The Best Gifts for Nurses

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Oct 13

Coffee

Coffee, coffee, coffee. Coffee in healthcare equates to culture. There is something about sharing a fresh pot of coffee from the Bunn coffee maker in the breakroom with your favorite colleagues, or walking down to your hospital’s Starbucks and picking up some beverages for the crew. Nurses love Yeti tumblers because they keep drinks hot or cold for long periods of time, and let’s face it, breaks can be rare for some of us. Starbucks gift cards are always a safe bet too. Even if a nurse isn’t a fan of a standard cup of coffee, there are always various food and drinks that can be purchased. An unconventional item related to coffee that I would recommend are the DripKit. If you know a nurse who is serious about her or his cup of joe, the DripKit is a portable pour-over kit that creates a glorious cup of coffee in minutes. Finally, if you’re looking to spend a little more money than the aforementioned, I highly recommend a Nespresso machine. I got my first Nespresso this year and use it every day. The quality of the coffee is unmatched in my opinion and when I’m running out of the house in the morning to work at 0500, I don’t have time to brew a full pot, so the Nespresso is perfect. However you take your coffee, however you get your coffee, anything coffee related is a perfect gift for a nurse.

Board Exam Review Materials

These days, a high percentage of nurses are headed back to school quickly after they begin working at the bedside. Some aim to achieve more knowledge and some, a higher quality of work-life balance. Either way, student nurses of all kinds (ASN, BSN, MSN, DNP) can benefit from a BoardVitals medical question review bank. I used BoardVitals to study for my board exam and passed with flying colors. It not only helped me for the exam, but by doing the questions throughout school, it helped me feel more confident on my exams within my classes. If you are interested in purchasing a question bank for a nurse you know, find out what she or he is going to school for and purchase the associated question bank (i.e. Family Nurse Practitioner, Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Registered Nurse, etc.). If the nurse in your life isn’t ready to start studying yet, they can delay the start date by up to 6 months with the purchase of any 3-month or 6-month question bank plan. Use the code “nurseabnormalities” for 20% off your purchase as well.

Meal Prep Service

Meal prep services have saved my life. When I lived in the middle of a bustling urban area, I walked to one of the 35 restaurants around me after work to eat something that was unhealthy and double the portion I truly needed. Since becoming a Nurse Practitioner, moving to a smaller city, and moving in with my significant other, my Purple Carrot subscription has become an absolute must-have. My boyfriend is capable of following along the instructions and cooking the meal for me before I get home at night and the meals have more servings of vegetables than I sometimes get in an entire week. Let’s face it, we are busy, we are tired, and the last thing any of us want to do at night is go home and cook a full meal. Some other subscription services that my followers have suggested are: Green Chef, Sun Basket, and Freshly.

Apparel

Because I work so much, I want to feel good and look good doing it. FIGS scrubs are the most innovative, but classically stylish brand on the market. And while they offer scrubs of all types, for all shapes and sizes, they also offer compression socks, hoodies, bookbags, jackets, and other stocking stuffers every nurse would love. I have worked with FIGS for years now and I wear no other brand of apparel. The first pair of scrubs I purchased from them looks as beautiful as the day they arrived on my doorstep.

Stethoscope

Most nurses who work in hospitals need a quality stethoscope. In fact, they often are using it more than physicians or advanced practice providers. I have had one stethoscope from 3M Littmann since beginning nursing school and would love a new one just as an upgrade, but they are so high quality I have no reason to purchase a new one for myself. Stethoscopes are customizable now with engraving and there are endless colors available. Another brand available that my followers seem to love, but that I have not personally tested are MD Instruments. Theirs come in trendy colors and are slightly more affordable than the stethoscopes from 3M Littmann.

Massage, Nails, Hair

A gift card for a massage, a nail appointment, or hair appointment might be the highlight of a nurses week. Because caring for ourselves always takes a back seat, a gift card forces us to move self-care to the forefront. If you want to take it a step further, help make the appointment. If the nurse you’re buying the gift for has children, offer to watch them for her so she can enjoy her stress-free appointment.

So in closing, show some love to that nurse in your life. We are tired people who are always putting the needs of others first. We are bad at asking for help and attention, so showing up with a surprise can go a long, long way. Thank you nurses for all that you do to make this world go around.

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Danielle LeVeck

Danielle LeVeck (DNP, ACNPC-AG, CCNS, RN, CCRN) is a practicing Adult Geriatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner in a busy Cardiovascular Surgical Intensive Care Unit. She graduated as a second degree BSN student in 2011 and has been working as an Intensive Care Registered Nurse ever since. Her experience includes cardiac medical and surgical intensive care patients, medical-surgical intensive care patients, and intensive care travel nursing.

When Ms. LeVeck became a nurse, she instantly recognized the beautiful quirks of nursing culture and healthcare in general. She was driven to share the stories of these “nurse abnormalities” because it was clearly evident how brilliant and instrumental nurses were in providing optimal patient care. Becoming a nurse positively transformed Ms. LeVeck’s life and she hopes to give to the profession as much as it has given to her.

Through her writing and storytelling, Ms. LeVeck strives to inspire and empower the next generation of nurses and renew the previous generation. Her additional passions include promoting synergy within the multidisciplinary team and incorporation of palliative care in the ICU. Overall, she attempts to use humor, raw vulnerability, and clinical precision to achieve authenticity in her online presence.