Gift for future pediatrician?

May 29, 2005 9:03 AM

Suggestions for a gift for a graduating med student friend who will be a pediatrician?

My friend starts her pediatric residency in a few weeks. I'd like to get her a gift in the $5-$20 range (I'm poor, and it's really just a token). I live in the UK, so something I can order off of a US merchant for shipping to Texas would be best. I've already seen these threads, but nothing there within my price range seems right. Any suggestions?

posted by grouse to shopping (10 comments total)

A fun, colorful cover for her stethescope, or a little toy or animal you can clip to it always makes them seem less scary to kids.
posted by gramcracker at 9:52 AM on May 29, 2005

How about something for the office? Some children's books or some wall posters. This site has a couple of suggestions that might fit too.
posted by DeepFriedTwinkies at 9:53 AM on May 29, 2005

Yeah, I think a clippable animal would be perfect. She's going to be doing hospital rotations for the next three years so she won't have an office for a while. That's a fantastic web site, DeepFriedTwinkies.
posted by grouse at 9:56 AM on May 29, 2005

Striped socks or fun colorful earrings. The clippable animal is a good one too - My suggestions come from the same reasoning. And for some reason, two out of two female medical personnel I have dated love wearing striped socks.
posted by mzurer at 11:16 AM on May 29, 2005

Counterpoint: skip the widgets, spend $2 on a card, and then write her a letter that details the value you find in her friendship and what a wonderful pediatrician she'll make.

I was in her shoes, so to speak, a number of years ago. Can't tell you where all the ties, pens, paperweights and other assorted gizmos went.

I think she would value a letter from you more than any object you're gonna be buying for her for $20.
posted by FredFeral at 2:02 PM on May 29, 2005

I agree with Fred. Please, please, PLEASE!!! No doodads relating to her future practice, unless she has already told you about something in particular that she needs. The best token would be something like that letter Fred describes.
posted by drpynchon at 3:10 PM on May 29, 2005

Give her a gift card to a coffee shop near wherever she's doing her residency. If she's in the Texas Medical Center, Starbucks (sigh) is probably your best bet. Residents generally live on coffee and vending machine products. A couple of single-serving frozen homemade casseroles would also be great if you're a cook.

Also the letter.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 7:04 PM on May 29, 2005

She'll be in Dallas, actually. I was just talking to her the other day and she doesn't like coffee, but she has been getting into tea. So I think tea+letter might be it. Especially since I am in such a tea-drinking place right now.
posted by grouse at 1:38 AM on May 30, 2005

A copy of this book:
The Spirt Catches You and You Fall Down, by Ann Fadiman

This is a very well-written book about how doctors and patients deal or don't deal with the problems that crop up when two cultures collide -- in this case a hmong family with baby that has epilepsy and its interactions with the american medical profession. Very even handed and fascinating book, which offers some good lessons for new doctors about being willing to understand how patients think and how best to heal them, without being wishy washy or pollyanna ish. My mother thinks they ought to give out copies at every medical school graduation.
posted by sfz at 10:45 AM on May 30, 2005

While the book sfz reccomends is a good 'un, the spirit with which our mother offers it is not neccesarily a celebratory one. One of the striped-sock wearers referenced above, though she enjoyed the book, didn't find it particularly informative to her practice of medicine. She thought it was a little out-dated, and didn't do that great a job of addressing the issues that the events recounted raise.
posted by mzurer at 12:45 PM on May 30, 2005