Gifts nurses could REALLY use

 

 

Pens that don’t work? Socks that cut off your circulation? Cheap key chains? Yep, those sound like some Nurses Week gift failures to me!

 

I have some suggestions for gifts I think every nurse would appreciate for Nurses Week. Here are two major ones (you can thank me later!):

 

 

 

A real lunch break

 You know, the kind of lunch break that involves leaving the nursing unit, or even leaving the premises all together. The kind where you actually taste your meal instead of inhaling it on the go. Maybe even a full hour-long lunch so we could enjoy the food we eat and take our time getting back on shift.

 

IOU: A time out

 A certificate that allows you the ability to just call a time out. I’m talking stopping everything, putting your hands in the air and taking a “Calgon moment.” No explanation necessary, just produce the IOU. We should be able to use this IOU whenever the need arises. You could even put an expiration date on it, although I doubt it would take long to use this one up.

 

Here are a few more random ideas for gifts:

 A valet ticket for parking

 A free lunch (or more than one)

 IOU: One time you get to leave work early

 IOU: One time you get to come to work late

 IOU: One request for a new pot of coffee be made (when the pot is empty)

 IOU: One admission paperwork completion

 IOU: A free breakfast

 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m always appreciative of the recognition, but I think if we’re going to celebrate all things nursing, then the gifts should be worth the year-long wait!!

 

Lousy Presents

 “Cheap” doesn’t even begin to describe the types of “gifts” bestowed on nurses to show appreciation for all their hard work. Here are just a few examples of the generosity shown by hospital administrators in the gift selection department:

 Pens, pens and more pens (including those that don’t work and ones with blue ink when only black ink is permitted for workplace use)

 Socks that caused edema and cut off circulation

 Pedometers

 A rubber jar opener

 Key chains

 Coffee mugs (valued at $0.50 each)

 Coin purses (to carry all that sweet cash nurses make)

 Lanyards (given to nurses who worked on a psych ward and couldn’t wear them)

 Navy bath towels that weren’t color fast (leading to a full load of blue laundry)

 A wilted rose in a urinal (don’t ask)

 

Many of these gifts either boasted the hospital’s own logo or the branding of a supplier who gave the stuff to the hospital as promotional freebies. Even more shocking than the cheap gifts are the ones that are given and then taken away.