stethoscope with me because it is affordable but is still good quality. I recommend taking your personal stethoscope home with you when you are not working (it’s not a good idea to leave it on the ambulance and expect it to be there when you get back). You can also purchase name tags to attach to the stethoscope.
Tourniquet
I have a couple of extra tourniquets (ebay Link) in my EMS bag. This is not an item that you will likely use often, but will be great to have if you need it. A tourniquet is an item your organization may use to control profuse bleeding if it can’t be controlled with direct pressure. They can also be very useful in a mass casualty situation. Check your organizations protocols before using a tourniquet.
Watch
You will need a Watch (ebay Link) to help you take vital signs, keep an eye on how long you’ve been on scene (for most critical patients, you want to be off scene within 10 minutes), and to with your documentation (documenting accurate times). If you do not have a watch, you can use a stopwatch application on your cell phone to take vitals, but this is inconvenient. I would not recommend wearing an expensive watch while you are at work; you will need to sanitize it a lot (get one that is water resistant), and it may take a beating. I personally wear a cheap watch that I purchased at Walmart while at work.
Pulse Oximeter
If the ambulance you ride on has a cardiac monitor (Lifepak, Zoll, etc…) it will likely have a Pulse Oximeter (ebay Link) attached to it. Even if it does, these can be touchy, and may not work properly.
You may not always bring the monitor with you while going to a scene (it might stay in the ambulance), so I recommend having a portable pulse ox in your pocket while you are working. Keep an eye on it though, they are small, and easy to lose.
Blood Pressure Cuff
Blood pressure cuffs (ebay Link) can break, and you don’t want to have a critical patient and not be able to take a blood pressure. Check your equipment on your ambulance regularly to make sure it is working properly, that you have all the sizes of cuffs (infant, pediatric, adult, large adult), and that they are all functioning properly.
I carry a spare manual blood pressure cuff in my kit, and an automated blood pressure cuff. I do not carry every size of blood pressure cuff in my personal kit since most of my patients use either the adult size cuff, or large adult, but I do make sure I have the other size of cuffs on my ambulance when I begin my shift. I have used the Bluestone automatic upper arm blood pressure cuff for awhile, and it has worked great for me.
Oxygen Key/Wrench
Your organization will likely have a lot of these laying around, but you may find that you don’t have one when you need it to replace a portable oxygen tank (been there). Some organizations have them attached to your ambulance keychain or tied onto the oxygen regulator.
You can buy any oxygen wrench (ebay Link) for around $5, and I definitely recommend putting on in your bag. If a patient is in need of oxygen, you don’t want to be caught without a way to change the portable tank. The raptor trauma shears mentioned above have an oxygen wrench attached to it, and you may be able to use a multi-tool pair of pliers if you need to. Some stretchers have a place on it that you can use to turn the oxygen on in a pinch.
Multi-Tool
It is a good idea to carry a multi-tool (ebay Link) with you. You may need to use the pliers, knife, screw driver, etc… in certain situations if you are without the proper equipment. Like I mentioned above, you may be able to turn on an oxygen tank with these if you don’t have an oxygen key. You need to be able to improvise on many scenes, and a multi-tool is a good thing to have around if you need it.
Notepad with Pens
You should have a small notepad (ebay Link) with you that will fit in your pocket, and a few pens. You will need to write down vital signs, information about your patient, etc… before taking them to the hospital (unless you have an amazing memory). I write down pertinent information on a notepad, and use it while I am calling in my report to the hospital. Some EMTs write down information on their glove, either way, make sure you have a couple extra pens with you.
EMS Pocket Guide
An EMS pocket guide (ebay Link) can help you look up information that you may not remember. It is difficult to remember ALL of the stuff that you learn while becoming an EMT or Paramedic (Glasgow Coma Scale, medications, Rule of 9s, Pediatric Vital Signs,etc…), and one of these books will help. I recommend you go through your book when you get it, and know how to look up the information quickly if you need it.
Boots
You should have a good pair of boots (ebay Link) for your EMS job. You will want a pair with good traction (I recommend a rubber sole), that is durable, water resistant, and helps protect your feet. I have always used Bates, and find them to be good boots.
Some, but not all, EMS organizations require boots. I have worked for a place that only required black shoes, but I would still recommend that you wear the boots.
EMS Pants
The organization that you work for will likely require that you wear EMS pants (ebay Link). However, I have worked for a private ambulance that did not require this (they just required black or dark blue pants that weren’t denim)
Many agencies will purchase your EMS pants for you, but if you are a new EMT, you will likely discover that it is a good idea to have an extra pair of clothes with you at all times, so you may want to purchase a couple of extra pairs. You should purchase a pair of EMS pants that is resistant to liquid (you will be in contact will multiple body fluids), and has a lot of pockets.
Gloves
Carry extra gloves in your EMS bag, and your pockets. You will need to change your gloves often, and you will go through them quickly. You will want to have plenty of gloves IN YOUR SIZE with you. For example, I wear XL gloves, and had to wear medium gloves recently because I was not following my own advice. The gloves break easily if they are too small for you, and make some tasks difficult if they are too big.
Power Bank for your Phone
I use my smart phone A LOT while I am working. I have used it for GPS, to call the hospitals, a flashlight, a stop watch, for multiple EMS applications (calculating drip rates, medication dosages, etc…), and so on… The battery on my phone would constantly need to be recharged before I purchased a Power Bank Phone case (ebay Link for Iphone) for my phone.
The Phone case helps protect your phone, and has a built in Power Bank to recharge your phone’s battery when needed. My phone case has worked great for me, and I highly recommend purchasing one if you use your phone a lot while you are on the job. If you do not want a phone case that is also a power bank, there are other portable power bank options that are available for purchase. There are many helpful EMS apps on both Iphone and Android, so make sure to keep your phone charged.
Honorable Mentions
There are some other items that I carry with me everyday along with the equipment above. Here is a list of some honorable mentions that did not make the list of the top 15 items listed above.
- Pen Light (Ebay Link)
- Safety Goggles (Ebay Link)
- Extra Bandages/Dressings
- Glucometer (Ebay link)
- I.V. Kit (Advanced EMTs and Paramedic)
- Pocket Mask (Ebay Link)
- Medical Tape
- N95 Mask
Pen Light
You will need a pen light when evaluating your patient’s pupils for size, responsiveness, equality, reactivity, etc... The ambulance you work on will likely have at least one of these, but the batteries can die, and they are easily misplaced. I recommend purchasing a pen light that has a guide printed on it that shows pupil sizes to help you with documentation.
Safety Goggles
These are very important to have with you EVERY DAY that you work as an EMT. You need to protect your eyes from body fluids. I always carry an extra set of safety glasses (ebay link) with me in my kit, and if I am dealing with any body fluids, I put them on. This is one of the best ways to protect yourself from an exposure.
Extra Bandages/Dressings
If you are checking the equipment in your ambulance everyday, you should have plenty of bandages and dressings in there already. I like to keep a couple large multi-trauma dressings in my personal EMS bag anyway. I keep my bag in my car when I’m not at work, and if I come across an MVA while I’m not working, these will be good to have.
Glucometer
For whatever reason, Glucometers (ebay link) disappear off of my ambulance frequently. Not only that, sometimes your partner will “check it off” and mark down that it is on the ambulance, but we are missing lancets or test strips, or the battery is dead, or whatever….I can’t use it.
I test the blood glucose level of EVERY patient that I have who has an altered mental status. While I was in Paramedic School, I was told this repeatedly “You don’t want to be the medic that calls in a stroke alert when you have not checked a blood sugar”, and this is very true, since a patient with low blood sugar can mimic a stroke. I always carry an extra glucometer in my kit.
I.V. Kit
For those advanced EMTs and Paramedics out there, I would recommend having some extra I.V. Supplies in your own kit. I always carry extra tourniquets, extension sets, needles, drip sets, etc…. just to make sure I am not caught without them when I need them.
CPR Pocket Mask
Everyone should have one of these, not just EMTs. Pocket masks (Ebay Link) are great to have for initiating CPR if you need to, and will help protect your from exposure to the patient’s body fluids. For EMTs, and extra pocket mask is good to have with you as a spare. Some masks will “pop” and not be able to create a good seal to your patient’s face.
Medical Tape
It’s not a bad idea to have a few extra roles of medical tape in your personal bag. It’s small and cheap.
N95 Mask
Your ambulance should have these masks on there already. These masks help protect you from certain particles that you breath in. You should be fit tested for the proper size of mask that you should wear. I wear a large mask, and wouldn’t have known that if I did not do a “fit test”. These are very important for all health care providers.
Conclusion
I carry all of the items I have listed here with me everyday that I go to work, and I have found them to be of great help while I am working as an EMT/Paramedic. There are a lot of other items that I carry with me as well, and recommend that you carry whatever supplies with you that you think you may need for the job that you are doing. I hope that you have found this information helpful, and I thank you for reading this article! Please share it if you liked it!