It’s the holiday season; also know as the gift giving season, the time when your questioning your self about what your loved ones would like. And the answer might be more complex when your friend or family member is in med school. Or you’re in med school your self and you don’t know what to add on your wish list.
Well here’s a list of what I think us med school students would want.
(*Disclaimer: this list contains items I already own or what I would like to receive my self.)
- The stethoscope. Every med student wants a good quality stethoscope. Even if you already own one, having one that is more powerful or even another color to go with a specific outfit would be awesome. My friends like to wear the brighter colors for pediatric rotation. And others want a more sophisticated look.
- A reusable water bottle to keep us hydrated. I like to bring water with me to lectures because I don’t want to have to get up every time I need some water. It’s also a nice way to save a few dollars.
- The Backpack. To carry all the stuff we’ll need for lecture, but mostly to bring all the extras (sweater, snack, umbrella) when we plan to have a long study day at the library
- The tote. A nice tote bag for the lady’s who don’t really like the backpack look. But who also wants to carry a laptop, the books, maybe some snack. This one is definitely on my wish list.
- A hard drive to store our documents. Despite the amount of books and class notes, the amount of lecture and video files we have is massive. Some extra storage is more then welcome, unless you want your computer to be very slow.
- A noise-canceling headphone. This has been on my must have list for quite a while now. Because I personally can’t study (effectively) unless it’s completely quiet and expecting everyone to be quiet every time you’re studying is just asking too much.
- The portable charger. Our days could be very long. And our phone usually doesn’t survive, and needs to be recharged multiple times throughout the day.
- A Protective phone case. Well, it’s self-explanatory. Simply a case to protect our phone when we happen to drop it (which can be quite often).
- The hand cream. For those of us who have already started with our clinical rotations we know that we wash our hands at least 10 times (it depends on the block your in). Our hands will most likely be dry (if not harsh) and can even be uncomfortable. The best, yet very simple, solution I’ve found is to carry a moisturizing (non greasy) lotion with me that I use at the end of the day.
- The laptop stand or bookstand. This is not something we think about but I’m almost sure that you’ve heard your friend complain about neck pain or even upper back pain after a long study session. Well, what happens is that we spend too long looking down at our books or computer, in other words bad posture. Now, not studying is not an option, but a bookstand and or a laptop stand would be a great gift if not the best because it can avoid some serious health problems.
I hope I’ve been helpful. Feel free to share this post with your family or friends to give them an idea of what to get you. And leave a comment telling me what’s on your wish list; I’d love to know.
