Gifts for entering med students

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wise papa

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As my son is graduating college and going to med school next year, many family members and friends are asking about graduation gifts. Any suggestions for what to get incoming med students other than a computer or the obvious money?
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A father-son trip would be really cool. Rack up the good times and memories, I am sure you have a lot of re-aqcuainting to do after 4 years of transformation. Go spend a weekend in D.C. or check out the redwoods. Honestly, that's the most memorable gift you can give as a father and I think it is the perfect time in his life to do it.
 
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wise papa said:
As my son is graduating college and going to med school next year, many family members and friends are asking about graduation gifts. Any suggestions for what to get incoming med students other than a computer or the obvious money?
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Give him time with you, time with family, and time with friends. Make sure he can enjoy his summer before school and has the opportunity to spend time doing the other things in his life that he's passionate about. Not sure if you can order any of that off Amazon, but its worth a shot.
 
My son got several stethoscopes. 🙂 how about gift cards to lots of food places or even grocery stores near his med school. Is he going to a new city? How about an sir ticket home?
 
A Ted Baker knit or some Lucky Brand Jeans. Or if you are a very nice father...both.
 
Sabate said:
Give him time with you, time with family, and time with friends. Make sure he can enjoy his summer before school and has the opportunity to spend time doing the other things in his life that he's passionate about. Not sure if you can order any of that off Amazon, but its worth a shot.
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This.👍
 
A crockpot. Dump a bunch or ingredients in and several hours later you have your meals for the week. He may think its weird but will thank you later on.

Survivor DO
 
An espresso machine and a good grinder. It's like going from a Ford Fiesta (drip coffee) to a Ford GT.
 
I received an iPad mini as a congratulations gift. Wasn't the worst day of my life and will definitely come in handy.
 
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new car with a full gas tank and a comfortable mattress with a few cozy blankets. also a sturdy desk with an expensive leather office chair

quality of life is important
 
If you are looking for stuff that other people can get him, I think that giftcards and medical necessities would be nice (stethescope, for instance). You may want to check and see what he will need and what the school provides - some provide stethescopes or iPads. It would be sent out to him in his acceptance packet, so you may not have access to it, but you could probably get the same information from the admissions department.

From you - I agree that a trip or something like that for you to do together would be pretty awesome.
 
survivordo said:
A crockpot. Dump a bunch or ingredients in and several hours later you have your meals for the week. He may think its weird but will thank you later on.

Survivor DO
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Sweet suggestion 👍

Perhaps a nice bike if he'll be at a medical school where biking around campus is likely?
 
A few things I needed that I would have appreciated at the beginning of the year:

A blender. I chose the magic bullet. Staying healthy in medical school is hard, and making smoothies with fresh fruit makes it easier.

A rice maker

An iPad

A quality cheese grater

A toaster oven

I don't drink coffee, but a coffeemaker is a necessity for many in medical school.

So, in short, mainly appliances.
 
These are great suggestions- he will be in DC and I will make a point to spend some quality time with him. As his grandparents, aunts and uncles etc are asking about gifts I was curious about items medical students might need and that are practical in the 100-500 range. The stethoscope and iPad mini are great ideas as are the coffee grinder/maker/appliances.
 
wise papa said:
These are great suggestions- he will be in DC and I will make a point to spend some quality time with him. As his grandparents, aunts and uncles etc are asking about gifts I was curious about items medical students might need and that are practical in the 100-500 range. The stethoscope and iPad mini are great ideas as are the coffee grinder/maker/appliances.
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I suggest the iPad mini vs the regular sized version because it can easily fit in a white coat pocket.
 
What exactly can you do with an ipad? I see it everywhere, but I don't really understand its utility. Also, why would you want to walk around with an ipad mini in your white jacket.
 
Dportorreal said:
Hey Nutty!!!!
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hi 😀

wise papa said:
These are great suggestions- he will be in DC and I will make a point to spend some quality time with him. As his grandparents, aunts and uncles etc are asking about gifts I was curious about items medical students might need and that are practical in the 100-500 range. The stethoscope and iPad mini are great ideas as are the coffee grinder/maker/appliances.
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On the cheap side, but get him one of those unlimited use rail/bus passes. Unless he plans to have a car. If I remember correctly it's very expensive to go out in DC so maybe some gift certificates out on the town to a restaurant or something (maybe not the most practical but could be packaged as a "when you're stressed open one of these envelopes" type of idea). quality time is a +! and...amazon gift certificates imo.


edit:
if you're looking to spend more $$
buy him 3 tickets: 1 to europe, 1 from europe, and 1 unilimited railway pass.... and a couple tour books :naughty:
 
While all these appliances are probably practical and great gifts, something that would make me happy, and would still be fairly practical, would be a $100-200+ gift card to Nordstom.

Being able to go out and spend money on a quality dress shirt or two that you would never buy for yourself is just a great feeling. These are also something lots of college guys don't own (Express, H&M, Holister, A&F, etc. don't count) and will need for the minimal amount of time they do spend in clinic during MS1 and MS2.

Of note is that I love to look sharp, so maybe I would be more excited than your average male soon-to-be medical student.
 
heartshaped box said:
What exactly can you do with an ipad? I see it everywhere, but I don't really understand its utility. Also, why would you want to walk around with an ipad mini in your white jacket.
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I use my iPad for reading, recording lectures, and note-taking. You can load ebooks on there instead of lugging around multiple heavy textbooks.

A few of the ER docs I work with use them to input orders for meds/x-rays as they go from room to room examining patients, which speeds things up since the nurses and techs can get to work on those orders instead of waiting for the doc to finish seeing that round of patients and sit down at the computer to put in orders all at once.
 
heartshaped box said:
What exactly can you do with an ipad? I see it everywhere, but I don't really understand its utility. Also, why would you want to walk around with an ipad mini in your white jacket.
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Look up epocrates.

In addition, it's a lot easier to show a patient his CT scans from an iPad that you've already programmed than to go through the hospital's software. You can just have the thing ready when you go in.

A lot of it is convenience, but really, the iPad is a very useful tool, especially with the right apps.
 
Get him some protein supplements. Ur son will feel more obligated to work out during first year.
 
Two other things:

- Costco membership
- Ikea gift cards
 
tantacles said:
Never give a gift card; It's the same as money but less valuable.
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Personally, I kinda like gift cards. They make me go spend money on something I may not otherwise buy, but would still greatly enjoy. Because otherwise it's most likely going towards tuition or rent 🙁

An example is a bookcase. I never would have bought it had I not gotten an Ikea gift card, but I could never live without it now that I have it.

So this could depend on the who is receiving the gift.
 
I also got an ipad as a congratulations gift from a friend.

It's is really a good gift to give, it's out of the price range of what most students can afford on their own and is extremely useful.

I got the regular one 32 gig and love it. I have friends who are in med school and say the regular size does fit into a white coat. If it doesn't, I'll just pay to have a new pocket tailored onto the coat becausethe mini seems too small to study lecture notes or take notes on.


As for something cheaper,
- I second the ikea gift card if they are moving away for medical school. Just make sure there is an ikea where they are moving.
- Starbucks giftcards are never a bad idea if the person drinks coffee.
-A ticket to fly home was also a great idea, cost of attendance doesn't include travel back home.
 
DAPI said:
Personally, I kinda like gift cards. They make me go spend money on something I may not otherwise buy, but would still greatly enjoy. Because otherwise it's most likely going towards tuition or rent 🙁

An example is a bookcase. I never would have bought it had I not gotten an Ikea gift card, but I could never live without it now that I have it.

So this could depend on the who is receiving the gift.
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Right, but you could have lived without the bookcase before. The fact that you can't live without it is a product of your getting used to having one, not an inherent need.

I imagine it would be incredibly difficult to live without a bed or a couch. For those things, you can give someone money and say, "Go get what you need at IKEA." But if you lock them into the gift card, you run the risk that they won't go somewhere else if there's a better price. And if you truly want them to have a specific product, you should just buy the product.

Seriously, gift cards are just money that's worth less because you can't spend it wherever you want.
 
You can get meal plan gift cards at many schools.
I'd love to call my grandma when she's taking me out to lunch 😉
 
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