Medical

15 Best Gifts for Medical Students this 2023 Holiday Season

Not sure what to gift a medical student for the holidays? Look no further than this gift guide for every type of med student.


Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or December is simply that time of year to hibernate and binge your favorite TV shows, ‘tis the season for holiday gift giving. And who better to gift than an overworked med student barely surviving surgery rotation?

Read on for a curated list of gifts to give the med students in your life (or yourself!) and make this season extra Sketchy.

 

Gifts for Studying

 

Full year subscription to Sketchy Medical

Surprise! Gifting a subscription to Sketchy Medical tops our super rad gift idea charts. Sketchy Medical is a comprehensive resource for all of med school. It will leave you smarter—and laughing out loud. From microbiology and pharmacology in your preclinical years, to surgery and internal medicine in your clinical years, with Sketchy Medical, you get access to more than a thousand entertaining videos that help you retain information faster and longer, using our concept of memory palaces. Check out a pricing plan that works for you!

 

Apple Gift Card to Purchase Anki Mobile

If you haven’t already heard about Anki, let’s just say it’s one of the most beloved study tools for med students. It’s basically a flashcard app that uses spaced repetition to help students focus more time on the topics that they struggle with. Anki’s customizability, along with its free desktop app, make it a no-brainer for students to use. That said, while the mobile version of Anki (“AnkiMobile Flashcards”) is free for Android users, it isn’t for anyone with an iPhone. At the time of publication, AnkiMobile Flashcards cost $24.99 on the Apple store. So, if your favorite study-holic doesn’t have this iOS app yet, why not get them an Apple gift card so they can purchase it for themselves?

 

Shower Phone Holder

You’ve got three hours left before your Step 1 exam and every second counts. Or your next Shelf exam is tomorrow. Or that micro final is around the corner. Or…okay there are a lot of tests in med school. Point is—the shower phone holder is the perfect gift for uninterrupted study while the shower washes your tears of desperation away.

 

The Screaming Goat

When you’re stressed out and you want to yell into the void, but you also don’t want your apartment neighbor to hear you, don’t sweat—-this screaming goat will scream its heart out for you instead.



Gifts for the Home

 

In-Car Sauce Holder

This is not quite for the home, but we know your secret—-when you’re tired and have no energy to cook– you like to pop into the McDonald’s Drive-Thru and get the 10-piece McNugget meal. Problem is, you got your white coat on and you don’t wanna get sweet and sour sauce all over your lapel. Solution? The Saucemoto Dip Clip– an in-car holder for all your favorite dipping sauces. 

 

Weekly Grocery Delivery or Meal Kits

There will be weeks (years?) when med students barely have the time or  the energy to go to the grocery store. Worry not, because a grocery delivery service, a meal kit plan, or a meal prep service is a click away.  Buy them an Instacart membership, a subscription to HelloFresh, or a gift card to their grocery or meal kit of choice. 

 

Weighted Blanket

Work Hard, Play Hard, and Sleep Hard is how the saying goes (or something like that). And if you’re gonna sleep hard, a weighted blanket is going to give you those snuggly, cozy feels that help improve your sleep quality and reduce stress levels.

 

Hard-To-Kill Plant

Have you botany plants lately? Are you a succa for flowers? Are we kale-ing your vibe with all these leafy puns? *dodging tomatoes* LOLs and OMGs aside, plants can contribute to a relaxed atmosphere at home and keep your house air from getting a little too stale. But given the busy lifestyle of a med student, it might be best to get a plant that doesn’t need too much attention and enjoys the indoors– like the aloe vera, the ZZ plant, or the snake plant. And if the person is very frond of plants, consider a plant subscription service.

 

Roomba

If a plant still seems like a lot to take care of, consider gifting a Roomba. This friendly droid will buzz around the room, keeping it clean and you company. No watering or feeding required—just the occasional charge.

 

Coffee Machine

Ahh, coffee—humanity’s favorite caffeine delivery system, in the form of sugary bean water. Med students tend to need LOTS of coffee, though preferably not for 5 dollars a cup… it adds up over four years. That’s why we recommend a quick, efficient coffee machine– Keurig machines if you’re looking for something a bit more affordable, or a Nespresso machine if you’ve got a few extra bucks in your wallet. Complete the package with a coffee mug like say– the no-spill Mighty Mug– and you’ve got yourself a very wired and very grateful medical student.



Gifts for the Hospital

 

Portable Chargers

Can absolutely come in handy when you’re pulling those long hours studying at a coffee shop or rounding on patients at the hospital, but have no access to an outlet

 

Protein Bars

When there’s no time to make food, stop by the cafeteria, or steal a sandwich from noon conference, these protein bars will be your best friend. They also have a pretty good protein-sugar-calorie ratio, too, in case you care about that stuff.

 

Ultra Repair Cream

Is the med student in your life constantly wearing a face mask at the hospital or donning some form of protective gear? This Ultra Repair Cream is a great gift for anyone who struggles with irritated skin but doesn’t have the time to invest in a 10-step skin care routine. 

 

Apple Watch

For when you want to look at your calendar without whipping out your phone. Or for another way to covertly check your messages. Also good to have that step data to see who can walk the most steps during rounds.

 

Massage or Spa Voucher

Med students spend a lot of time hunched over studying, standing for hours in the OR, or walking non stop throughout the hospital. All of that can lead to tense muscles, not to mention do a number on your body posture, and a voucher to a massage or a spa will do wonders for your body.

 

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