The Best Nursing Retirement Gifts for Her Before She Hangs up the Scrubs

Do you have a favorite nurse that will soon be retiring? Is there a family member that will soon be ending her nursing career? Do you have a favorite co-worker who will be retiring in the very near future? After a lengthy career, this person will be looking forward to retirement, and you want to give her a gift that has meaning and value. And you most definitely don’t want it to be the kind of gift that spends its life sat at the back of a drawer.

Nurses play an important part in many people’s lives. And that goes for family and friends, as well as for patients. The work that a nurse does is admirable, and they can always be relied on for compassion and respect. When it comes time for a nurse to retire there will be a lot of people queuing up to wish them all the best. Co-workers, current and former patients, as well as friends and family, will all want to mark the event in a special way.

One excellent way is by giving the lady in question a retirement gift for a nurse.

Top nursing retirement gift ideas

A nurse spends her life caring and helping others. There is a long list of gift ideas that are suitable for the nurses in your life, whether they work in a hospital, school, doctor’s office or care for people in their homes. Here are a few examples:

• A pendant featuring the patron saint of nurses, Saint Agatha, will be a meaningful and thoughtful gift
• A gift basket filled with tasty treats or beauty products
• A personalized mug featuring her name, or a humorous nursing quote
• Messages or funny stories from former patients and colleagues
• Scented candles
• A classical figurine
• A poem about her worthwhile career
• A bouquet of beautiful blooms

Nurse retirement gifts that will make her proud she was a member of the team

The last couple of weeks leading up to retirement can be very stressful. Ease your favorite nurse into the day by giving her a good send-off. In the days leading up to her retirement give her a gift each day. Think “12 Days of Christmas” and you’ll understand where we’re coming from. For example:

Day 1 – One chocolate biscuit to enjoy with her morning cup of tea
Day 2 – A pair of colorful socks printed with a special message
Day 3 – Three strawberries dipped in chocolate
Day 4 – Four scented bars of soap
Day 5 – Five gold colored scarves

And we could go on, but you should get the idea. Leading up to the day of her retirement when you can give her a bouquet of twelve red roses. Add a note containing a message, favorite quote, or special words, with each of the gifts, and keep your identity secret until the last day. Alternatively, all her coworkers could take it in turns providing a range of different retirement gifts. One for each day leading up to her last day at work.

Retirement gifts for nurses that celebrate all her achievements

The bigwigs where she works are sure to be planning to mark the occasion with a medal, plaque, or some other gift that acknowledges her years of service and commitment to the profession. Friends, family and colleagues can take the opportunity to create a more personalized memory of her caring career. A few weeks before her last day speak with as many people as possible and ask them to provide a story, message, poem, drawing or sentimental memento to put in a scrapbook. If there is enough time, you could make some recordings, using a smartphone or camcorder. Interview some of her colleagues, friends, patients, and family and put them all together in a home video. When she misses her life before retirement, there will be a long lasting reminder she can replay.

Treat her to some pampering of her own

For many years the newly retired nurse will have dedicated her life to caring for others. It’s about time she enjoyed a spot of pampering herself. Give her a gift voucher that can be exchanged for a massage, manicure, pedicure, or hair style. She could use it for a reflexology session, day at her local spa, Reiki session, or a makeover. If there are a few people that are willing to pool finances, you might be able to treat her to a weekend away.

Retirement gifts for nurses that support her hobby or interests

While her nursing career might not have left much free time for hobbies and other interests, a new retiree will have all the time in the world to cultivate her interests or maybe explore a new hobby. You could create a gift basket filled with hobby related items. For example, say she’s a gardener, fill a watering can with various gardening tools and equipment and throw in a few packets of seeds. If she’s a whizz in the kitchen, then some cookery books, kitchen gadgets, oven gloves, apron, tasty ingredients will be more suitable. And if you know there’s something she’s been dying to learn, then enrol her in some lessons.

Retirement means lots of new and exciting experiences

A busy nurse won’t have had much time for new experiences. So give her a gift that brings plenty of them. She may not yet have any definite plans for her retirement, so introduce her to some possible options. Would she relish the chance to learn to fly? Does she long to become a salsa dancer? Does travel to an exotic country feature in her future plans? Sign her up for some foreign language classes. Retirement is also going to bring her plenty of time to enjoy leisurely lunches, so buy her some gift coupons for her favorite restaurants or coffee shops.

With all these gift suggestions, you should be well on the way to finding the best retirement present ever. If you’re still struggling to pick the right one, let’s offer a couple more suggestions.

• Embroidered scrubs she can sleep in – Over the years a nurse can become very attached to her scrubs, and will relish the chance to slip into a set every now and again. Pick a pair in her favorite color, and have them embroidered with her name. This gift would make the perfect attire to sleep in.
• A collaborative gift basket – Nurses tend to form very strong bonds with other members of their team. A great way to celebrate such a friendship is for all members of the team to contribute a gift to be given in a gift basket. Each gift can be personalized with a handwritten note from the gift giver.