I’m starting nursing school in the fall and seriously considering a Marathon TSAR on a metal bracelet; but it might be slightly overkill 🙂

Hey peeps
Im looking for a durable watch with a second hand for ems school and work. im rough on watches so was thinking a gshock? or if any has other options feel free to let me know. needs to be easy clean lol.
This is what I wear. Around $60. It’s a good watch. You don’t need a second hand. Learn to add 10 seconds to wherever you start taking a pulse and then multiply by 6. Easier on a digital watch than using 15 second intervals and multiplying by 4.

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iangineer said: ↑
the simple and inexpensive Timex Weekender has a nice loud tick, and you can get several models with bright red second hands.
I have killed three of these due to pulling the crowns off while pulling on or off gloves. I absolutely cannot recommend them. Good watches, but not for EMS.

Can I write a bit of an aside?

You’re going to be an emt or a medic, don’t buy an expensive watch. Buy a good watch, but not an expensive watch. You have more important things to spend your money on, like a good scope or good boots.

You’re going to need good boots. Spend some money on them, or expect to replace them every year. If you work in a busy service, boots can get worn out in 9-15 months easily. I used to go through a pair of Bates every year. I bought these Haix Airpower XR1 boots about 15 months ago and they are just now getting broken in.

Wear good socks under your boots. I have worn the same two pairs of Darn Tough wool socks for the last year. They are great and really make my feet feel better. I work at a pretty busy service (8 calls in the first 9 hours of our shift today so far) and we might not get to take our boots off for 20+ hours. Wool socks really help wick away moisture.

Buy a decent scope, like a Littmann or something similar. I have a Cardiology Three, but even a $60 is better than a $15 Sprague/Rapport style, which are basically worthless.

Get a decent flashlight, something that can run 18650 rechargeables. I carry a Felix PD32 and use it, A LOT. You can’t help what you can’t see.

Carry a Leatherman our similar multi-tool of some sort. It comes in handy.

Buy cheap trauma shears. They are a consumable and you don’t need a nice pair. Plus, YOU WILL LEAVE THEM ON SCENE AND NEVER GET THEM BACK. Probably several times. Cheap shears= no tears.

Buy a decent knife, but stay away from gimmicky seatbelt cutters and window punches. We hardly ever cut seatbelts and when we do a knife or a pair of shears works just as well or better. I’m a knife guy, but I still carry a HEX TC Barlow most of the time or a SAK of some sort. I don’t need tactical.

Or, buy none of this. You can get by with nothing in your pockets. Ours just not as much fun or as easy.

Oh, and keep a journal from day one. I wish I’d have done it. I really, really wish I’d have done it.

Any questions, pm me.

From personal experience as a nurse in many settings, NATO/ZULU are not the best choice to be on wrists when possibly dealing with any bodily fluids. The nylon could soak and hold fluids you don’t want hanging around. Even though they dry quickly, the moisture can cause some issues to the skin on your wrist over time primarily fungal. I’ve always had a metal or rubber/pvc watch band when in the field. Although metal bands do have nooks and crannies, they wash clean with soap and water infinitely better. Just my $.02.

I preferred a quartz diver in the field with some decent water resistance and some serviceable lume. Very few have torch like lume capabilities aside from some of the Seikos. I lived with this on my wrist for years working in hospitals and home health in my grunt years. Served me well and cleaned up quickly. Battery changes are a snap and it’s very well built and affordable.
Hah! There’s was a long thread sometime back I think it was on WUS where someone was looking for a watch for their (EMT or Nurse or Resident) other. I mentioned just how much I hate having wet NATOs against my skin all day, but got largely shot down and the overall consensus was NATO/ZULU and wash with scrubs.

I’ve a lot of training, but it isn’t the field I work in, so I will defer to you. Along with that soap and water, I can’t see a bleach solution doing any real harm to any of my watch bracelets.

I am generally very happy with rubber — the GSAR comes on a vey soft one, and I have a couple of stupid expensive, but super comfortable isofranes that i’ve grabbed over the years.