My friend (ex-fiancée) is graduating from nursing school next month. This will be an AS degree. She’ll look for a nursing position for work when she takes the National Board test, and pursue her BS and possibly a Master’s after that.
She’s not going to attend the graduation ceremony, but she will attend the ‘pinning’ ceremony. (I guess they give nurse graduates a pin to wear.) She’s asked me to come down, so I am. A friend said she’ll send a little graduation gift down with me. Of course, being a guy I don’t think of such things. So I could use a little help.
What’s an appropriate graduation gift? I’m thinking about a Spanish Language course (CDs) that looks pretty good. I know she’d like to be able to speak Spanish for a nursing job. OTOH, it would make a good birthday gift (November) or Christmas present.
A pin-on (brooch) watch , or watch on a chain/necklace/lanyard. Or any funky waterproof watch.
A cool tote-bag type bag especially with a nurse theme on it. (Uniform stores all have these)
A warm-up jacket, or a hoodie embroidered with her name and designation.
There are those inspirational little books like “chicken soup for nurses” or things like that, she probably would never buy for herself but its kind of nice to have. (I got one for a gift and it stays in my tote bag for if Im with a patient somewhere (a doctor’s appointment or x-rays and need something to read, something sweet and non controversial. It may not be absorbing literature, but if I am reading a book when I’m “on duty” I don’t really want to be drawing opinions)
Or you can totally “guy out” and get a gift certificate to a bookstore or uniform store. She will probably be buying a lot of uniforms in the next while.
I’m not familiar with the book. She tends to read historical non-fiction, so I don’t know how she’d take a Dr. Seuss book. She did like the copy of The Little Prince I gave her a long time ago.
I got her a nice North Face jacket for Christmas a couple of years ago. Actually, I’ve given her quite a bit of outerwear. I wonder if she’d need another.
A watch sounds good. Practical, too.
A friend in Seattle is a nurse, and she said she bought ‘a little graduation gift’ for me to take down with me. I’ll ask her advice too.
I don’t know what your budget is, but I think the tote is a great idea. Nurses have a lot of stuff to haul around. Check these out. Actually, check out everything at Levenger, including the notebooks and pens.
Nurses wear layers ( and usually don’t wear “work jackets” in “civilian life” and vice versa)
I would never wear a North Face jacket to work. Work = likely to get “stuff” on it, everything from blood to phlegm to pureed carrots. Or the end products of pureed carrots.
Thats why the suggestion of one with a nursie theme embroidered. Also a “warm up jacket” is a cotton poly snap front jacket that is like uniform material, its an extra layer to put over scrub tops. In the morning its often cold, then as you get working the layers peel off. Also night shifts, we all have the body temp drop thing in the middle of the night, a hoodie is just the thing.
(I realize I am probably feeding some nurse fetishists wild daydreams talking about peeling off layers but trust me, there isn’t really anything sexy about work. At least where I work.)
Remember, most nurses, anything for work is not used outside of work. Shoes, socks, uniforms, sweaters, tote bags and watches are all “dedicated”. On occasionnal weekends in the summer I might wear a tshirt to work, but that then becomes a “work t-shirt”.
