Fob watches or pocket watches were long used by nurses that could not wear a wrist watch.
The big problem with typical fob watches is that you need to hold it in your hand to get a reading. A nurse will try to avoid touching it you her(his) hands (for the hygienic reasons), and the reading will be done wither by tilting his(her) head down, or lifting the watch with the back of the arm.
In any case, the dial will be upside down. Although a reading is still possible, nurses are usually busy people, with patients to look for. This means that time spent on reading upside-down watches is time poorly spent.
The first nurse watches were basically fob watches with an inverted dial and they were aiming to solve this post issue.
Nowadays there are several different choices when it comes to nurse's watches. This article will mention the different options as well as the strong and weak points of each type.
Automatic vs Quartz
You may feel tempted to get an automatic watch, but keep in mind it will need to be rewinded or it will stop.
While rewinding it should not take too much time, the need to rewind it may arise in the worst moment, when your hands are dirty, or you are in the middle of a procedure.
Analogic vs Digital
Some people prefer digital watches for the easiness of reading, some prefer the old school analogic ones.
Digital ones will often feature a backlight, activated trough a button, as analog ones will have luminescent hands or dial, that glows in the dark with no required manipulation. If you find yourself working in dark rooms often, maybe the analog one will be a better option, as you won't have to do anything read the time.
Carabiner style
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Carabiner watches look very much like nursing watches. They were initially created for hunters and soldiers that could not used their hands to see the time.
Some will feature a compass, that may come handy in emergencies assignments, some will have a pocket light, some will be analog and some will be digital.
Expect a more military oriented style, thicker metals and solid bodies.