Pocket Nurse is a US-based company that makes and distributes medical supplies and equipment for healthcare simulation and education in medicine, nursing, EMS, pharmacy and other allied health groups. The company’s products are extensively used in nursing simulation, but have application across the entire range of the medical simulation industry.
Pocket Nurse began business in 1992 with one product, the Pocket Organizer. This organizer was so popular, the solution led the way to the production and sale of over 5600 products which now includes manikins from a number of brands, moulage tools, and headwalls. The company was founded and owned by a nurse, Anthony Battaglia — who still oversees the company to this day.
Pocket Nurse announced the acquisition of DiaMedical USA in May of 2023, when Anthony shared shared “the acquisition of DiaMedical is a stepping-stone for our industry. I am personally excited to see both teams joining forces to provide our customers with unprecedented quality service and product recommendations. Together, we will continue to strive toward providing the best simulation solutions to our family of healthcare educators.”
Pocket Nurse is a leader in supplies for medical education for healthcare simulation scenarios and courses to enhance fidelity. At Pocket Nurse there are solutions for healthcare educational programs such as nursing education, EMS training, pharmacy tech, physical therapy, and other allied healthcare programs. Pocket Nurse’s has popular lines of products to make this happen such as: Demo Dose line, PPE supplies, diagnostic equipment and more.
One of Pocket Nurse’s most popular product lines is their Demo Dose medications. The company has been consistently willing to create new practice medications and packaging to match changing clinical practice. Medical simulation should mimic real life situations as much as possible as this adds fidelity to simulation scenarios. Having medications and packages that closely resemble actual medications used in practice provides familiarity for learners which in turn, helps them transition from the classroom to clinical practice.
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Pocket Nurse sells a broad range of medical education and healthcare simulation products to help educators create comprehensive and real clinical simulation experiences. The Pocket Nurse product portfolio includes totes of clinical simulation supply kits, patient care products, furniture, Demo Dose simulated medications, manikins and simulators, diagnostic equipment, medication management systems, and specialty items including respiratory, obstetrics & pediatrics, surgical, infection control, moulage, educational media, and many other healthcare student accessories.
Clinical simulated medications available through Pocket Nurse include: antibiotics, code drugs, chemotherapy, insulins, and vaccines. Unlabeled vials, tablets, capsules, topicals, inhalants and liquids are available for students to practice drawing up and administering various medications. Injectables, irrigation solutions, IV bags and inhalants are also obtainable. Special collections of medications are available e.g. oral foil sample packs and code medications. Pocket nurse distributes medication dispensing systems such as Med Dispense Medication Dispensing Systems and Omnicell. A variety of blood products are manufactured. These products include packed red blood cells, platelets, fresh frozen plasma and albumin. All the products come with lifelike labels and in a variety of blood groups.
Pocket Nurse’s sales representatives are more than just sales people, they’re healthcare simulation experts. Share healthcare simulation goals and needs with the sales representatives to get expert advice to build the clinical simulation facility envisioned. Pocket Nurse wants to build a relationship with their clients, and see their clients and healthcare students excel. Pocket Nurse employs more than 20 product specialists and clinical simulation nurses to assist customers to reach their educational goals. The corporate headquarters are located in Pittsburg, USA.
The main customers of Pocket Nurse include accredited learning institutions such as: universities, colleges, medical schools, and nursing schools. In addition, Pocket Nurse serves EMS and CPR training programs, the military, high schools and vocational schools/CTE programs, government education centers, adult education programs, nursing homes, and other organizations that provide healthcare education and training.
View the LEARN CE/CME Platform Webinar Simulated Medication Management Training Solutions from Pocket Nurse to learn more!
Every institution, whether it be an actual hospital, medical center, long term care facility or educational program must decide whether to use actual medications for practice or products manufactured by companies like Pocket Nurse who deliberately change the name of medications. Thus, digoxin (Lanoxin) becomes digoxn (Lanoxn) and lorazepam (Ativan) becomes Lorazepm (Ativn). These “fake” medications are harmless, non-active formularies that are strictly to be used for practice.
If any of these fake medications ends up in patient areas, Pocket Nurse hopes to alert practitioners if they are not giving the correct medication by incorrectly spelling the drug name and with the addition of a label “not for human or animal use.” There are cases in the literature where fake meds were given to patients by mistake. In addition, using real medications in educational settings could put learners in jeopardy since exposure to real meds could have a pharmacological effect on the learners themselves, for example, topical or inhaled medications such as nitroglycerin or Ventolin.
Pocket Nurse supplies a large variety of diagnostic equipment such as stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, skinfold calipers, otoscopes, mounted diagnostic stations and urine analyzers. The company also produces and distributes hospital furniture such as beds, stretchers and a variety of headwalls with oxygen outlets, suction and diagnostic equipment. Infection control products including personal protective equipment are available along with an extensive collection of patient care products.
A collection of obstetric and pediatric products is available as well as surgical equipment such as instruments and suture kits. Educational charts and books, moulage kits and educational models are sold. Patient Simulators, which come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and prices, include simple models for injections, task trainers, CPR manikins, and whole-body manikins by Simulaids. Pocket Nurse sells totes which contain a collection of their products suitable for specific healthcare professions such as nursing students, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Educational schools save time by requiring students to purchase these packs. Students find them helpful because they have everything they need for their course of study in a convenient handy pack.
Pocket Nurse was created to meet the needs of the healthcare simulation education market. Pocket Nurse understands the true value of access to nursing and clinical simulation educational opportunities that are of high fidelity and to a high standard. Pocket Nurse therefore supports educational scholarships that reflect their belief that healthcare simulation is important to nursing education and improved patient outcomes. The three scholarships that Pocket Nurse offer are listed below.
Pocket Nurse Pittsburgh Foundation Scholarship Fund
This scholarship fund was created to assist qualified applicants to pursue their education in the fields of allied health, nursing, and nursing faculty. The Pittsburgh Foundation is composed of endowment funds established by individuals, businesses, and organizations with a passion for charitable giving and a deep commitment to the Pittsburgh community.
International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL) – Anthony Battaglia Pocket Nurse Scholarships
These scholarships support attendance at the annual INACSL conference. They are designed to stimulate interest and participation in the development and advancement of clinical simulation in nursing and learning resource centers. INACSL’s mission is to advance the science of healthcare simulation.
Pocket Nurse Scholarships for SimGHOSTS (Gathering of Healthcare Simulation Technology Specialists)
These scholarships are designed to support participation in the development and advancement of those operating medical simulation labs, and they provide support for attendees of the SimGHOSTS USA conferences. SimGHOSTS is an organization dedicated to supporting individuals and institutions operating medical simulation technology and spaces through: hands-on training events, online resources, and professional development.
Pocket Nurse also created Sim Stars to be able to honor and congratulate exceptional healthcare simulation educators in their network. This is a chance to highlight the hard work of healthcare simulation superstars. Each month, Pocket Nurse chooses a Sim Star and shares their story and clinical simulation tips with other clinical simulation educators through the Pocket Nurse social media channels. Anyone can make a nomination for a Sim Star through the Pocket Nurse website.
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Pocket Nurse has been the go-to company for nursing and allied health programs for many years. And since the company continues to innovate and adapt to the learning needs of healthcare professions, Pocket Nurse will likely be around for many years to come. The company attends many healthcare simulation conferences like IMSH, and is a key sponsor of INACSL and SimGHOSTS.
