Thursday 16 December 2010

My Favourite Watch

Is deceptively-simple looking while being a highly sophisticated and a superbly-designed timekeeper - and among the most important pieces of nursing equipment.

life or death

A nurses' fob-watch needs to be highly accurate - a matter of life and death in cases where it is being used to track a patient's critical life-signs. This important job is its most basic requirement and, looking at a modern nurses' watch, you get to see the latest in both form and function - with features that have taken years of experience to develop.

accessorize

The best way to use a fob-watch is with the reversed hang of the best nurses' watches - an alignment that is, in fact, as 100% necessary as spelling AMBULANCE in reverse on the bonnet of an ambulance. Bat-like, the watch hangs upside down so that when seen from above it is the right way up. Such a watch is not wearable on the wrist, as most modern watches are; making it one less possession to lose. You apply it, like a brooch, to any part of your clothing - so long as the wearer can easily see it.

speak the clock

Also, the nurses' watch does not possess the drawbacks of a wristwatch since no forearm hair ever catches in the strap. Nor is the area under it ever damp in hot weather - and, when the sun does shine, there is never any pasty skin where the sun has not shone. Best of all, the watch is always uncovered for professional usage, but can be hidden behind lapels or worn on shirts under jackets for non-medical use. The latter arrangement makes it less likely passers-by will assume you are auditioning for the speaking clock - by asking you the time - since they will be unaware that you know it.

sleek lines

The smooth, clean and sleek lines of a modern nurses' watch are not terribly fashionable. However, if you are not a medical professional, such a watch quickly becomes a conversation piece and something of an icebreaker at parties. Yet they still retain the elegant simplicity of all such timepieces - with the functional cleanliness that modern infection-control desires. And a silicone nurses' fob-watch easily achieves this latter goal through its lack of buckles, straps and clasps: Just a simple, easy-to-clean rubber strap.

perfect

So, a nurses' watch, despite looking simple, is actually an incredibly well-thought-out piece of kit that performs its job with something approaching perfection.

Six features to look out for when choosing the best nurses' fob-watch:

  1. Accurate: Go for a good quality watch from a known manufacturer;
  2. Reliable: You do not want the watch to fail when you need it most;
  3. Easy to Read: Look for a large and clear display, even in dim light, you never know when you might need to know the time;
  4. Easy to Clean: Avoid buying a watch with buckles and complicated straps that might conceal germs and dirt;
  5. Easy to See: If working in the dark, consider a watch with luminous markings;
  6. Look & Feel: Choose a watch you like, you will be looking at it a great deal, so it makes sense to buy something you personally favour.

Copyright © 2010 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://sitsvac.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved. Frank TALKER is also the author of Sweaty Socks: A Treatise on the Inevitability of Toe Jam in Hot Weather (East Cheam Press: Groper Books, 1997) and is University of Bullshit Professor Emeritus of Madeupology.