11 Holiday Gift Ideas for Perioperative Nurses

11 Holiday Gift Ideas for Perioperative Nurses

The holidays bring the perfect chance to spoil your favorite perioperative nurses. Here’s a holiday wish list to get you started. Hint: Anything to support self-care will be a hit!

Perioperative RNs work hard—spending days and nights working to restore and improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable patients in the hospital. They’re also notorious for thinking of themselves last. So, give the nurse in your life the gift of self-care with these healthful treats and goodies to recharge.

1. Gift Certificate for Relaxation

Give the gift of relaxation with time at the local spa for a massage, manicure, and pedicure (no polish on hands). Or consider gifting a yoga and meditation class—the perfect prescription to hone those mindfulness skills that promote well-being. Check out these spa subscription boxes that deliver bath and beauty respite to your door.

2. Healthy Eating Subscription Service

Perioperative nurses often eat on the go between cases, and finding healthy foods to quickly recharge can be a challenge. Search for the right food subscription service to gift healthy noshing at work or a delicious and healthy meal after a long shift.

3. Stress Relievers

Help a nurse wind down at the end of the day with a calm-inducing sleep mask. Or consider the wide range of essential oils that have been shown to calm wound-up nerves, such as lavender, bergamot, and chamomile.

4. Fun Hydration

Help your nurse on the go maintain 64 ounces of water per day in style with a refillable, durable, insulated water bottle. You can even personalize it for a sweet sentiment.

5. Noise-Cancelling Headphones

Music can be a powerful way to find peace and quiet anywhere, even in a busy lounge between cases. Try these over-the-ear noise cancelling Bluetooth headphones to help your nurse get the most from break time.

6. Safe Fun in the Sun

Weather permitting, getting outside is a must for every perioperative nurse and protecting skin from the sun shouldn’t be forgotten. With this new wearable sun sensor device that clips to clothing or bag, sun safety is a no-brainer. It even integrates with Apple’s Health Kit.

7. A Good Read

Reading can be a healthful way to decompress. Give the gift of inspiration with American Nightingale: The Story of Frances Slanger, Forgotten Heroine Of Normandy by Bob Welch. This World War II nurse’s determination to become a nurse and her dedication as a nurse is humbling. For a different kind of historical nurse chronicle, try We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japanese by Elizabeth Norman. Or, if a good juicy behind-the-scenes story sounds fun, try Operating Room Confidential: What Really Goes On When You Go Under by Paul Whang.

8. Lifetime AORN Membership

What could be more thoughtful than a lifetime membership to an organization dedicated to perioperative nursing? Consider, if a perioperative RN is in practice for 30 years, the lifetime membership costs only $33.33/year and it offers free CEUs and discounts on valuable nursing resources. Contact AORN’s Experience Services team (800-755-2676 or [email protected]) for more details.

Facility Reference Center Subscription

Time is a luxury nurses can’t afford. That’s why individual access to AORN’s Facility Reference Center is a thoughtful gift. With mobile access you can put the AORN guidelines at their fingertips. Contact AORN’s Experience Services team (800-755-2676 or [email protected]) for more details.

10. A Nashville Experience

Prefer giving experiences rather than material items? Consider gifting a tour to your colleagues planning to attend the AORN Global Surgical Conference & Expo. From the Parthenon in Centennial Park to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville has something for everyone. Attending together? Book a Music City experience with your favorite nurses to reap the health benefits of social connections.

11. A Donation in Your Colleague’s Name

Give the gift that keeps on giving with a donation to the AORN Foundation in honor of a special perioperative nurse. The Foundation will send a card to your honoree on your behalf. Every donation helps the Foundation fulfill its mission of funding continuing education, scholarships, and leadership development training.