The right equipment for studying medicine.

Whether you want to study medicine, biology, chemistry, pharmacy or molecular biology, besides good grades and passing the entrance exam, you urgently need the right equipment!

And that is usually not so easy, often you have to torture yourself through countless Facebook groups, forum posts and queries to professors to make sure that you buy the right things. Only to end up spending too much and ending up with the wrong utensils. To help you find the right utensils, I have three crucial questions for you to help you find the right equipment for your lab exercises and everyday university life. So before you start searching the internet for the wrong lab equipment, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is the university course about?
   Human Anatomy, Plant Anatomy, Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Microbiology, etc. Depending on which course you have, you need to think about what you need to successfully pass it. So look carefully at the exercises you will be doing. Because depending on what you are going to do, you need to choose your individual equipment. This means, for example, if you are going to work with flammable substances, you will definitely need safety goggles and a lab coat. Or if you know you're going to be making plant samples and looking at them under the microscope, then get enough slides and of course a suitable set of dissecting instruments.
   
   

2. What will be provided by the university and what not?
   Of course, you have to talk to the professor in charge and clarify exactly what will be made available to you during the exercises and what not. So don't be shy, just dare to ask, they don't bite, at least not always! 😉 But be careful if there are really enough utensils for all students. I often had the problem that I simply wasted half an hour because I had to wait for the dissecting instruments of the lab partner, only to find out that the urgently needed surgical scissors were missing. So think carefully about getting your own dissecting instruments to be able to work effectively and without being tied down.
   

3. What do you need not only for this course but also for other courses?
   

   Again, think carefully about what you want to share and what you should rather buy yourself. Especially for things like lab coats, dissecting instruments, lab timers or calculators you are often well advised to buy your own utensils. Only then will you be truly untethered and able to work effectively and efficiently and, most importantly, not have to constantly get on the nerves of your lab partners. They'll love you for it when you can bail them out a time or two with your cool new dissecting kit. 😜

   To make the start of your studies easier, we have prepared a list of the most relevant utensils depending on the lab course. Please do not forget that this overview may vary depending on your university requirements. However, it should give you a good overview and support you in your purchase decision. At Biocraftlab, you'll find dissecting instruments for anatomoy classes and great gifts for medical students and scientists.

Chemistry courses

You will need the following items to complete a successful chemistry course:

• Lab coat / lab coat
• Safety glasses
• Gloves
• Lighter
• Lab timer
• Calculator
• Laboratory notebook
• Permanent marker

Microscopy Courses

You will need the following items to complete a successful microscopy course:

• Lab coat / lab coat
• Biological dissecting kit
• Microscope slides & coverslips
• Gloves
• Lab timer
• Calculator
• Laboratory Journal
• Permanent marker

Anatomy Courses

You will need the following utensils to complete a successful anatomy course:

• Lab coat / lab coat
• Biological or medical dissecting instruments
• Microscope slides & coverslips
• Slide tray & needles
• Lab timer
• Calculator
• Lab Journal
• Permanent marker

Our purchase recommendations

As you can see, you need different lab utensils for different lab courses. We would like to show you how to get exactly these utensils in the fastest and most cost efficient way. So that you are optimally equipped for your respective course! 😉

• Lab coat

The lab coat is the emblem of a successful scientist. I have had several lab coats myself and therefore know what is important. In almost all lab courses you will need it and learn to love it. The most important thing is that the coat is 100% cotton so that if you get burned, no melted plastic can stick to your skin and you can get the coat off quickly. To be pulled out of danger quickly, a back belt will also help you. Also the lab coat has to be washable up to 95°C to get it sterile again after courses where you work with bacteria or other microbial life forms. As a recommendation we can warmly recommend the lab coat from Studibedarf, especially the B-goods is with such a low price really a bargain despite super quality. Studibedarf Lab Coat or Studibedarf Lab Coat B-Ware.

• Medical dissecting instruments

A particularly relevant tool for the anatomy course is the medical dissecting set. It offers you everything you need for an anatomy course, from surgical scissors to muscle hooks and splinter tweezers. In addition to a good case in which the tools can be well stored for transport, the contents must of course also be precisely matched to the anatomy course. We have spent a long time researching which scissors, scalpels and forceps are really relevant for aspiring physicians and, thanks to the help of professors and students, we have put together the optimal dissecting set for physicians. Our dissection kit has even received an award from a student advisory team. You can read about the award here. Our dissecting set for medical students is the optimal solution if you are looking for a dissecting set for the next anatomy course.

• Biological Dissecting Instruments

Similar to medical dissecting instruments, a good case to store and transport your tools is also an important factor for biological dissecting instruments. Synthetic leather with plastic inserts are especially great, this is easy to clean and still easy to carry. Unlike medical dissecting instruments, biological dissecting instruments are usually a bit smaller and fewer tools will do. These dissecting kits are best suited for microbiology courses, where the goal is to prepare plant samples and analyze them under a microscope. A good ruler and one or two button probes are important. In our product range you will find an optimal dissecting set for biologists which is perfect for microscopy exercises.

• Microscope slides and cover slips

One of the most important utensils for microscopy exercises are microscope slides and coverslips. These are needed to analyze samples under the light microscope. The sample is placed very thinly on the slide and sealed with the cover glass. This allows you to observe the sample under the microscope. You can find cheap microscope slides and coverslips directly on Amazon.

• Slide tray & needles

For the anatomy course, the slide tray & needles are considered a must-have. However, ask your tutor or professor if you need to bring your own tub, usually this is provided by the university or college. If you have to bring your own tub, you should consider exactly how big it needs to be and if it should have any special features. You can buy a simple object tub on Amazon.

• Gloves

One of the most important utensils when it comes to working with hazardous chemicals or paint substances are good gloves. They are available as latex, nitrile or nylon variants. First of all, we clearly recommend the nitrile gloves, because all other variants have disadvantages. Especially latex gloves can lead to itching and allergic reactions. You can find good nitrile gloves in the right size at very reasonable prices and in a bulk pack on Amazon.

• Safety glasses

The most important thing for chemistry exercises is the safety goggles. They offer you the necessary eye protection against unexpected chemical accidents. Especially in case of spontaneous fire shocks, which can happen during careless "handling" of chemicals. 🙄 A suitable pair of safety goggles can save your eyesight and should therefore always be worn in the chemistry lab. A great option is the protective goggles from NoCry, which even offers you the possibility to wear normal glasses as a visual aid underneath. You can find out the current price here.

• Lighter

You might think, why do I need a lighter, I don't smoke. 😐 But between you and me, the lighter is the most important tool for every lab, because no matter in which lab you are, you will almost always have a lab burner that you have to activate somehow. That means you have to ignite the gas and unfortunately that only works with another flame or spark. And you'll see, you'll have to activate the lab burner several times a day and that means you'll either have to borrow a lighter from your lab neighbor all the time or you'll be in the great position of having your own lighter and being able to lend it to the pretty lab partner and "BOOM" you're in conversation. 😘

• Lab timer

"Beep", "beep", "beep", you will hear this sound many times and each time it will make your heart beat faster. 💕 The good old lab timer will be a faithful companion and accompany you everywhere if you haven't forgotten it in the toilet again. Basically, a double time display is sufficient, so you can switch two timers at the same time. This may sound like an overkill, but you will see that you will be really happy when you nest your experiments to be able to leave the lab earlier to enjoy the last rays of sunshine in the park. 😄 I myself have always had only one lab timer from my first lab exercise to my master thesis. You can order it easily at Amazon, with its two displays and its low price it also has a great price, performance level.

• Calculator

Also a very important tool is the calculator, no matter if you have to calculate the molecular weight of nitric acid or if you have to determine the concentration of a dilution series, the calculator is always needed. If you already bought a great Texas Instruments calculator in school, perfect, because in most cases you may continue to use it, unless it can program. Many professors forbid programmable calculators, especially for exams, because they might tempt you to cheat. My tip is the TI 30 Eco, which is solar powered on the one hand and reliable and compact as usual from Texas Instrument on the other hand. The current lowest price is also available on Amazon.

• Lab Journal

"Don't forget to take notes!" You will hear this more often, if you don't take notes you will often look stupid when you have to hand in your lab report. Therefore, get some college notepads early enough and preferably checkered. You can get cheap college notepads either at Pagro or Libro, but you can also buy a big pack on Amazon. Here is the cheapest one I could find.

• Permanent marker

And last but not least the permanent marker, believe me, you will despair if you don't have one! No matter if you want to label your microscopy slides, your petri dishes or your eppis (by the way, the cutest name for tiny sample tubes there is), without a marker you will despair. And be sure to use a waterproof marker that will stay on plastic for a long time. Super would be if you get a few colors, great pens are the Staedtler permanent markers.

I hope I could help you with my knowledge. 😁 I studied molecular biology myself and know the doubts and fears that come over you before the first laboratory exercises. But don't worry, everyone has to go through it! My tip is to get all the important utensils and equipment early and prepare yourself really well for the exercises, then you have already laid the foundation for a successful lab course!

We wish you all the best and much success for your studies! 😘