In some cases, an item of clothing is an appropriate gift for a nurse educator. Unless students know their instructor happens to love SpongeBob Squarepants, they should stay away from cartoon-based scrub sets, even as a joke. They also should avoid screen-printed T-shirts with cheery nursing slogans. Most veteran nurses are a bit too cynical for such shirts.
A practical and dignified gift alternative to the cartoon print scrubs is a monogrammed, full-length lab coat. At many schools of nursing, nurse educators supervise clinical students at more than one clinical site. A monogrammed lab coat makes it easy for an instructor to dress professionally for a quick stop by any of her clinical sites between classes.
Many of the most common nursing career journals are free to anyone with a nursing license, but general health care periodicals or nursing specialty periodicals can be quite pricey. A subscription to one of these might not be something the typical nurse educator would purchase, but would be a welcome gift. If the instructor has an electronic reader of any type, the journal or periodical can be electronically downloaded as well. In this case, the student can pay for the subscription online and get a confirmation code to include in a card. The instructor can then use the code to download the periodical onto their own device. There are also a number of gift books related to nursing, including some highly illustrated books about the history of nursing that might be a nice gift (see Resources).
Instructors who have taught for some time might not be thrilled to receive one more nursing-themed tie tack or Florence Nightingale necklace and might have every book or nursing-related item of clothing they will ever need. A gift card good for dinner for two at a local restaurant is a good solution. If this seems too impersonal, students can put their money together to buy ingredients and make the instructor homemade baked goods.