It’s always nice to be appreciated, but some gifts are more strange than sweet!
We asked nurses to tell us about the funniest gift they had ever received at work—read on for their hilarious answers!
1. A love poem from a smitten elderly resident. He tapped me on the elbow and handed it to me without a word, then spun away from me in his wheelchair at 45 mph.
—Holly T.
2. I was upset over something that happened at work, so a few of my favorite coworkers made me a “fully equipped” man out of a tongue depressor, bits of a glove blown up and cotton balls. LOL, I still have it to cheer me up on bad days, even though he’s a bit deflated now!
—Sarah M.
3. A patient’s husband once gave me written instructions on how to fireproof a Christmas tree.
—Janice G.
4. A canister of sugar cookies at Christmas with a few missing out of a couple different slots. I think they wanted to taste and make sure they weren’t stale….
—Andrea M. G.
5. An extra nightgown from a patient that still had c.diff stains on it. The thought was cherished; the nightgown was taken straight to the trash can.
—Audrey D.
6. Good ole fruitcake…I sure was re-gifted three times over! The tin had rust on the bottom!
—Tina L.
7. For nursing graduation, my boyfriend gave me a .22 rifle…not sure why.
—Robyn A.
8. A Christmas-themed bedpan.
—Kim B.
9. Blue eye shadow from a patient (male). This was in the early ’80s. I guess I wasn’t wearing enough makeup!
—Janet R.
10. When I worked physical rehab, one of my very shy, elderly male patients gave me a Finnish/American flag pin as a courting gift. Oh, those shy Finns! Too bad I was already married….
—Shelly A.
What’s the funniest gift you ever received at work? Share it with us and we might publish it in a future article!
