Nurses Week Gifts Both Appreciated and Scorned

What did you get for Nurses Week? That was the question posed recently by the moderator of an online forum for nurses.

There was plenty of feedback, with some nurses reporting remarkably generous gifts from their employers (Nike Shox shoes for all the staff nurses and $50 gift certificates to Outback Steak House), while other employers, who evidently failed to check their calendars, coughed up nothing at all. Most respondents checked in between the two extremes, but even in that mid-range there were high and low levels of recognition.

Based on the responses, nurses have reached the saturation point when it comes to logo-imprinted coffee mugs, water bottles, T-shirts and the like. Such items are viewed not as appreciation gifts, but as free advertising for the hospital—besides, no one needs more of those items.

Night shift nurses resent that special luncheons and other recognition events are often held only on the day shift, forcing the choice: free lunch or sleep? They long for at least a catered meal for their shift.

Some nurses were given boxes of Dove chocolates, one hospital set up a carnival (with rides) on the parking lot, another had an outdoor movie night with the movie projected on the side of the building and treats for the entire family. Yet another did something special each day of Nurses Week—free lunches, chair massages and gift certificates for manicures.

We all like to be appreciated for the job we do, but the comments on the forum highlighted some interesting points. First, it is nearly impossible to please everyone. Those who received nothing were unhappy but so were those who perceived their gifts to be paltry or self-serving for the giver. Would it have been wiser for the hospitals to give nothing rather than setting themselves up for ridicule regarding a specific gift? And, how far does the morale boost from the most generous of gifts go? How long does the employee’s gratitude last? Does the hospital get a good return on its gift expenditure?

I assume that hospital budgets are not equal and some simply don’t have the means to bestow extravagant gifts or host expensive galas. I’m married to a CPA. Budgets and fiscal responsibility are very important issues in my household, so I can easily imagine how those considerations affect corporate spending. Everyone seems to be complaining about exorbitant health care costs, so doesn’t belt tightening—even in the area of appreciation gifts—make sense?

Because I am not employed in a traditional nursing job, I was not expecting recognition during "my" week. But, it was a pleasant surprise to receive a greeting card that extolled the nursing profession. True, it was from a nursing school classmate, but I was pleased that she took the time to send it.

I’d welcome your thoughts on this subject.