Gifts for a new nurse

New nurses get a lot of inspirational mugs. What they do not have is a locker that fits anything, or a desk of their own, or the energy to care for another object that needs something from them.

What actually works

• Something small enough to sit on a shared break room ledge without being in the way.
• A quiet fidget for the desk or the pocket, since waiting rooms and long charting stretches are the real test.
• A piece with a bit of dark humor, which is the register nurses actually live in.
• Nothing that needs water, sunlight or cleaning.

A note about size

A locker is roughly eleven inches wide. A three-inch figurine is about the largest decorative object that fits alongside a pair of shoes and a lunch bag. Oversized pieces are wonderful gifts and terrible locker residents.

Buy something that asks nothing of a person who spends twelve hours being asked for things.

If you want to add a note, keep it short and skip the inspirational part. Everyone writes the inspirational part.