After a long journey in clinical and nursing school, it would be great to surprise a graduating nurse friend with something that would make the celebration of their milestone even more meaningful. Gifts are expressions of thoughtfulness; they make people feel special and appreciated. But it can be kind of hard to decide what nurse graduation gift to choose.
If you are thinking of graduation gifts, you will see an interesting and practical list of gifts in this guide. You can also search for some custom made nursing gift ideas on Etsy.
Choosing the best gift doesn't always need to take forever, it can be easy with some help. We'll share with you different products and why you want to consider them. Nursing school graduation comes only once in their lives, so help them pop the wine and be part of making it memorable.
The 11 Best Gift Ideas for Your Family and Friends Who Have Just Finished Nursing School
Here are our favorite graduation gift ideas for a graduating student nurse. One of these will surely make the perfect gift for your loved one.
1. Compression Socks
Nurses play a vital role in society. They save thousands of lives and take care of other people yet most of the time, their personal well-being is being compromised. You may notice, they seldomly sit when they are on duty. They are always on their feet. To make sure their legs and feet are comfortable, consider compression socks as a gift idea.
Compression socks give a nurse a lot of benefits. They improve blood circulation and decreases swelling of ankles and feet - best for nursing those sore feet. This could be a a great gift for all that hard work and long hours they will be putting in.
2. Nurse Mates Uni-Watch
Watches are extremely useful to nurses when carrying out their tasks. It is more than just an accessory to keep track of time. It helps medical practitioners especially nurses ensure that the medications of patients are given at correct time intervals.
The color of this Nurse Uni-Watch is perfect for their profession. The plain white background of the watch face allows each nurse to easily see the time. The style of the standard time display is similar to military time. Aside from the plain white background with a heartbeat line design on the lower part, this watch is simple and best for nurses who like perfectly balanced designs.
It is water-resistant and has a silicone strap so they don’t need to take it off when they want to wash their hands.
The watch is not just for work. It can also be worn anywhere outside of the hospital.
3. Crocs Unisex
Nurses are always on their feet that is why their shoes must be suitable for their job. This Crocs Unisex is good for long days and night shifts. It is comfortable as it is designed with a tapered fit in the back for a relaxed fit.
After a long day at work, they can just wash the shoes and dry them quickly. No need to wait for long hours, they can use the shoes again for the next shift.
It comes in two colors: white and black. White is just a perfect match for any nurse. While black is perfectly fine and suitable with any color of their scrubs. But regardless of color, both are cool and a suitable gift idea.
Apart from the colors, this is also waterproof and lightweight - a splendid gift for the new graduate.
4. Shiatsu Back, Shoulder, and Neck Massager
After a long shift at work, expect each and every nurse to be very tired. This will be the reality the nursing students will face after they graduate. There could be so much pain in their back, shoulder, and neck. After nursing their patients, this massager can help them have a comfy rest at home - making nursing life more manageable even after graduating.
The Shiatsu Massager has 8 deep tissue kneading nodes that will provide a deep massage to one’s tissues and muscles.
The infrared heating gives the necessary warmth to ease muscle tension and stress. It helps relieve body aches, cramps, and tension. It can be a great way for nurses to enjoy the day with a glass of wine while having a nice soothing massage.
The massager is adjustable, easy to use, and has direct control. If in case they were not able to turn it off before falling asleep, the device will shut off in 15 minutes. This can be their favorite thing to do after long working hours.
5. Spoontiques Prescription Insulated Travel Mug
This is good for your nursing student or practitioner friends who are coffee lovers and can't live a day without one. While riding a bus or even while at work, this is very useful.
The 14-ounce mug is a double-walled mug with a stainless-steel inner wall and an acrylic outer wall.
To prevent spillage, the mug has a locking lid and skid-resistant bottom. You can just put it inside your bag without worrying about any spillage.
Since it is an insulated mug, it’s great for keeping your coffee hot or cold even after several hours. Take note that this can also be personalized for every nursing student. Mug or tumbler is a great gift once they graduate. Plus, it is easy to use while at work.
6. Women's Scrub Set
This Scrubs Set is designed with plenty of space for tools like bandages, swabs, gloves, penlights, and notepads. The two large slant pockets can accommodate these tools nursing students can just carry them inside and easily grab them when the need arises.
Scrubs are truly essential to their every day shifts. Ask them their favorite color and purchase a couple of sets so they can keep some in their bag for an extra change of clothes.
The colors will not immediately fade even if you use high temperature cleaning like a washing machine at home.
With its cheap price, the quality is still guaranteed.
7. Opoway Nurse PenLight
The penlight is an essential diagnostic tool for nurses. It is used in assessing pupil response, examining wounds, looking through drawers, and many more. Hence, it serves many purposes and is very helpful to nurses when executing their job.
You can reuse it by changing its batteries when they die. So, it is more cost-effective. It functions just as perfect as you expect, its LED lighting is bright and can be used for looking at and examining throats and ears.
This Penlight has a silver metal clip, it can be clipped on scrubs or shirts for convenience.
For more options, see our guide to the best penlights for nurses.
8. Daily Stethoscope Tag - Personalized polka dots
Nurses almost always needs a stethoscope to assist them with their assessment. Just know, a nursing graduate may already own one of these. If you would like to get them something more custom made then this daily stethoscope tag might be the right gift idea for you. It comes with a splash of colors with green and white polka dots as its mains. It is a great gift idea especially for nurses who would love personalized gifts.
It will truly be a surprise in a bag for a nursing student's graduation day if they will receive this one of a kind gift.
9. Silver Stethoscope Nurse Necklace
This Silver Stethoscope Nurse Necklace is always great for formal dresses. This suits a nurse friend whenever she needs to attend a formal occasion. The necklace’s design which is a heart and stethoscope represents well her new life and profession.
You can give this charming necklace during graduation, retirement, or birthday. A necklace is an ideal gift since it can last a lifetime - the best gift to give even if you're short of cash.
10. Cards/Letters
To express your love, appreciation, and care, you can also include cards. Cards could be the cheapest gift you can buy if you are short of cash, but it could mean a lot to a person.
11. Cash or Gift Cards
And finally, there's always cash! If you are short of time and ideas this is always a quick and easy solution.
What Should You Consider When Buying Graduation Gifts for Nurses?
It can be very confusing when you have to choose which nurse graduation gift is the right one for a new nurse. But the first thing that you must keep in mind is the interest of the nursing student who will receive the gift.
Will the graduation gift will be practical and useful? They are about to join the medical force, so the graduation gift should either be something that will assist them while they are on duty, something that will help them as a new nurse, or something that will relieve their stress in life.
Getting a personalized gift idea from Etsy might also assist in your search for the best gift for a graduating nursing student.
Factors That Can Affect or Limit Your Buying Decisions When it Comes to Graduation Gift Ideas
When looking for certain items it's always a good idea to keep the following in mind:
1. Availability of the gift
If you happen to be certain about the gift that you want to buy but you are not sure where to find it, you might be inclined to choose something else. Sometimes, you can no longer find items of your preference in the market when those graduation gift ideas are included in the current trends. The demand would be too high that stores would go out of stock. Most gift ideas on Etsy might have an increase in demand since this site often offers personalized gifts.
2. You are not sure about the quality of the gift
When evaluating the usefulness of the graduation gift idea, one of the things that you should always be concerned about is the quality of the particular product or item that you chose. It needs to perfectly serve its purpose.
Final Words
Choosing what nursing graduation day gift to buy can be very confusing and extra challenging. Just keep in mind what could be useful to nursing students when they graduate and start work.
Nursing school graduation marks the end of a chapter in the journey of a nurse . After all the hard work and sleepless nights, they can finally celebrate the fruitful years they spent in nursing school. Tell your new nurse that you are proud of him or her, and say it with a great gift.
Any of these graduation gifts for nurses will make them smile when they receive it, they will definitely love it. Don't forget to include gift cards or letters to let them know how you feel about their achievement of finishing nursing school and make sure to nicely wrap the gifts or put it inside a nice gift bag.