Nurse Thank Yous

[Caraway]

I am writing thank you cards to the NICU nurses that helped our daughter. Should I be putting something in them? Like a Starbucks gift card?

 

Thanks for any advice. :bigear:

[Jennifer3141]

Doctors and nurses do love thank you gifts but it is also really nice to get a card.

 

DH has gotten the oddest gifts from patients:

 

14 year old fudge that had clearly been frozen the entire time. It was dated for "freshness!"

 

A ginormous hunting knife with dear heads carved into the handle. (DH doesn't hunt.)

 

A tea set from England which really is quite cute but DH hates tea so I confiscated it.

 

A teeshirt that says, "Hey you!" and nothing else. (I've never been able to figure that out. Why would you put that on a teeshirt??)

 

Let's call it an "intimate" toy... (I still tease him about that one.)

 

But he's also gotten several bottles of wine (we live on a wine peninsula) and once, we had a private dinner (the patient closed his restaurant for us) at this wonderful, intimate French restaurant which turned out to be one of the best nights of my entire life.

 

And he's gotten Amazon gift cards (LOVE that!) gift certificates to our downtown and fruit and vegetables. I am DYING for someone to pay him with a chicken someday. I'm hoping!!!

 

I will tell you that DH does keep the cards that really mean something to him and looks at them when times get tough for him. I framed a card from a woman who was his patient through an illness that kills 99% of the people who get it. She was his patient for a YEAR and a month and there was a little blurb about the patient and DH in a medical journal so I cut that out and framed it with that card and hung it in DH's home office.

 

Also, when your baby is stronger someday, stop into the NICU and show her off. DH and his partners love it when a healthy, happy patient comes back to say hello. :)

[abbeyej]

I really don't think you could go wrong either way. If you have the money, a small gift would be a lovely thing, and Starbucks would be a good choice. But if that isn't something you can afford, then a thoughtful note would be perfectly adequate and wonderful.

 

Also, if you had particularly great experiences, be sure to write up a couple of sentences about each nurse by name and turn those in to the hospital as well.

[WishboneDawn]

Just a thought...Gifts should be small and not very expensive. There are ethical issues surrounding gifts from patients and you don't want to put the receiver in an uncomfortable situation. I'd probably keep it under $10 or stick to a small handmade or baked gift.

[misidawnrn]

We love it when our patients get us chocolate or little treats. I am telling you, even the ones on a diet will eat them suckers! What a nice way to thank your nurses. We also hang the cards we get on a board just for cards and pictures.

[TheReader]

When my youngest was in NICU and moved from Level III to Level II, we did a big bowl of candy and a general Thank You note for all the nurses, and then along with it I made bookmarks with his photo and a cute Thank You poem I wrote, tied to little baggies of candy. Those we gave specifically to the nurses who had spent more than a day with him (it was a teaching hospital and we had a HUGE rotation of nurses/staff to thank, because of the way they rotated their schedules and how long he was there).

 

I left it up to them to distribute the extra candy (and made sure there was plenty for several shifts worth), and put the same photo/poem on the general Thank You sign that went with the bowl of candy to share.

 

We did the same again when he was discharged from Level II to come home, because it was so well received the first go-round (Level III and Level II at this hospital were separate areas, that's why the thank you both times and not just when we went home; the nurses worked one or the other, not both).

[Tarreymere]

Some hospitals have policies about nurses receiving gift cards or that kind of thing from patients. Best to check with the hospital first to see if that sort of gift is permitted.

 

An individual note card with a few words is always very much appreciated, and a letter expressing your appreciation of a particular nurse or nurses to the nicu unit manager would also be appreciated.

 

If the hospital doesn't permit gift cards and you would like to show your appreciation with something other than a letter or a card, you can consider sending maybe some baked goods, bagels, a veggie tray, or cookies to the entire shift of the nicu that the nurse you wish to honor is assigned to and include a card that the gift is to all in appreciation of the efforts of Jane Doe RN. This kind of gift is usually acceptable in even the strictest hospitals. Some folks will send a gift of this nature to all three shifts with a card expressing sincere thanks for the efforts of the staff to care for John Doe, patient.

[FaithManor]

The nurses at the hospital where my ds's were born were absolutely wonderful and I wanted to express my appreciation, but the hospital policy is that they couldn't receive individual gifts. But, I could do something nice for the floor as a whole. So, I made up three fruit baskets with some baked goods, a big thank you card, and sent pictures of our little one in their Christening outfits. I hoped that the word would get around to my favorite nurses even if they weren't on shift when the baskets were delivered.

 

Faith

[Starr]

Or send something for each shift.

[OnTheBrink]

The nurses at the hospital where my ds's were born were absolutely wonderful and I wanted to express my appreciation, but the hospital policy is that they couldn't receive individual gifts. But, I could do something nice for the floor as a whole. So, I made up three fruit baskets with some baked goods, a big thank you card, and sent pictures of our little one in their Christening outfits. I hoped that the word would get around to my favorite nurses even if they weren't on shift when the baskets were delivered.

 

Faith

 

The hospital I work for has the same policy. Department gifts are fine; individual ones aren't.