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Most Memorable Gifts Received From Patients
Keith L. Martin | December 17, 2018
| Contributor Information
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Most Memorable Gifts Received From Patients
Keith L. Martin | December 17, 2018 | Contributor Information
Most Memorable Gifts Received From Patients
The holidays are a time for remembering the special people in our lives, from family and friends to the medical professionals who oversee our well-being. So it is highly likely that physicians will be receiving a few tokens of appreciation from their patients this month.
We asked physicians to tell us about the most memorable gifts they have received from patients over the years. Some are heartwarming, others are just bizarre—but all are unforgettable for one reason or another.
Most Memorable Gifts Received From Patients
Keith L. Martin | December 17, 2018 | Contributor Information
A Reliable Rocker
Often, healthcare professionals turn a simple gift into a long-lasting treasure. This was the case with a home health registered nurse who cared for a man who had just undergone neck surgery for throat cancer:
"He was an old-time farmer and it was difficult for him to stay in. I'd find him on the porch whittling cedar with his pocket knife. December came and he retired to the inside. There, sitting in his rocking chair by the fire, he said, 'I've got something for you.' It was a miniature rocking chair, with a hickory-strip woven seat. It was at most 6 to 7 inches tall, with the most exquisite handiwork I've ever seen. I wrote his name on the bottom of the rocker, and it has survived an EF-3 tornado and remains in my display cabinet. I treasure it more than anything I have ever received!"
Most Memorable Gifts Received From Patients
Keith L. Martin | December 17, 2018 | Contributor Information
Coins vs Curses
A family physician fondly recalled the silver dollar "tips" a patient used to give him along with other memorabilia from his life:
"I considered it unethical to receive a 'tip,' but refusal resulted in an outburst of oaths. It was easier to receive his tokens of appreciation than his curses. I still have the silver dollars, although I've never had their value assessed. I returned the personal items to his son after his death.
At the same time [I saw this patient], my son worked as a carry-out boy at a local grocery. When he attempted, according to store policy, to decline silver dollar tips from the same man, he received the same curses."
Most Memorable Gifts Received From Patients
Keith L. Martin | December 17, 2018 | Contributor Information
Green Mountain Delicacy
A recently retired neuroradiologist recalled a gift from his father's past:
"My father was a surgeon in Vermont, and one satisfied customer gave him a salted raccoon for Thanksgiving. It was an acquired taste."
Most Memorable Gifts Received From Patients
Keith L. Martin | December 17, 2018 | Contributor Information
A Simple Note of Thanks
One family physician recalled a touching gift from the wife of a paraplegic patient who died:
"She wrote me the most touching letter about the palliative care I gave [her husband] when the term 'palliative care' was not even being used in medical jargon."
Most Memorable Gifts Received From Patients
Keith L. Martin | December 17, 2018 | Contributor Information
A Reminder to Enjoy Life
An otolaryngologist remembered a gift from an elderly Navy veteran during her time as a chief resident in Honolulu, Hawaii. The man had recurrent head and neck cancer with a grim prognosis:
"I came to see him on rounds on Easter Sunday and brought him a plate of home-cooked Easter ham for dinner. He had gone to the hospital gift shop and gotten me a coffee mug. It had a cartoon with a female doctor in a white coat and said, Take time to smell the roses. It brought tears to my eyes and was a cherished patient gift. He flew back [home] to the Philippines and died shortly after that."
Most Memorable Gifts Received From Patients
Keith L. Martin | December 17, 2018 | Contributor Information
Small Tokens With Great Meaning
One ophthalmologist replied that she has appreciated and kept every single gift received from patients:
"The most memorable were from my patients in the city [free] clinic where I worked. A tiny jewelry box from a very elderly gentleman; an awesome 4-inch plastic paperweight shaped like a huge purple jewel; 30 cheap plastic ballpoint pens because, 'Doctor, you just can't ever seem to find your pen.'"
Most Memorable Gifts Received From Patients
Keith L. Martin | December 17, 2018 | Contributor Information
It's the Thought That Counts
A family physician noted a memorable gift from a patient with bipolar disorder:
"She bought me a dress two sizes too small, and shoes three sizes too small, from a thrift shop!"
Most Memorable Gifts Received From Patients
Keith L. Martin | December 17, 2018 | Contributor Information
A Handy Reminder
One physician on Twitter said a number of patients took note of his apparently "rough" demeanor:
"Unconnected, four patients of mine bought hand-nourishing creams. I guess I need to improve my alcohol-hardened hands for patients' examinations."
Most Memorable Gifts Received From Patients
Keith L. Martin | December 17, 2018 | Contributor Information
Ideal Gifts for the Medical Professional
Several physicians on Instagram remarked about gifts patients had selected that showed much thought and became tools for their trade:
"A suture kit."
"A Littmann stethoscope…more than once."
"A diamond [dial] deluxe sphygmomanometer."
"A microscope."
Most Memorable Gifts Received From Patients
Keith L. Martin | December 17, 2018 | Contributor Information
Never Forget That Physicians Are People Too
Other comments on Instagram reflected some much-needed gifts from patient—and colleague—gift givers, recognizing that physicians are human beings as well as healthcare providers:
18 Gifts From Patients: Wacky, Funny, and Simply Touching
At holiday season and other times, grateful patients often give their doctors gifts that range from hilarious, to heart-tugging, to downright bizarre.Medscape Features Slideshows, December 2016
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Keith L. Martin
Editorial Director
Medscape Business of Medicine
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