Medical professionals, such as nurses, frequently use penlights as a diagnostic tool during their work. These handy penlights are an essential and indispensable tool for health care professionals. So, we've put together a complete guide to help you choose the best penlights for nurses.
There are quite a variety of these specialized flashlights out in the market to consider. Here's everything you need to know about a medical penlight before getting one.
What's a Nurse Penlight?
A penlight is typically a miniature flashlight that looks like a pen and also has a pocket clip. It runs on AA or AAA batteries and usually comes in a length of around 5 inches or so, making it very handy and portable. It also emits a bright light depending on the brand and model to help medical professionals to do their assessment and visualize the pupil of the eyes more.
Penlights are made of either plastic or high-quality metal and are available in a variety of sleek designs. These handy tools come in different colors and have pocket clips that make it easy to carry in pockets. Medical penlights may consist of either halogen bulbs or LED lights to illuminate in fixed areas. Though, you may find that most penlights nowadays commonly use LED lights.
Why are Penlights Important for Nurses?
The penlight is very useful for nurses in monitoring a patient's medical conditions and checking progress. It is often used for checking inside a patient's ears, nose, and throat, and pupil reflex. It aids nurses in taking a closer look at scrapes, burns, and injuries when dressing wounds.
Nurses might prefer to use this handy device to illuminate the room and not wake patients up unnecessarily during night monitoring schedules. Medical professionals like doctors, dentists, surgeons, and nurses all benefit from this useful tool for mostly the same reasons. It is an invaluable tool for health care professionals as it is a convenient aid in diagnosing and assessing their patient's conditions.
What to Look For In Penlights
A penlight is an essential addition to a nurse's toolkit. Thus, it is vital to cover the different types of penlights available and everything else about them. Penlights, small as they are, may carry a lot of extra features in them.
Here are some things you may want to check for when choosing a penlight:
Reusable vs Disposable
Reusable penlights would seem a perfect fit for nurses who are in constant need of this tool. Because you would repeatedly use it in your line of work, you may not want to bother with getting a disposable one for use. Reusable penlights are pricier because they use high-quality materials but would guarantee for long-lasting use.
Getting a reusable penlight may also be a wise option for the environment-friendly individuals as they will not throw out penlights more often. The disposables, on the other hand, are perfect for those who may need this tool once in a while. It is also ideal for emergency use and is also less expensive than reusable ones.
Plastic vs Metal
Because there are disposable and reusable penlights, the materials used for it may also vary. Most disposables are made of plastic, though this is not always the case. On the other hand, reusable ones have a sturdy metal build rather than plastic. Sturdy metal penlights are either made from stainless steel, brass, or aluminum alloy. Metal elements are also added to the pen's clips to add to the design and quality.
Halogen vs LED Bulbs
Halogen bulbs produce a yellow kind of light like sunlight or as some call it... warm light, while LED bulbs produce bright white light. LED lights also give off a colder light and last longer than the halogen bulbs. It is for these reasons that the choice of LED bulbs has favored more penlight buyers in recent years.
Pupil vs No-pupil Gauge
Some penlights may have a pupil gauge as an additional feature on one side. This gauge acts as a quick visual reference against the patient's pupil size to help doctors and nurses properly assess their patient. A pupil gauge is a functional tool and guide for those who are just new in the medical field. Penlight with pupil gauge is also a common feature of most recent penlight brands.
Tail Click vs Twist Top vs Side Click Switches
This little handy light tool can be switched on and off in a variety of ways. Like pens, these tools may also have a tail-click button that makes it easy to turn on and off. Twist top pens may have a cap that twists back and forth to switch the penlight. Side clips, on the other hand, may be disguised as metal clips that you slide back and forth to activate the light.
How to Choose the Best Penlight for Nurses
There are many things to consider when choosing the finest penlight. Searching for the best penlight for nursing students may be quite a challenge because of the various penlight options. So here are some things to look for when searching for a good nursing penlight.
Switches
Most penlights have switches that are easy, simple, and convenient to use. Check for switch controls that make it easy for you to turn on or off single-handed. You may also want to consider switches that need a little more effort to push. This control is necessary if you want to avoid switching it on accidentally inside your bag or pocket. This type of control mechanism will also help make the AA or AAA batteries last longer.
Weight
Weight is also a vital factor when choosing a penlight. Medical practitioners always carry a lot of things in their pockets so you may want to make sure that it is lightweight for ease of carrying.
Lights
Lumens measure the brightness you get from a bulb. Medical professionals use low lumen settings for physical assessment of patients' eyes.
The finest penlights would offer adjustable light settings from warm to bright or low to high. Low light settings are more suitable and gentle for checking into pupils. Bright lights are apt for looking inside the ears, nose, and throat.
Battery Life
Choose penlights that use low wattage to extend the battery life longer. You may also opt for those pen lights that have replaceable AA or AAA batteries.
Price
Choose a price that suits your budget best. There are many cost-friendly penlights available in the market for professionals like nurses and even for nursing students. Note that a high price does not always mean better quality.
Design
Most of your colleagues may have a penlight of their own. For this reason, you may want to choose one with a unique design or color for easy recognition from others'. Choosing a unique design will make your penlight stand out and distinguishable from the your colleagues' penlights.
Durability
Choose penlights built with durable materials like aluminum alloy or stainless steel.
Added Features and Quality
Some penlights have already added many useful features to them. Great features to look for include:
- Ruler Chart - It functions as a measurement guide for pupil dilation.
- Pupil Gauge -This guide is a great added tool for medical and nursing students who are still new on the field.
- Water Resistance - Penlights may be submerged in water or alcohol without damage and making sterilization after use very easy.
The 8 Best Penlights for a Nurse
For one who works long and tiring hours in the hospital, a nurses' penlight may be the next great thing. You may try to purchase a few penlights and choose what would perfectly fit your needs. To make it easier for you, we've listed below some of the best nursing penlights around.
1. LUMINTOP LED Medical Penlight
This is made by NICHIA, the world's largest LED manufacturer and supplier. The penlight comes with a metal switch and is available in an attractive pink color. It is also tough and durable as it comes with a sturdy aluminum alloy construction.
Another great feature of this product is it is water and alcohol proof. This feature is excellent for sterilization purposes. The penlight's LED light comes in three adjustable light modes. Lumen levels range from 1.5 (perfect for eye check-ups) to 125 lumens at its brightest. It also comes with a 5-year repair warranty that gives added value to your money.
2. Weltool M6-Dr Diagnostic Medical Penlight
M6 DR Diagnostic penlight features a unique no glare feature that makes it a reliable diagnostic tool to use. Though it does not have a pupil gauge, it comes in handy with a ruler chart that has indicators measured in inches.
The illumination from its LED bulbs is also perfect for close-range examinations and inspections. This diagnostic penlight can be a multipurpose tool that can be convenient even for reading tasks. Another great feature of this product is it's also water-resistant.
3. CAVN Pen Light for Nurses and Doctors with Pupil Gauge LED
This LED pen light won't easily be dented or broken if you accidentally drop it. You can conveniently turn it on using its push-button switch. This penlight with pupil gauge also comes with a 5cm ruler chart to aid in pupil size assessment.
4. RISEMART Reusable LED Medical Penlight
RISEMART's Reusable LED are very handy and fashionable penlights. Not only is it sleek and trendy, but it also comes complete with a gauge and dividing ruler. The light settings can be effortlessly adjusted to shift from warm yellow light to a bright light. Its lightweight feature makes it easy to carry in bags and pockets. The metal clips do not easily slip from one's pockets and make it convenient to carry for long shifts.
It also comes in a set of colorful penlights that are very visually attractive and trendy. The penlight's output power is 0.06 watts allowing for prolonged battery usage of up to 220 hours. It has a LED bulb lifetime of approximately 100,000 hours. This long LED life makes this penlight not only suitable for medical use but even for emergency uses.
5. INFRAY Zoomable LED Penlight
The INFRAY zoomable penlight's compact design's purpose is to fit anyone's pocket. It is ultra-compact and can easily be attached to bags or keychains. It is a super bright LED penlight that may be useful not also for nurses but even for mechanics and other professions.
One unique feature of this penlight that other penlights do not have is that it is zoomable. You may adjust the light beam's scope from broad to narrow. It also comes with three light settings of low, high, and strobe. This penlight is built to be tough and is also scratch and corrosion resistant aside from being waterproof.
6. FITA Medical Penlights
This penlight is one sturdy tool with its high-quality outer structure made from alloy. One unique feature of this penlight is that its medical-grade alloy component is safe and eco-friendly.
Like the other penlights, it also has a pupil gauge and ruler chart, which makes it a great diagnostic tool. Its simple one-button switch makes it also less complicated to turn off and on at any time.
7. OPOWAY Penlight
This penlight with pupil gauge is a multipurpose diagnostic tool with a very professional design. It is made up of high quality materials specially made to be durable and sturdy. This penlight also has a small and compact design that makes it easy to carry inside the pocket.
It has bright LED lights that allow medical professionals to examine the patients with just the right brightness. Along with the pupil gauge, it also comes with a 5cm ruler chart.
8. Primacare Reusable LED Penlight
This reusable LED penlight has a sealed concentric beam for lighting. The side pocket clip also serves as the light's activating switch. One good factor of this product is that the penlight is easy to use, with a pocket clip and it also comes at an affordable price.
Its low cost does not discount on its features as it has a pre-focused pinpoint lens that helps directly illuminate the eye's pupils.
*All of the above-mentioned penlight products use either two AA or two AAA batteries.
Conclusion
Penlights are not only useful to those in the medical profession. It may also come in handy for police, mechanics, or anyone. If you work in the health care profession, choosing the right penlight is crucial to providing better assessment resulting in more accurate diagnosis and enhanced care for patients.
Now, we can say that a penlight is more than just a must-have item. A great penlight needs to function as it was supposed to be, a handy aid to visualize things. Thus, we recommend the LUMINTOP Penlight that is on top of our list.
Not only is this penlight built by the world's largest supplier of LED, but designed to exceed performance. The greatest feature of this product is that it is IPX-waterproof which means that it is water and alcohol resistant. With frequent use of this tool, disinfection is very crucial. So with this feature, the penlight will not be a tool for transmitting bacteria and viruses that are present in a medical environment.
We hope that this guide helps you choose the best nursing penlight for you and your needs. Do not only choose one that gets the job done, go for quality and perfection. After all, working in the medical field requires more than just a good penlight.
If you're a nurse, you may be pulling these little tools out of your pocket numerous times in a single shift! Therefore, it's only right that you find the best nursing penlight to suit you!