Those working in the medical field such as nurses and doctors need reliable equipment that won’t let them down. A wristwatch is a common accessory that many may deem irrelevant but it’s actually one of the handiest companions for a nurse. Watches with second hand offers the ability to track time, schedule medications, and even count pulses.
What is a Watch with a Second Hand?
The second hand watch is just a normal analog watch with another moving hand that runs around the watch dial continuously. Watches with second hands are not automatic and are made of quartz that count seconds with a third hand (which is known as the second hand).
The main difference between automatic watches and analog watches is that automatic watches are powered by mechanical gear trains within the watch to give the second hand the ability to tick every second. Automatic watches are, however, more complicated and may lose a few seconds of time.
Quartz watches are powered by batteries. The oscillating crystal is what gives the watch the tic-tac-tic-tac movement. Quartz watches are relatively cheaper than automatic watches and are accurate.
A second hand is a “third” hand that ticks several times in one second in a pretty rapid and continuous movement. Most affordable automatic watches tick around 6 times per second to give a smoother motion of sweeping hand.
Best Nurse Watch with Second Hand Buying Guide
Not every watch is best for a nursing job. You need to choose the right one with specific features that meet essential criteria. If you’re not sure, then read below on some of the top aspects to look into when picking out the best watches for nurses and medical professionals.
A Clean and Highly Legible Dial
One of the most important considerations when picking out the best watches for nurses is to get one with a clean and legible watch face design. Advanced and modern digital watches may come with some of the top specs and multiple windows, various colorings and designs. However, these added watch features on the watch face may take your attention away from the most important aspect of the watch – the time. Hence, the best watches for nurses need to have a simple analog face without all the unnecessary extras that may divert their attention.
A Second Hand
Many minimalist digital watches now do not come with a second hand, so it might be easy for you to pick the wrong watch. Timing is essential to medical professionals especially when they need to count pulse rates or make any other significant time-critical measurement. This is why it’s good to get a nursing watch with a second hand.
Some best watches also come with a sweeping second hand where the hand glides instead of ticking. This type of watches may cost significantly more than the conventional medical wristwatches and is powered mostly by mechanical movements. However, a gliding second hand may not be practical for medical professionals and most nurses since it’s difficult to capture the exact second.
Water Resistance
Working in a medical environment, it is obviously expected that nurses, nursing students, and other medical professionals need to wash and sterilize their hands more often than anyone else. This is why it is important for nurses to get reliable watches that are resistant to water. The minimum water rating you should look for is 3 ATM, or 30m.
Water resistant watches can withstand splashed and slight immersion of water. It is also better for you to get medical watches that stand showering and swimming as well. The more protected they are, the longer they can last.
Luminescence
Though this is not an essential feature, it provides enhanced possibilities for time to be verified such as when checking patients during the night. There are two types of luminescence: lume-contained hands and markers or a full-lit background. Which is best will solely depend on your personal preference.
Durable and Easy-to-Maintain Band
Since nurses and medical professionals are often in contact with all kinds of liquids, it is important for their band to be able to withstand these liquids and be easily cleanable. One of the best watch band materials for a great scrub watch is silicone. A Silicone band can withstand water better than other types of bands and can be cleaned easily.
Leather bands can work well too but they’re less resistant to water. The same applies to nylon straps, however, nylon straps tend to wear up and stain easily. Stainless steel is the most widespread material but it’s not recommended for medical professionals since they’re relatively heavy.
Weight
A typical nurse will work 12-hour shifts so it’s important for nurses to get a lightweight watch that is not cumbersome and annoying. Generally, watches with silicone band and silicone, resin, and plastic strap are lightweight.
Best Watches for Nurses with Second Hand
Apple Watch Series 4 – Best Smart Watch with Second Hand
Features:
- GPS Navigation
- S4 Sip with 64-bit dual-core processor.
- Water resistance up to 50 meters.
- ECG health app support
- Music control and onboard speakers
Apple Watch Series 4 is the best apple watch for nurses that also comes with a second hand. The Apple smartwatch comes with GPS navigation to help track your steps and location, making this a great sport watch for outdoor health and fitness use.
Other than that, the apple watch even comes with a 30% larger display for improved readability. There are also other watch features such as electrical and optical heart sensors to track your heart rate. Not only that, but the apple watch Series 4 can be paired with many health apps like the ECG app to track your overall health.
When it comes to music and entertainment, the apple watch series 4 now sports a speaker that’s 50% louder and has a bigger memory compared to its predecessor so that you can enjoy your music while working. Additionally, the watch is also water resistant up to 50 meters to withstand sweat, showering, water splashes, and swimming.
One of the most impressive watch features is the fall detection function to work as a fall alert watch for seniors. Once the watch detects a fall, it will call the emergency SOS department. If you’re worried about using this watch because you have an Android phone, you’ll be happy to know that the apple watch is Android and iOS compatible.
Speidel Scrub Petite Watch – Women’s Nurse Watch with Second Hand
Features:
- Stainless steel construction
- Water resistance up to 50 meters
- Easy-to-read dial.
- Quartz movement.
- Analog display.
- 28mm case diameter.
- Silicone band that’s easy to clean.
- Small watch face with luminous hands, second time, and military time.
The Speidel Scrub Watch is a great petite medical watch that’s best for nurses, medical professionals, doctors, and surgeons. Since the watch is made of stainless steel, you can be certain of its durability to take on everyday use.
The nursing watch even features a special movement – a 3-Hand Japanese Quartz Movement for accurate timekeeping. Not only that but the watch face dial is easy to read thanks to a white background and red marker. The highly visible dial can also be read in the dark since the hour and minute hands are luminous.
The Silicone strap on the Speidel Scrub Watch is also easy to clean in case of contact with body fluids, dust, and other liquids. The medical watch even comes with different color silicone bands for nurses and medical professionals to customize and match their outfits. If you prefer to make it more personal, the Speidel Scrub Watch stainless steel case back can even be engraved with your initials, name, or favorite phrases.
Victorinox Swiss Army Chrono Watch – Best Classic and Affordable Watches for Nurses
Features:
- Anti reflective sapphire dial window.
- Analog display with sweeping second hand.
- Stainless steel case material with 40mm diameter.
- Leather band at 21mm width.
- White dial color.
- Ceramic bezel.
- Swiss Quartz movement.
- Water resistance up to 100m.
If you’re looking for a super tough and durable medical watch that fits your daily needs and styles, then the Victorinox Swiss Army Chrono Classic Chronograph watch may be the right choice for you. This is one of the best watches for nurses made with sapphire crystals and a Swiss-made 41mm stainless steel chronograph that’s elegant and beautiful.
The gunmetal guilloche dial, subdials, and stainless steel case, this pure white Chrono watch is nothing if not elegant. It doesn’t just look pretty, but the water resistant watch comes with a sweeping second hand to aid in taking vital signs and respiratory pulse timing. Not only that, but the hypoallergenic stainless steel, scratch resistant triple-coated, anti-reflective sapphire coated mineral crystal protects the watch dial from rain, blood, dust, and water exposure.
Additionally, the sweeping second hand sweeps over luminescent hands so that you can still tell the time and count the seconds in the dark. Since it’s waterproof up to 100 meters, this watch is perfect for nurses who enjoy swimming and snorkeling. The watch even includes a date calendar, tachymeter, small second, and 30-minute counter. The watch offers all the features at a very affordable price of less than $200, making it the best watch for students or nurses with a tight budget.
Casio Women’s Baby-G Watch – Best Digital Watch with Second Hand
Features:
- Mineral crystal dial window.
- Analog-digital display.
- 46.3mm resin case.
- Quartz movement.
- Black dial color.
- Water resistant up to 100m.
Another good watch that’s durable and shockproof is the Casio Women’s Baby G Watch. The rugged construction ensures that the sport watch can resist shocks, wear, and tear. The tough G-Shock sport watch is even water resistant of up to 100m, making it a perfect match for ambulance nurses, EMT, and paramedics that need to do rescue diving in their job.
Unlike many other analog watches with a sweeping second hand, this nurse watch has a digital display with a high-contrast analog dial to help nurses accurately track patient pulses in seconds. The LED backlight can also brightly illuminate the dial display to work well in poor light conditions.
Not only that, but the resin band material can be cleaned and sterilized easily of blood, body fluids, and sweat. Other awesome features offered by this wrist watch include a countdown timer, chronograph, and a stopwatch.
Dakota Women’s Nurse Watch – Best Quartz Watch with Sweeping Second Hand
Features:
- Analog display type.
- 34mm brass case.
- 16mm genuine calfskin leather band.
- Quartz Japanese movement.
- Contrasting second hand dial.
- Water resistant up to 50m.
- 24-hour military time dial.
Dakota Nurse Watch is a beautiful scrub watch that’s very durable and inexpensive to own. The Dakota watch has such a rugged construction that it can endure notorious beatings. The watch even has an easy-to-read dial with a second hand that helps nurses to count and administer medications, taking vital signs, and pulse reading.
The watch even has a comfortable design with a 36mm midsize case and an easy-to-read 24hr military time dial to make a great choice for healthcare professionals.
Garmin Vivomove Smartwatch – Best Hybrid Smart Watch with Second Hand
Features:
- Music controls.
- Smart notifications for incoming calls and text messages.
- Android and iOS compatible.
- Wrist based heart rate technology.
- Wellness monitoring for keeping track of stress, relaxation timer, and sleep monitoring.
- Displays steps, calories, distance, heart rate, intensity minutes, and VO2 max.
- Up to 5 days battery life in smart mode.
The Garmin Vivomove is one of the most suitable watches for nurses that sports clean, traditional essential features with a touch of modernity. The stylish watch even comes in a white/rose gold design to fit small/medium wrists.
The Garmin Vivomove hybrid watch offers smart features such as heart rate, calories, distance, intensity minute, and VO2 max tracking. This is a great sports watch that’s perfect for medical professionals or nurses who love exercising and keeping up-to-date with their health stats.
On top of those, the smart watch can even help you track REM sleep monitoring, stress and fatigue detection throughout the day with a relaxation timer to help you get through a tiring day. Additionally, the hybrid nurse watch even has a long battery life so you don’t need to worry about charging it every day.
WIOR Nurse Lapel Pin Watch – Best Lapel Watches with Red Second Hand
Feature:
- Analog display type.
- 33mm case diameter.
- Silver color band.
- Quartz movement nurse watch.
- Alloy construction.
- Water resistant but not suitable for bathing, swimming, and diving.
- Lapel pin watch.
If you prefer pin-on fob lapel watches, then the WIOR Nurses Lapel is a great choice for nurses and doctors. Much like the other pendant watches used by nurses and medics, this pin-on lapel watch is often worn upside down so that you can check the time right side up when you hold it up. Lapel watches are an alternative timepiece to a wrist based normal watch and can be hooked on the nurse’s belt loop.
If you’re worried about durability, you’ll be glad to know that this lapel pin watch is made from waterproof alloy to meet the daily demands of healthcare professionals. The lapel pin watch can be pinned tightly to nurses’ clothing and has a dial with easy read hour markers for accurate readings.
Prestige Medical Student Watch – Excellent Medical Watch for Students
Features:
- 40mm Midsize Watch Case
- Quartz Japanese Movement.
- 24 hour Military Time Dial.
- Synthetic band material.
- Arabic numerals.
- Water resistant up to 30m.
The Prestige Medical Student watch is easy on the eyes regardless of whether you’re reading the time under the bright sun or in the dark. The no-nonsense lapel watch is constructed with surgical grade stainless steel that’s shock resistant to make it one of the best watches for nurses with a white dial.
The 24-hour military time dial is also a good format for medical professionals. But if you prefer, you can also refer to the standard time. The analog watch uses precision quartz movement for accurate time readings.
In terms of construction, the water resistant analog watch comes with an easily sanitized casing for germ-free environment and indiglo backlighting for better visibility during poor light conditions. And since it features water resistance up to 30m, you can keep this sports watch on while swimming or showering.
Whimsical Watch (S0610018) – Respiratory Therapist Subdial Watch with Second Hand
Features:
- Plastic dial window material.
- Analog display.
- Stainless steel case material.
- Leather straps.
- Stainless steel bezel.
- Japanese Quartz Movement
The Whimsical Watch is a beautifully hand-crafted novelty watch that’s designed for medical professionals and makes a perfect gift for a respiratory therapist. This is also a great watch for nurses who prefer a fanciful timepiece with a colorful respiratory themed scene with a circular white time display and gold-tone hands.
Thanks to a high-quality Japanese quartz movement, the watch runs precisely for reliable time-keeping. The Italian leather strap is also secure and comfortable to dry in addition to being easy to clean, sterilize, and dry.
The watch sports a stainless steel bezel and 35mm case to suit nurses, doctors, nursing students, and healthcare professionals for both hospital and outdoor use. The watch face sports a stethoscope and oxygen tank icon to motivate your nursing friends and colleagues.
Speidel Scrub 30 Medical Watch – Best Pulsometer Watch with Red Second Hand
Features
- Analog display.
- Silicone bezel.
- Calendar date display
- 24 hours military time.
- Luminous hands and hour markers.
- Japanese Quartz Movement.
- Water resistant up to 50m.
The Speidel Scrub Watch is an excellent watch for medical professionals since it comes with a pulsometer scale for 30 beats. The watch is a reliable timepiece that can be counted on for a patient’s pulse reading.
It uses a reliable 3-hand japanese quartz movement and sweeping red second hand to help you accurately tell the time. The markers, hour and minute hands on the Speidel Scrub Watch are luminous and glow in the dark for better readability, meaning it’s perfect for nurses who work during their night shift.
Externally, the Speidel scrub watch silicone band provides water pressure resistance of up to 50m to survive frequent hand washing, sweat, shower, and blood or body fluids spillage.
Timex Expedition Rugged Core – Best Analog Men’s Watch with Second Hand
Features
- Indiglo night light.
- Lightweight case with a durable resin band.
- Analog display.
- 24-hour time format.
- Water resistance of up to 50m.
- 34mm face width and 22mm band width.
Here’s finally a perfect watch for male nurses that’s great for a sport lover too since it has a water resistance of up to 50 meters. The Timex watch is a rugged scrub watch that’s built for reliability in nursing school or even for firefighters, EMT paramedics, or ambulance nurses.
The male nurse watch even features a revolutionary indiglo backlight technology to help medics read the time in the dark or during night shifts. The rugged watch doesn’t just have easy-to-read numbers, but it’s a handsome watch that’s built for durability and accuracy.
The easy-to-read face sports an analog traditional design with a sweeping red second hand. Additionally, the lightweight resin strap ensures that you feel comfortable even when you wear it all-day.
Raedeel Military Sports Watches – Best Digital Watch with Second Hand
Features:
- 43mm case diameter.
- 22mm stainless steel band.
- Multicolor band.
Need a digital watch for male nurses? Then look no further than the Raedeel Military Sports Watch that has a digital display and sufficient ruggedness to take on beatings expected from outdoor adventures.
Similar to other digital scrub watches, this sports watch has a second hand that uses the 24 hours military time format that’s useful in the medical career. The watch actually has 3 different displays: analog hands, main digital face, and another digital watch that can be started by pressing the button on the side of the scrub watch.
Invicta Pro Diver – Best Doctors Dressing Watch with Second Hand
Features
- Water resistance of 200m.
- Unidirectional bezel
- Luminous hands and hour markers
- Magnified date window
- 40mm stainless steel case
- Mineral dial window
- Japanese automatic movement
Invicta Pro Diver watch is a stainless steel automatic watch that’s great for nurses who need a waterproof watch. This dressing watch also has a sweeping second hand and an elegant design that looks like a luxury Rolex at a reasonable price tag.
In fact, the Invicta Pro Diver is a good Rolex homage that’s priced under $100, making it one of the cheapest sweeping-hand scrub watches for nurses and doctors. Thanks to a water resistance of up to 200m, the Invicta Pro Diver watch is suitable for swimming, diving, fishing, and snorkeling.
The watch even has a see-through case back for those who prefer to view the automatic movement and gear trains. Overall, this is a beautiful and perfect solution for every medical field worker in the market today.
Orient Women’s Automatic Watch (Model: FNR1Q00AW0)
Features:
- Mineral dial window.
- Analog display type.
- Steel case material.
- Stainless steel expansion bracelet.
- Plain white background dial.
- Calendar date display.
- Seiko Automatic movement.
- Water pressure resistance 50m.
Want a beautiful, waterproof watch for a female nurse? Then the Orient Women’s Automatic Watch might be your cup of tea. This classic-looking timepiece is beautifully designed to offer high reliability, precision, and elegance at an unbeatable quality and affordable price.
Its sleek design is also great for those who don’t fancy bulky watches. The steel analogue watch sports a white dial and a metallic strap. The legible dial makes it easier for nurses to take a quick glance at the watch without having to strain their eyes too much.
Thanks to its waterproof features, the watch can survive frequent routine hand-washing that’s highly expected in the nursing career. At 50m water pressure resistance, it can even survive sweat or showers.
Timex Nurse Watch
Features:
- 38mm case size.
- Water pressure resistance up to 30m.
- Indiglo backlight luminescence.
- Leather band.
Here’s another Timex watch with a more medical-oriented appearance with the variegated coloring of numbers for easy time reading. The Timex Classic Nurse watch is a decent size to fit most women’s wrists with its 30mm case diameter while providing a comfortable wearing experience.
While it offers some degree of water proof, it’s not enough to be submerged into the water but it’s still good for washing hands and brief immersions. Overall, this is a sturdy piece of accessory that will do the job exactly how it’s built to do.
Conclusion
We finally reached the end of our article today on a list of the best watches for nurses. We hope that our buying guide and review of the top watches for nurses and medical professionals has provided you with sufficient knowledge and information to make a well-informed choice. And if you still have a hard time deciding which to go for, just pick one from our list and you can rest assured that you’ve got yourself a reliable watch for work or as a gift to your favorite nurse.