PA Student Holiday Gift Guide

Happy thanksgiving friends! I wanted to pop in and thank every single one of you. Thank you for your comments, your sweet emails, messages and likes on Instagram, your tweets, and for reading my blog. When I started out, I really had no idea I would be able to reach out to so many people. I love being able to do what I do online and it would not have been possible without your support and encouragement. So, thank you!
Seeing that the holiday season is upon us and tomorrow is Black Friday, I thought I'd write a post on what gifts you guys can buy for PA students, aspiring PA students, or a student in any healthcare profession this Christmas! Here are some of the things they might find useful or just are fun things to have:

1. Etsy is loaded with anatomy themed art that any student in medicine would love to hang on their walls at home and then in their future office.

2. You can never go wrong with medical mugs or t-shirts. We love sharing pictures of things with medical humor and it's a fun gift to receive!

3. Update their technology: we spend all of our time on laptops/iPads looking at endless PowerPoints and YouTube videos (some for entertainment, some for actual studying). I got mine from Target last year on sale and saved $200! I get a lot of questions about using an iPad and whether I find it helpful. While it's not a necessity, it really is convenient to have two screens in class or even at home while I'm studying. Sometimes I make my study guides, upload them on OneDrive, and walk around on campus studying with my iPad. I also find to useful to take notes on it during certain classes. So it depends on your preference. No it's not a necessity, but presents don't have to be a necessity now, do they? ;) Also, Apple announced that they're having their first Black Friday sale, so I'd keep an eye out for that.

4. Amazon gift cards / medical textbooks: books are crazy expensive! Even though a lot of programs are switching over to online books, there are a lot of us that still prefer hard copies, especially for those more challenging classes.

5. Blue Apron meal gifts: there is literally 0 time to cook in PA school, which is one of the reasons I'm making Thanksgiving dinner tonight! I miss cooking so much and am really considering trying blue apron next month when we start 2 weeks of finals. You could never go wrong with this and what better present can there be than to feed someone?

6. Stitch Fix subscription: going into healthcare means expanding your business casual wardrobe (or building it from scratch, if you are like me). It must be so exciting to receive clothes in the mail when you didn't have to go spend hours at the mall looking for the right clothes. This is perfect for people like me who prefer to shop online and actually hate going to the mall.

7. Badge reels for students on rotations: I've been wanting to get one of these! I have no reason to as of now, but definitely will when I start rotations. I think it's a small, fun way to show your excitement for being on a particular rotation, especially if you're on Peds!

8. Drown out the noise: a few of my classmates have noise cancelling headphones and they seem to find them really helpful. These would be useful for studying in public or even at the library.

9. Fit bit: since all we do is sit in our classroom all day lot, a fit bit would be a nice reminder/motivation to get up and get moving!

10. Keurig, coffee, Starbucks gift cards: for all of us out there that love to drink coffee, this would be the ultimate present. I have been managing to keep myself at one cup of coffee a day so I'm not encouraging anyone to overdo it on caffeine. However, having a coffee machine at home saves money and trips to a coffee shop every morning.

Other gift ideas:
- A day at the spa or a massage gift certificate: this one actually is at the top of my list and probably any student's list.
- A gift card to a nice local restaurant for a dinner out after exams!
- A printer to print handouts/notes for studying if they don't have one already.
- A bookshelf! Those textbooks accumulate quickly and just keep on adding as the years go by.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving with their families and safe travels! Thank you for stopping by :)