19 Gifts for Medical Students, According to a Medical School Residency Administrator
If anyone deserves a great gift, it’s those brave souls toiling away in medical school so they can make a difference in the world as a future doctor.
First, we’d like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We probably don’t need to tell you that the world needs you, now more than ever.
Second, we’d like to put this list of gifts for medical students into the cosmos to influence your friends and family to buy you awesome stuff. Because sometimes, a thoughtful gift can give you that unexpected push you need to get through an exhausting day — or semester towards medical school graduation!
Great Gift Ideas for Medical Students
1. A Good, Sturdy Backpack
by Herschel
Herschel bags are among the most reliable you can get. This is a very useful gift if your med school student is lugging around 55 pounds of textbooks regularly. Bonus: they’re stylish too!
This one has a padded, fleece-lined laptop sleeve, an internal pocket for their smartphone and a headphone port, an external storage sleeve for notebooks, and a drawstring closure to keep it all snug inside.
The contoured, super padded shoulder straps will help reduce neck strain and the headaches that come with it! Because your med student doesn’t need any more headaches than they already have.
2. Classic Keurig Coffee Maker
by Keurig
Normally, making coffee doesn’t require that much mental exertion. Making coffee fourteen hours into a 24-hour rotation? Mucho mental exertion needed.
This single-serve machine easily brews six, eight, or ten-ounces of coffee with one k-cup pod. Turn it on, stick the pod in, pick your size, and push start. Oh, and don’t forget to put your cup underneath the spout.
A Keurig coffee maker is perfect for those who are unbelievably tired but just want a cup of coffee. That’s all they’re asking for — just easy coffee.
3. Trusty Coffee Tumbler
by Hydro Flask
Once they’ve got the coffee brewed, they’ll need a vessel to keep it warm for when they inevitably forget about their fresh coffee and rush off in a panic. Hydroflask makes coffee tumblers that keep their java hot for hours, with or without the lid.
We kind of like the fact that it’s actually shaped like a coffee cup you’d sit down and relax with at home instead of a cup that screams, “Hey, we don’t have time to drink coffee like a normal human!” It’s the little things, folks.
4. Gold Heartbeat Necklace
by largentolab
We love the look of a pretty bar necklace! This EKG design with a delicate heart charm takes the style to a personal level for anyone who works in the medical profession. It comes in all shades of 18K, 14K, or 9K gold and 16″, 17″, and 18″ lengths.
5. Stethoscope ID Tag
This ID tag for your med student’s stethoscope is a practical gift made extra-special when you customize it with their name, a quick message, or a meaningful symbol.
They’re available in copper, brass, aluminum, and sterling. Choose the material you prefer, font, and make it a personalized gift that’ll make them smile every time they listen to someone’s heartbeat. No matter how cranky the patient is.
6. Botched Operation Game
by Operation
Letting off steam is a non-negotiable activity for most medical students, even if just for a little while. This funny gift game is hilarious enough to do the trick!
Players take turns trying to remove Cavity Sam’s bits just like the original version, but this time they have to do it with ridiculous obstacles in the way before the timer runs out, all while avoiding the buzzer.
You know, like a completely typical day at the hospital.
7. Veins of the Neck and Head Anatomy Pillow
Vintage medical illustrations are beautiful, even for those who find themselves a little squeamish about the human body’s inner workings. (But we’re betting your medical student doesn’t fall into the squeamish category.)
This throw pillow features an illustration of the neck and head veins, and your med student will be proud to show it off on their sofa. The pillow is made from a polyester case that feels like linen and is printed directly to the fabric so it won’t crack or peel. It features a hidden zipper and is pre-stuffed.
8. Weighted Blanket
by YnM
If you haven’t tried a weighted blanket yet, make it a priority. If your med student doesn’t have one yet, put that on your priority list, too. Weighted blankets are amazing when it comes to getting some quality shut-eye. And if there’s anything a medical student needs, it’s some quality sleep.
This one comes in fourteen weights and sizes and is available in 35 patterns and colors.
9. Hippocratic Oath Scarf
This would be such a lovely graduation or birthday gift idea, or a great choice if you want to give them something special for no reason at all.
The Hippocratic Oath is printed on the scarf in the original Greek and Latin text, creating a beautiful classical aesthetic. This deep neutral scarf is soft viscose with a silky texture and is large enough to use as a shawl, wrap, or scarf.
10. Noise Canceling Headphones
by Bose
When it’s time to block out the rest of the world, even if it’s just for a few minutes, you really can’t beat a pair of quality noise-canceling headphones. These are classic winners, and they feature access to Alexa and Google assistant, so they don’t even have to mess with the phone to listen to their favorite music and podcasts. Checked. Out.
11. Quality Fountain Pen
by Parker
Maybe not a gift they’ll need, but definitely a gift they’ll love! There’s something so special about a fancy fountain pen, and this one with its shiny gold trim looks super fancy. When the time comes to write prescriptions, this is the pen they’ll use.
12. 1857 Anatomy Diagram Notebook
by Society6
Notebooks are a must-have, even for the most staunch technophile. Whether they use it to record to-do lists, notes, thoughts, or anything else they’ll need to remember later – writing things down with an actual pen is always a therapeutic process.
This notebook features a durable laminate cover and comes in two sizes, either lined or unlined.
13. A Pack of Syringe Highlighters
by GOLF
They’ll need highlighters anyway, might as well make them fun! These would make a wonderful stocking stuffer or a perfect item to include in a DIY gift basket. This quirky pack comes with six colors.
14. Humorous Doctor Mug
by DantheMugMan
Everyone knows the adage about how no one can read a doctor’s handwriting. This fun coffee mug is for the doctor, nurse, professor of medicine, or anyone working in the medical sciences with a sense of humor. Comes in 11- and 15-ounce sizes and with your choice of a black or white handle.
15. Fitbit Charge 4 Smartwatch
by Fitbit
They may not actually need a pedometer to tell them they’ve walked a gazillion steps for the day, but it’s still satisfying to see that number. Of course, this smartwatch does a whole lot more than count steps – it has a built-in GPS with advanced fitness features, a sophisticated heart-rate monitor, and a sleep tracker. It’ll also play your student’s Spotify playlists, receive calls and texts, and allow purchases with Fitbit pay.
If anyone needs a personal assistant attached to the hip, it’s a medical student. This is the closest you can get without hiring a human.
16. Heart of Gold Print
by Etsy: AKAFoils
A beautiful work of wall art, this realistic illustration of the human heart would be a fantastic housewarming gift. It’s also the perfect gift for your student who studies abroad. They’ll hang it and think of you every time they come home. (During that fifteen minutes between walking in the door and their head hitting the pillow.)
It comes in six sizes and seventeen framing options. You can also opt to leave it unframed or illustrated on canvas. It’s available in gold, black, and red.
17. Doctor Life: An Adult Coloring Book
Sometimes gifts for doctors and medical students need a departure from the useful and meaningful. Once in a while, you’ve just gotta color.
The act of coloring is so meditative. Pair that with the fact that every single page of this book will make them laugh, and you’ve got a fairly decent alternative to a shot of tequila for winding down. Because you’re not supposed to drink tequila if you’re on call. Bummer.
18. Deluxe Favorites Gift Basket
“Ugh, a gift basket full of delicious snacks – I hate those!” Said no one. Ever.
Unless you’re one of those spoiled people who get baskets full of delicious snacks all the time for no reason, then you might say that.
But we’re willing to bet your med student will be more than happy when this great gift idea shows up at their door! It contains savory snacks like sharp cheddar, three-seed crackers, and pepper and onion relish, but also features irresistible sweets like chocolate Moose Munch popcorn and chocolate-covered cherries.
19. Leather Doctor Bag
We recently shared a list of the best doctor bags, which featured some really gorgeous options. This was one of our top picks for doctor bags for women but it would look fabulous no matter who carries it.
Handcrafted from genuine leather in Italy, it sports a 100% cotton lining, brass hardware, and the hinged metal frame that’s the trademark of a useful physician’s bag.
Available in black, dark brown, and light brown.
Let’s hear it for Med students!
Our many thanks to those fearless men and women in the medical field who stumble home at 3 AM with a stained lab coat and strained eyes, as their roommates stumble in with Taco Bell and drunken hiccups.
We salute the brave health care souls who finally have an hour to go to a party, only to find themselves diagnosing imagined symptoms after some stranger asks “What do you do?”
We’re unceasingly impressed with their imperviousness to bodily functions.
If you love a med student, we hope this gift guide provides a good start to get them something great. They deserve it.
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