Gift ideas for a resident?

[carbonylcarbon]

Hi all,

I will be visiting my family soon before heading off to medical school this summer. I haven't seen them in a few years, and my sister has begun her intern year recently in Korea. I am sure she is very busy and exhausted and I've been thinking about what gifts I could bring that might be thoughtful or helpful in any way. I wanted to ask what kinds of things you all might have appreciated when starting residency. Thanks for any suggestions or thoughts!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Crayola227]

InstantPot or a nice rice cooker, depends what they like to eat, is one idea

A cookbook for quick easy instant pot or crackpot meals, or one for cooking batches of food for freezer meals

 

[Goro]

InstantPot or a nice rice cooker, depends what they like to eat, is one idea

A cookbook for quick easy instant pot or crackpot meals, or one for cooking batches of food for freezer meals

Ditto these wise words. I love the Instapot. Damn things can cook just about anything!

 

[housestaffhustle]

I suppose it depends what your sister likes/what she's into and how much money you're planning to spend. A few thoughts:

• $$$ - Having an Apple watch has surprisingly changed my life. I didn't think "closing rings" would be that motivating, but it really is. I find myself walking more and it's fun competing with friends to see who can exercise more. If she's into working out or just wants to avoid packing on the pounds in residency, I think this would be a great gift. Also helpful when fellowship applications roll around and you need to be on top of your email notifications. Samsung watches (if she doesn't have an apple watch) or Fitbits are also great of course.
• $$ - Similar to the Instantpot, having a multifunctional tabletop oven that doubles as an air fryer has really changed the way I eat. I can put veggies on a tray, wrap salmon in parchment paper, drop it all in together and have a meal ready in 10 min.
• $$ - Some people have really jumped on the Figs scrubs bandwagon. I personally just use hospital scrubs because the idea of paying so much for something just to have bodily fluids spilled on it seems ridiculous, but she may really love them. If she has some of them already, you may be able to find a special color that she likes/doesn't have yet.
• $$ - Airpods and other wireless earbuds have been really helpful in the era of Zoom. I'm sure she'll have multiple educational Zoom meetings to attending on the go and these can be nice to have. They can also help drown out the noise in the work room.
• $ - You could get her a book on personal finance (ex. The White Coat Investor). If she doesn't already know the basics, this will definitely change her life and she'll thank you for it later.
• $ - Never underestimate the power of a well functioning, nice, but also not too expensive pen (because you either lose them or people end up taking them ). Residency is a never ending set of lists and check boxes. We do a surprising amount of writing and go through pens quickly. I personally like to color code my check boxes to help with triaging and find Muji pens to be a joy to write with. Makes work a little less painful.
• $ - An eyemask to help her sleep more soundly after overnight shifts could really come in handy if she doesn't have black out curtains.
• Free/Priceless - You can set regular reminders on your calendar to reach out to your sister and check in from time to time just to let her know you love her, tell her she's enough/amazing just the way she is, and to hear her rant about residency. It's a tough time for everyone and having a strong support system is priceless.

 

[wholeheartedly]

i’m not a resident, but would’ve expected coffee maker to come up?

 

[guytakingboards]

i’m not a resident, but would’ve expected coffee maker to come up?

If they drink coffee, most people already have a coffee maker by the time they're an intern. Also, coffee is usually free/cheap at the hospital.

Housestaffhustle's list is great. Things that expedite meal prep (instantpot) and exercise (e.g. smart watch) are very useful to a resident's schedule/well-being.

 

[Crayola227]

If they drink coffee, most people already have a coffee maker by the time they're an intern. And/or coffee is usually free/cheap at the hospital.

Housestaffhustle's list is great. Things that expedite meal prep (instantpot) and exercise (e.g. smart watch) would be very useful to a resident's schedule.

Agreed, why I didn't list it. Many caffeine users are quite particular about their set up. But if you know enough about their habits you could upgrade their system somehow. I love espresso and use a machine, and my partner recently got me a knock box. If they're into tea and don't have electric kettle (and have the kitchen counter space!!) an electric one saves time. Or get them some fancy versions of the tea types you know they drink (like an English Breakfast, green tea, or say Earl Grey type person). But otherwise it's hard to do a good job gifting caffeine related stuff that will actually get used.

If they're into drip coffee you could see if their machine has a timer function, or gift a French press if you think they might be into that. French presses are easy to regift if that's too different from drip for their taste.

 

[mvenus929]

Agreed, why I didn't list it. Many caffeine users are quite particular about their set up. But if you know enough about their habits you could upgrade their system somehow. I love espresso and use a machine, and my partner recently got me a knock box. If they're into tea and don't have electric kettle (and have the kitchen counter space!!) an electric one saves time. Or get them some fancy versions of the tea types you know they drink (like an English Breakfast, green tea, or say Earl Grey type person). But otherwise it's hard to do a good job gifting caffeine related stuff that will actually get used.

If they're into drip coffee you could see if their machine has a timer function, or gift a French press if you think they might be into that. French presses are easy to regift if that's too different from drip for their taste.

If you're going with an electric kettle, go for one that you can select the temperature. Game changer for different types of tea (particularly green tea, which requires lower steeping temperatures and can be temperamental if brewed too hot).

 

[deleted1079620]

i’m not a resident, but would’ve expected coffee maker to come up?

Personally I own a coffeemaker (Keurig) but I would love it if someone gifted me a nespresso. My Keurig won’t die and I can’t justify a $100+ machine when my current one works fine. So I think I nice machine would be a great gift for a resident.

 

[carbonylcarbon]

Thank you all so much for the great suggestions/ideas! I've got a couple weeks before the trip so I'll try to figure out what sorts of things she might already have and go from there. Appreciate the help