She’s nurturing and compassionate, at home and on the job. So when Mother’s Day rolls around May 9, it only makes sense to buy a gift for moms who are nurses that acknowledge both roles.
Need inspiration? A couple of career nurses recommended pleasing presents in different budget categories.
Here are their choices:
Workwear and stethoscopes
Mitzi DeBusk is a registered nurse who holds a bachelor’s in nursing and is mom to three and grandmother to five. A consultant for a home health agency in Williamsburg, Virginia, she encourages those giving to nurses to at least consider practical gifts for Mother’s Day, since sometimes moms don’t spend money on nice work tools for themselves.
A few of her suggestions included a stethoscope or a gift certificate that will cover new scrub tops or work shoes.
T-shirts for heroes and humorists
DeBusk also recommended any products that remind this hardworking woman she’s a hero, this year and every year. “Really anything that includes that word hero is appropriate,” she said. “When your mom works as a nurse, she is a #1 front-line worker.”
She might also appreciate a T-shirt with a humorous take to wear to bed or to work out. Here are some fun and inspiring choices with nurse-themes:
“Coffee Gives Me Nurse Powers”
“I Am a Mom and a Nurse: Nothing Scares Me”
Gift cards to local restaurants or places that pamper
Amanda Moorhouse, a family nurse practitioner in Johnson City, Tennessee, said nothing compares to a restaurant gift cards for mothers who are nurses. Be sure you buy a card for somewhere she loves, and choose an amount that will cover the bill in total.
You might also want to consider getting a card to a restaurant that gives discounts to medical workers or essential staff. Outback, for example, offers a 10% “Heroes Discount” that can be used every day, excluding alcohol and tax.
And any mom with a job as a nurse by definition could use some TLC. Moorhouse also recommended gift cards for coffee shops or nail salons so your favorite nurse can get a manicure or pedicure. To be extra thoughtful, research her calendar and call ahead to make her an appointment. Otherwise, she may never set a time to relax and be the one receiving care, for a change.
Cute or clever notepads or sticky notes
Nurses constantly have to update charts or jot down their thoughts. Sometimes all the available sticky notes seem to disappear into thin air, so she might appreciate a fresh supply she doesn’t have to track down and buy for herself. These three are recommended by Nurse Buff:
Brain Dump Knock Knock pad: Designed for creating lists and brainstorming, this pad has checklists organized into such categories as “worth pondering.”
Anatomy Body sticky notes: These peel-and-post notes feature anatomically correct illustrations of either the skeleton, the circulatory system or part of the muscular stystem.
Humorous animal notepads: Fifty-sheet pads measure 4.25 x 5.5 inches. Each recognizes that sometimes groan-worthy nurse humor with animal-theme puns, like a cow illustration for the pad titled, “Notes that ring a bell.”
Nice pens
For a thoughtful gift you know she’ll use, go for the hardworking everyday pens nurses always seem to need, DeBusk advised.
Some of the best are PILOT G2 Premium refillable and retractable rolling ball gel pens, recommended by Nurse Money Talk for updating patient charts and taking notes.
For a fun twist, Custom Nursing Needle Glitter Pens are shaped and marked like a hypodermic, and can be personalized with up to five words.
Or, you can make it a bit fancier with a high-quality engraved set mom can use at work and save as a keepsake.
Cute badge holders
For a more modest gift, great if you’re a mom’s co-worker or young kid, it’s hard to go wrong with a cute badge holder, Moorhouse added. One humorous example features a pun printed on an IV bag: “When I Drip, You Drip, We Drip.”
And if you just can’t get away from the idea that a Mother’s Day gift should include flowers, combine the two ideas with a handmade, pressed flower and resin retractable ID badge reel from Etsy.
Cool holders for hand sanitizer
DeBusk fondly remembers the hand-sanitizer bags her company bought for the nurses, each embroidered with a staffer’s initials. Borrow the gift idea for Mother’s Day, with a choice like the Bath & Body Works Blue Pocketbac sanitizer and ID holder shaped like a scrubs jacket.
Another choice: The Bella Knots sanitizer holder that says “Stayin’ Alive” and has an embroidered white surgical mask as decoration.
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