PG essentials
Things you’ll need after your seat, by branch. Each pick comes as Best, Smart buy or Budget.
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Every resident needs
Stethoscope
You will use it every day for three years. Buy it once and buy it well.
BP monitor
Your own machine saves hunting for the ward one.
Pulse oximeter
SpO2 and pulse in seconds, anywhere in the hospital.
Thermometer
An infrared one is quick on rounds; a digital stick is the cheap backup.
Pen torch
Pupils, throat and quick looks. A pupil gauge printed on it helps.
Professional shoes
For OPD, rounds and college, where slides won't do. Formal-looking, cushioned for a full day on your feet.
Duty shoes
For long shifts and night duty. Max cushioning, in plain black so it still looks right on the ward.
OT slippers
Closed, washable slip-ons for theatre and labour room: wash them under a tap, and they won't slip on a wet floor.
Slides for the hostel and night duty
Pick the softest cushioning you can: after a long duty your feet will thank you.
Scrubs
Get two or three sets so one is always clean.
White coat
Most colleges still want one in OPD and on rounds.
Duty backpack
Laptop, books, charger and a change of clothes for a 24-hour duty, in a bag that still looks smart in OPD.
Pocket notebook
For ward rounds: vitals, to-dos and drug doses you need to remember. Fits the coat pocket.
Pen box (10 pens)
Pens vanish on every round and every case sheet, so buy the cheapest box: it just has to write. Keep a box in your bag.
Power bank (20,000 mAh)
Your phone dies before your duty ends.
Tablet
Textbooks, notes and journal PDFs without carrying the books.
Noise-cancelling headphones
Sleep after a night duty and study in a noisy hostel.
Clinical branches
General Medicine
Reflex hammer
For every neuro exam. The Queen Square pattern is easier to swing than the triangular Taylor one.
Tuning forks (128 / 256 / 512 Hz)
Rinne and Weber tests, and vibration sense in neuropathy.
Direct ophthalmoscope
Fundus checks on the ward: papilloedema, diabetic and hypertensive changes.
Glucometer
Quick sugar checks when the lab is slow at night.
Paediatrics
Paediatric stethoscope
A small chest piece fits a baby's chest; an adult one does not.
Measuring tape
Non-stretch tape for fundal height, limb length, head and waist circumference.
MUAC tape
Mid-upper-arm circumference for malnutrition screening.
Dermatology, Venereology & Leprosy
Dermatoscope
Pigmented lesions, scalp and nails. This phone-clip one is the only real dermatoscope we found on either site; DermLite is not sold there.
Wood's lamp
Fungal infections, vitiligo and pigment depth.
Magnifier with light
Close look at skin lesions, wounds and small details.
Psychiatry
Reflex hammer
For every neuro exam. The Queen Square pattern is easier to swing than the triangular Taylor one.
Respiratory Medicine
Peak flow meter
Bedside PEFR for asthma and COPD follow-up.
Hand-held spirometer
PEF and FEV1 at the bedside or in a camp.
Emergency Medicine
Trauma shears
Cut clothes, dressings and splints fast.
Head torch
Night calls, power cuts, cannulas and blocks in bad light.
Family Medicine
Otoscope
Ear exam in OPD and on rounds.
Glucometer
Quick sugar checks when the lab is slow at night.
Geriatric Medicine
Reflex hammer
For every neuro exam. The Queen Square pattern is easier to swing than the triangular Taylor one.
Tuning forks (128 / 256 / 512 Hz)
Rinne and Weber tests, and vibration sense in neuropathy.
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Goniometer set
Measures joint range of motion.
Hand dynamometer
Grip strength, measured the same way every visit.
Palliative Medicine
Nothing beyond the kit every resident needs (above).
Surgical branches
General Surgery
Suture practice kit
Practise knots and suturing in the hostel before you do it on a patient.
Personal instrument set
Your own needle holder, forceps and scissors for practice and minor procedures.
LED headlight
Hands-free light for wound work, ENT exam and procedures at the bedside.
Loupes (2.5x)
Magnification for fine suturing. Try entry loupes before spending on custom ones.
Orthopaedics
Goniometer set
Measures joint range of motion.
Reflex hammer
For every neuro exam. The Queen Square pattern is easier to swing than the triangular Taylor one.
Suture practice kit
Practise knots and suturing in the hostel before you do it on a patient.
Loupes (2.5x)
Magnification for fine suturing. Try entry loupes before spending on custom ones.
Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Fetal doppler
Fetal heart in OPD and labour room when the CTG is busy.
Suture practice kit
Practise knots and suturing in the hostel before you do it on a patient.
Measuring tape
Non-stretch tape for fundal height, limb length, head and waist circumference.
Otorhinolaryngology (ENT)
LED headlight
Hands-free light for wound work, ENT exam and procedures at the bedside.
Otoscope
Ear exam in OPD and on rounds.
Tuning forks (128 / 256 / 512 Hz)
Rinne and Weber tests, and vibration sense in neuropathy.
Ophthalmology
90D lens
Slit-lamp fundus exam. Genuine Volk lenses are sold online only by third-party sellers with no reviews, so buy those from an authorised dealer.
20D lens
Indirect ophthalmoscopy.
Streak retinoscope
Refraction, especially in children.
Direct ophthalmoscope
Fundus checks on the ward: papilloedema, diabetic and hypertensive changes.
Anaesthesiology
Personal laryngoscope
Your own set for practice and for when the OT one goes missing.
Head torch
Night calls, power cuts, cannulas and blocks in bad light.
Radiodiagnosis
Laptop
Thesis, presentations and reading. Get 16 GB RAM if you can.
Monitor
A big, sharp screen for going through scans and cases at home.
Radiation Oncology
Laptop
Thesis, presentations and reading. Get 16 GB RAM if you can.
Para- and pre-clinical branches
Anatomy
Dissection kit
Your own sharp set for dissection hall teaching.
Skull model
Foramina and landmarks for teaching, without the bone set.
Physiology
Scientific calculator
Thesis statistics and lab calculations.
Laptop
Thesis, presentations and reading. Get 16 GB RAM if you can.
Biochemistry
Scientific calculator
Thesis statistics and lab calculations.
Laptop
Thesis, presentations and reading. Get 16 GB RAM if you can.
Pathology
Slide box (100 slides)
Keep your own teaching and thesis slides safe.
Differential cell counter
Manual differential counts on peripheral smears.
Laptop
Thesis, presentations and reading. Get 16 GB RAM if you can.
Microbiology
Slide box (100 slides)
Keep your own teaching and thesis slides safe.
Scientific calculator
Thesis statistics and lab calculations.
Pharmacology
Scientific calculator
Thesis statistics and lab calculations.
Laptop
Thesis, presentations and reading. Get 16 GB RAM if you can.
Forensic Medicine & Toxicology
Magnifier with light
Close look at skin lesions, wounds and small details.
Measuring tape
Non-stretch tape for fundal height, limb length, head and waist circumference.
Community Medicine (PSM)
Weighing scale
Field surveys and anthropometry.
MUAC tape
Mid-upper-arm circumference for malnutrition screening.
Laptop
Thesis, presentations and reading. Get 16 GB RAM if you can.
Immunohaematology & Blood Transfusion
Scientific calculator
Thesis statistics and lab calculations.
How we pick these
Every item is something residents actually use in the first year of MD or MS. We check each product by hand on the store (sold there, in stock, well rated) and pick three: Best lasts the whole residency, Smart buy is what most people should get, and Budget is the cheapest one that still works — or a warning where cheap is a false saving. The textbook for each branch is the standard reference departments expect you to read. No brand pays to be listed.
Last updated · Reviewed by Dr. Rajiv Marechal
Still choosing your seat? See which branches and colleges your rank can get, or read stipend and bond by state.