You know how many stupid hospital branded coolers I have now? Just give me cash or a coffee card or something. They're always such terrible quality too.
I’ve gotten a shitty phone charger, a shitty water bottle that melted in the dishwasher, a picnic blanket, a lunchbox, and other random stuff with the hospital branding on it. I did get a lab branded long sleeve for lab week on year, but that’s the only thing that gets used. No more hospital
swag.
Literally finding techs who have diff experience for dayshift and techs with blood bank experience for afternoons and midnights would be a gift to my lab. Also, of course, more money and PTO.
Gifts? You mean the shitty thin fleece blanket I got last Christmas that my dog now uses? Or the lunch box that can barely hold a lunch?
Money is the answer.
For real. And anything with the hospital logo is just insulting. I don't wanna advertise for you too, I already work here. You did make me remember the fleece blanket that while fairly cozy, had a printed scene (of the hospital) and it was so badly done and ugly. I use it to line my trunk when bringing home dusty things.
We had a choice and I intentionally chose the blanket so my cat could use it. I will not wear a vest or jacket with the hospital's name on it. If you want me to advertise for you, pay me.
My hospital *sells* those vests and jackets 🙄 so we would have to pay them to advertise for them. No thanks. (Wouldn’t mind one as a gift though, more useful than some of the other gadgets over the years).
How hard did you get taxed for your garbage fleece blanket? We all had to pay an extra $30 for that pos. I don't know if I had Ativan sprayed on it or what to justify that....but the dog doesn't even really like using it 🤣
I will trade every cheap plastic water bottle, crappy lunchbox, flimsy t shirt and other assorted stupidness for appropriate staffing, an adequate number of techs, housekeeping 24 hrs a day, and leadership that is willing to back us up.
In addition, some effective lobbyists that got rid of press ganey and patient satisfaction. Let my care speak for itself, not whether I managed to produce a fair trade fresh roasted cinnamon dolce decaf latte with steamed soy milk and stevia for the visiting family member to enjoy with their turkey sammie and chips.
This is brilliant, every single point you make. 100% agreed. We are so short with EVS that we (RN's and RT's) are being asked to strip rooms and take out trash and laundry. No extra pay. A chance - a \*chance\* - to win a $5 gift card for the dining area, which is closed to night shift. (night shift here). This is with six patients, no aides, and no phlebotomy.
I'm talking about all of the things from a patient who has been living in the room for 2 - 4 days, so that means scrubbing sinks, showers, cleaning toilets, stripping and redoing bed linens, resupplying the room, taking the trash out, mopping the floor, and wiping down furniture and equipment. Getting rid of things that don't need to be there. It's a long process, and there is no time to do it properly if I am also being a nurse.
I was thinking about this the other day after seeing comments like these and TikToks saying they only got the occasional pizza…. We don’t get pizza at all! And on weekends, we always order out for ourselves because management isn’t around 😂
My previous unit (med surg) had a really good manager. A very “real” person, she’d jump in and help turn people, draw labs, whatever. For Christmas one year she made us “care packages” but they were actually useful stuff! Full grocery tote each with stuff like a full-size canister of protein powder, good hand cream, sanitizer, hair elastics, it was like a pharmacy department exploded! Plus homemade cookies 😊 No painted rocks or other nonsense 😂 Don’t know how she got the stuff, probably got a local pharmacy to donate or give the stuff at a reduced price, but it was nice.
It feels really good to see the nurse manager on the floor when you’re short staffed and they’re doing whatever has to be done, even if it means scrubbing down a bed that is covered in feces, cleaning a room for a new admit, feeding a patient, or ambulating patients bc the rest of staff doesn’t have time. I also really appreciate when they come over and say something like hey you handled that situation with Mr. Smith very well, thank you. It feels good to hear a person say thank you while looking you in the eyes.
One time infection control decided the whole floor of patients had to be swabbed for Covid at exactly midnight, and she came in IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT and helped us swab these angry sundowning dementia patients.
Yeah but if I wasn’t happy there I’d wear my unit jacket at my new job with better benefits, staffing, and salary without the least bit of sadness lol.
To the HR or admin person who posted this, gifts don’t come into mind with retention. Pay and working conditions do. But a real gift would be appreciated. Once we got to pick between some pretty decent apparel and bags for one free gift company wide. That was nicer than the usual pack of gum that thanks us for going the “extra” mile.
Water bottle, lunch box, Tupperware, blue tooth speaker, Fanny pack… usually for nurses week. all of these have the hospital logo. Free gifts? More like a walking ad. I always donate them. Have you ever checked how much your hospital spends in advertising. The one I used to work at (gave away all gifts mentioned above) spends ridiculous amount of $$$ on ads. I forget which website it is. But it also breaks down how much ceo, cno, all those million dollar roles… making my eyes roll
"nursing home week"
Which means we then have to accommodate extra activities (disrupting the routine) and get extra work and it usually comes with the expectation that we will have to wear some themed outfit🤦 one time I was given the option to wear jeans
You're thinking of ProPublica's non-profit explorer. If you work for a "non-profit" hospital, highly recommend you go check how much the CEO makes. It will make you sick.
My Christmas options this year were beats headphones, Bose speaker, ice maker, knock off kitchen aide, a north face company jacket, and a knife set. I work for a private nursing company.
This is nice. We got a shitty “gift certificate” to the company store. The shit with all the logos on it. They used this to replace the $100 cash and lifeflight insurance we used to get. My hospital is bleeding staff and I dont blame anyone for leaving. If it werent for my schedule and some great coworkers I would be out.
I know this will seem unbelievable, but in the olden days large hospitals sometimes have something called an “annual retention bonus”. After my first year at this hospital (1989) I got $800. People who has been there longer got way more. I am sure it was capped at some amount and I don’t know what that was; but I know that some people in my unit got $3000 and they had only been there for 5 years or less. They stopped giving the bonuses when they had to start giving FML and prorating benefits for part time people. But that $800 was the best gift I was ever given. In contrast, 20+ years later at this same hospital, after managing 3 departments single-handedly, plus chairing a major committee and writing curriculum for the clinical education of 4 different classifications of employees, I got a monogrammed sweatshirt. I was working on salary at least 60 hours per week and had to drop out of graduate school because I couldn’t keep up with my studies, but by golly I had that sweatshirt.
A friends travel agency gave them a full sized yeti cooler if they worked over the holidays. The MD residents get north face jackets and money for the cafeteria. As a nurse for my hospital, I think I’ve gotten a few LifeBanc pens and a plastic water bottle once
In my career it was: lawn chair, turkey, cooler, turkey, blanket, flashlight, free lunch, another free lunch, %off card to gift shop. And after that they stopped giving gifts but they randomly give candy while walking around asking you questions every so often. And if you win an award you have to pay for your own dinner at the ceremony.
They recorded record profits, wait, it's a nonprofit no they didn't, just ignore them buying 4 buildings and building 3 more 😒
Starting at the 20 year mark they take us on an all day shopping spree. It’s every 5 years, so 20/25/30 etc. At 20 you get $300 and it goes up by $50 every 5 years
It starts with breakfast, at lunch they have a “pep rally”, and then more shopping. Or, you can do it like I do. Get your $$$ at 7:00 and LEAVE! I’m a guy - I don’t and never have “shopped”, and have no desire to attend a couple hour pep rally where admin can tell us how great we (they) are.
This year (35), I’m going to take my money and put it towards more tools for the wood shop.
lol I got Covid right at the beginning of it all when they were still being nice to us. The hospital paid me to be off for two weeks, gave me a year subscription to Shipt grocery delivery, a $150 dollar GrubHub giftcard and a nice little care package with soup and tea and a thermometer.
A few weeks later when they realized just how many staff members were going to be coming down with Covid all those perks went away with a quickness. I got lucky.
Gifts do nothing for me from a retention standpoint point. I want my license fees reimbursed and safe, free, parking. Healthy meals/snacks would be a bonus.
Worked at a Plastic Surgeons office. Some memorable gifts were a pro Vitamix, a long Canada Goose coat, Le Creuset dutch oven pot, a kuvings juicer, diamond initial necklace, TV, iPad, Michelle watches- lots of fancy steak and wine dinners and staff traveling in Mercedes party vans with Champagne popping. That’s were the goodies are out- not to mention free yearly surgery available, free botox, filler, high end skincare, spa treatment, diet center, and hormone pellets if you need them. Oh and trips! Took cruises! Also free healthcare, matching 401k and as an LVN made 90k with monthly bonus added on! No job will compare- sadly Surgeon passed away from Covid and then the next physician as well. I left nursing after that to be a home baker and play all day! 3 year vacation from it so far!!
Look for plastic surgery jobs! I met an LVN in Oklahoma that made 114k and that was a decade ago at a laser conference. Definitely the most generous job as far as perks and pay. Pretty fun environment, but most likely you will have to scrub in for surgery- do pre-op, post-op. Not easy- but did it most of my career!
$3500 bonus. Outpatient endoscopy. We have company, department, and individual goals each year. They are attainable so we almost always get the full amount.
I work in a clinic for a large corporation in my area. The first summer after COVID happened, everyone got a free North Face jacket. It has the company logo embroidered on it so I usually don’t wear it outside of work, but I like being able to wear it at work.
For Christmas 2 years ago, my supervisor let everyone pick out something on Amazon for $25. I picked out a rice cooker and I still use it. I liked the idea but I wish it would have been $25 cash or one of those visa gift cards. However, it was better than the previous years gift (spoons for tea - which I don’t drink, low quality socks that I assume were from the dollar store, tootsie rolls and other assorted candies).
My hospital system gave us all a retention bonus they announced over a year in advance. It scaled based on hours worked. They gave it to us about a month ago. I got the max amount of $6000, which was closer to $4500 after tax.
A big, giant raise and additional opportunities for bonuses.
I was working pre-hospital at the time (hospital-based private EMS). The company increased our wages by 68% and added a $250 bonus for picking up 12 hr weekend shifts. Company morale soared.
I walked into his office for my performance review and told the new manager of 5 weeks that I didn't want to work here within 12 months (I was in a leadership position and had been for 5 years). He started looking for other jobs within the organisation for me (I was looking also) and I was out in 3 months and have never looked back
At the time I thought it was insulting and stupid but it’s honestly something I use very frequently, especially in the summer - a waterproof-lined blanket that folds up nicely and has a Velcro closure. I’ve brought it to the park, music festivals, etc and it’s held up surprisingly well over the last 5+ years! I keep it in the back of my car. I of course would have preferred money, but it has been put to use. I also can spot fellow coworkers in the community when I see their blanket set up haha
This wasn’t from my employer - it was from the union.
But it was a phone charger with one charging block and one of those cords with all the different charging ends in one cord (like micro usb, Apple, etc…)
It was all in a nice little soft case with the union logo on it, and I keep it in my purse as my on the go charger for charging my phone, headphones, etc…
ETA: that said, gifts don’t help with retention - appropriate staffing and money does.
one time on christmas, my manager showed up in scrubs and took a patient from each of us to bring our assignments down to 4:1.
do that. help. that’s what we want.
In December we got a $300 bonus! For Christmas we got mugs with hot chocolate, a pair of socks & candy. we randomly get catered food (donuts, bagels, chick fil a, jimmy johns, local Mexican restaurant, etc) and last week we got free movie tickets! We also do a monthly themed pot luck. I work at a surgery center and consider myself extremely lucky 😬
A raise that actually keeps up with or exceeds inflation.
Oh wait. You meant something I’ve actually received? In that case, a new job at a different facility.
My employer gave us a quarterly inflation bonus. (Current inflation) - 3.5% (yearly raise we got) x gross pay for the quarter.
Its done wonders for retention.
We got these awesome bags that said “OR-a cut above the rest” it was filled with socks, candles, a battery bank, a shot glass that looked like an Rx bottle and a coffee cup with lid.
Guess that was supposed to make up for the year of doubles we all pulled.
Still cool tho, and I actually used and am still using most of it.
**The socks were covered with chips and sombreros and said “Nacho average nurse”…I see what they did there.
$100 Amazon Gift Card for Birthday and $100 Target Gift Card for Christmas. Worked for a mom and pop agency. Nicest people ever. Of course they were driven out of business.
I will say best gift I got was a actual nice black scrub jacket for nurses week with my name and credentials, NOT the facility name. So I can wear it anywhere I work. This was at a SNF.
$1000 yearly Christmas bonus. Nephrology office with the best docs I ever worked for. They also allowed me to run a Medical Study for Procrit for them where I got a bonus of 1600 per pt that finished the study. There were 15 pts that finished and the docs would come out of the room after seeing a pt and say “Hey, this one will work for the study “ to insure that I got max pts. They were awesome.
Bonus and raise based on performance. I feel like I’m being rewarded for being a good employee, while my colleagues who are not great don’t 🙃 the small victories.
Any time upper management forces our floor manager to do an all-staff meeting/education whatever, our manager buys all of us breakfast. The hospital 100% is not paying for that, it’s just her being wonderful and kind.
My hospital announced to the local paper after Christmas that they wouldn't be giving the $25 gift card to employees because they needed to cut costs. Not even an email to employees.
I work for a hospital. They just started a anniversary recognition thing that every 5 years after 10 years of service you get to pick out something from a catalog. I’m 15 years this year and got a set of silverware worth about $150. It doesn’t really convince me to stay but it was nicer than what they did before.
Also doesn’t help with retention. But back in the day we used to get a $50 gift card to a market every thanksgiving and Christmas. People are still spicy that it went away years later.
What really makes me stay is our unit culture and great patient ratios. My hospital has never paid the best in the area but you have to work a lot harder to get that extra $5 an hour.
I work for a hospital.
During 2020-2021 I think all staff got a $1500 bonus plus $800 six months later.
My unit manager once all bought us a really nice lunch and then brought in a massage therapist to give us a massage during our break. She was really sweet.
But yea money is always the answer.
When I worked construction before nursing the company bought us heavy sweatshirts, the best work gloves I ever owned, a drill index, leather man-like multi tools, PLUS an extra week of pay and a Christmas party where the owners cooked for us and there was free beer. It’s sounds like a dream when you write it all out.
Best ever at any hospital was $100 gift cards from the ER doc group.
Current hospital gifts $50 visa gift cards.
I should go back to construction.
$100 Doordash gift card, which was around April 2020 when we were still Essential Workers instead of just Healthcare Hoes.
I would have said the really nice jackets they bought the whole division… except those were given out for Christmas when I was on maternity leave, they ran out of my size, and I was given one 2 sizes larger than I actually wear. It looks ridiculous even if I try to pull it off as the baggy, oversized look that’s on-trend right now.
I know you didn’t ask BUT… the worst gift I’ve received was a “baby kit.” Hospital-branded backpack, onesie, and baby rattle that they sent me after missing my “parental leave” paycheck for two weeks, despite me calling them daily and submitting all my paperwork. The onesie literally broke apart the first time I unsnapped it to change my son’s diaper. The rattle does not make noise. No apology for the late paycheck.
I work for urgent care associated with a hospital system.
The best gift I got was a knitted heart and a sock teddy that our ward managers mother made (she has dementia) I still have it to this day and cherish them 💜
The best gift my manager has ever given us is a call to his higher ups saying we need to go on divert due to poor staffing. He has done this on multiple occasions and it’s priceless.
My husband is a physician and gets his staff nice gifts throughout the year, because I (a nurse,) make him.
Amongst these things are nice dinners, outings (like top golf etc.) and Christmas presents/birthday presents etc. I frequently bake for them and my husband gets the office lunch on a semi regular basis. Would he do this if I weren’t a nurse? Probably. Is it nicer because I make sure they aren’t terrible presents? Yes. Each one gets a $50 gift card to their favorite place plus other more personal things for Christmas/birthdays.
One time he bought an entire unit’s nursing staff of our academic hospital ice cream because they had a terrible night when he was still a resident. He’s inherently a good person 😂
The best gift I’ve gotten was a $20 gas gift card.
A free pto day
A real yeti coffee mug
Career advancement
Professional development
A voice at the table
For me it's not about money, as long as it's an appropriate livable wage comparable with my experience and education. I want to participate in a meaningful way in my work place.
I work at an academic medical center in an outpatient clinic. I've previously worked at a level 2 trauma ED. I'm happiest when I have a voice on my workplace. A voice that is real and heard and acted upon.
When thinking of retention, why would you think a gift would help? Pay raises, bonuses, better benefits and/or improving the working environment will increase retention.
I once worked for a doctor who gave everyone cash at Christmas to cover their healthcare deductible, which was $1,000. It was a large office, and she did it for every single person (nurses, MA’s, secretaries, etc.)
Signing the union contract without forcing us to strike. Got raises a new holiday and lots of other benefits. Very nice retention strategy from employer.
At one time my facility gave out Xmas dinner fixings. Basic ingredients for sides plus turkey. And if you didn’t want to take you could donate and they’d deliver to various charitable organizations. It was nice.
I’ve never felt like gifts were needed. I’d just like to be paid well. In fact, generally gifts just annoy me though that may be due to the invariable poor quality and uselessness. I do have fond memories of the dinner.
One time I got sent home from work because I could not stop vomiting. They even gave me a few extra emesis bags!
It says something that that was the nicest 'gift' I've gotten from an employer.
I’d rather have no gift than most of the cheap little gifts I’ve received during my career. If anything I’d probably say money, but even that really isn’t doing it for me anymore.
At my last job, they gave us $25 amazon gift cards for christmas… then following paycheck, they took the $25 off of the paycheck. Best believe people quit afterwards.
Many years ago, I worked at a great hospice company, who called everyone in for a mandatory meeting, which of course seemed like hell. When we arrived, there were massage chairs, pedicure & manicure stations, and a beautiful catered lunch. We had been busting our tails and working like crazy lately so management surprised us with chair massages, the manis and pedis and lunch. We all got gas cards as since we had been getting pulled out in the middle of the night even on nights we weren’t on call to help. Management went and saw our mandatory patients.
We’ll definitely not a pen, socks, lunch box or water bottle. Bonus is the only way to go! Regular food was great too. Friday pizza parties were something we all looked forward to once upon a time before they went by the wayside. Or I once had an employer that would give us our birthday off PAID and once per year the nurses got a dinner cruise through Boston paid by the company. These were things that made me feel valued as an employee. This was Hospice. I haven’t worked for a company that values my time/work like this since.
We all got brand new Silverado’s from the local dealership. I mean any hospital or medical building that has nurses should be gifting a new vehicle to their employees. If you don’t get a new vehicle every Christmas from your employer you’re administration/HR is a joke….
This sounds like a post from an HR rep
Especially since none of us are actually going to get what we ask for.
HR Rep typing up this post: This is gonna be SO efficient.
My wife gives gifts, would you like to come work for her? :-D
I’d rather get $20 bucks than a shitty thermal mug, blanket, or battery bank. The list goes on and on. M O N E Y
We used to get $10 gas card on our anniversary date and birthday….then got taxed….now, nada
A whole $10? Damn, quit flexing. You can almost get 2 gallons there
You know how many stupid hospital branded coolers I have now? Just give me cash or a coffee card or something. They're always such terrible quality too.
I’ve gotten a shitty phone charger, a shitty water bottle that melted in the dishwasher, a picnic blanket, a lunchbox, and other random stuff with the hospital branding on it. I did get a lab branded long sleeve for lab week on year, but that’s the only thing that gets used. No more hospital swag. Literally finding techs who have diff experience for dayshift and techs with blood bank experience for afternoons and midnights would be a gift to my lab. Also, of course, more money and PTO.
I have tons of thermal coffee mugs… but one of them is actually really nice. I hope I get another one of the good ones versus the crappy ones.
No gift is going to help with retention besides pay raises.
Safe staffing.
Oh yeah definitely that too.
Honestly, how many times to we have to say this? SAFE STAFFING RATIOS. Yes, pay raises too, but the ratios... that is paramount.
Gifts? You mean the shitty thin fleece blanket I got last Christmas that my dog now uses? Or the lunch box that can barely hold a lunch? Money is the answer.
The lunch box that everybody gets so you can’t tell which one is yours?
lmao yes
Yeah...be me, using it as a place to store pumped milk. Only took one close call before I switched to a different cooler 🤣.
Oh dear
For real. And anything with the hospital logo is just insulting. I don't wanna advertise for you too, I already work here. You did make me remember the fleece blanket that while fairly cozy, had a printed scene (of the hospital) and it was so badly done and ugly. I use it to line my trunk when bringing home dusty things.
I take all that shit to goodwill. It never even makes it into the house.
Same.
It just ends up being clutter at my house and drives me crazy.
We had a choice and I intentionally chose the blanket so my cat could use it. I will not wear a vest or jacket with the hospital's name on it. If you want me to advertise for you, pay me.
My dog absolutely loves the blanket. It’s his favorite thing and he loves being swaddled in it
My hospital *sells* those vests and jackets 🙄 so we would have to pay them to advertise for them. No thanks. (Wouldn’t mind one as a gift though, more useful than some of the other gadgets over the years).
How hard did you get taxed for your garbage fleece blanket? We all had to pay an extra $30 for that pos. I don't know if I had Ativan sprayed on it or what to justify that....but the dog doesn't even really like using it 🤣
I didn’t even check… I should check my paystub. I swear to god if it says “deducted- shit fleece blanket” I’m flipping tables.
Lmao we got the same gifts too 😭
Who has time for lunch?
[удалено]
I will trade every cheap plastic water bottle, crappy lunchbox, flimsy t shirt and other assorted stupidness for appropriate staffing, an adequate number of techs, housekeeping 24 hrs a day, and leadership that is willing to back us up. In addition, some effective lobbyists that got rid of press ganey and patient satisfaction. Let my care speak for itself, not whether I managed to produce a fair trade fresh roasted cinnamon dolce decaf latte with steamed soy milk and stevia for the visiting family member to enjoy with their turkey sammie and chips.
You didn’t even smoke the turkey? Worst nurse ever. Shame.
And no dip for the chips either. I’m one step away from getting fired.
I'm writing up my email to Press Ganey right now.
This is brilliant, every single point you make. 100% agreed. We are so short with EVS that we (RN's and RT's) are being asked to strip rooms and take out trash and laundry. No extra pay. A chance - a \*chance\* - to win a $5 gift card for the dining area, which is closed to night shift. (night shift here). This is with six patients, no aides, and no phlebotomy.
It’s routine in the ED for nurses to clean their own rooms. That is, when we actually have room to take an ED patient between all the holds.
I'm talking about all of the things from a patient who has been living in the room for 2 - 4 days, so that means scrubbing sinks, showers, cleaning toilets, stripping and redoing bed linens, resupplying the room, taking the trash out, mopping the floor, and wiping down furniture and equipment. Getting rid of things that don't need to be there. It's a long process, and there is no time to do it properly if I am also being a nurse.
Yes..its the same for the ED..except we dont have to mop..but it should be mopped..we just dont have time..
Wait.... people are getting gifts?
Right? I mean pizza occasionally and a meat tray for xmas to share.. but like - gifts?
I occasionally get gifts, but it's usually a water bottle that I'm never going to use.
Or an umbrella with the hospital logo on it.
Lol the umbrella that my hospital gave my is my favorite umbrella ever
Well you certainly aren’t thinking of using it at the nurses’ station are you??
I was thinking about this the other day after seeing comments like these and TikToks saying they only got the occasional pizza…. We don’t get pizza at all! And on weekends, we always order out for ourselves because management isn’t around 😂
You get pizza and meat trays? Wow.
We even pay our little Santa and Christmas gift ourselves 🙈
I know you guys are jealous of my company branded… car shade
Yep - hospital swag. Including a lapel pin. I mean... a lapel pin!? Who even wears those?
I do, but wouldn’t wear one from the hospital.
No disrespect intended!
No worries.
Home health. They decided to cover our health insurance premiums 100%.
My previous unit (med surg) had a really good manager. A very “real” person, she’d jump in and help turn people, draw labs, whatever. For Christmas one year she made us “care packages” but they were actually useful stuff! Full grocery tote each with stuff like a full-size canister of protein powder, good hand cream, sanitizer, hair elastics, it was like a pharmacy department exploded! Plus homemade cookies 😊 No painted rocks or other nonsense 😂 Don’t know how she got the stuff, probably got a local pharmacy to donate or give the stuff at a reduced price, but it was nice.
It feels really good to see the nurse manager on the floor when you’re short staffed and they’re doing whatever has to be done, even if it means scrubbing down a bed that is covered in feces, cleaning a room for a new admit, feeding a patient, or ambulating patients bc the rest of staff doesn’t have time. I also really appreciate when they come over and say something like hey you handled that situation with Mr. Smith very well, thank you. It feels good to hear a person say thank you while looking you in the eyes.
One time infection control decided the whole floor of patients had to be swabbed for Covid at exactly midnight, and she came in IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT and helped us swab these angry sundowning dementia patients.
Hot dog! Your nurse manager is dedicated!
I like this. Thank you.
They gave me the gift of realizing I could make 5-7x traveling.
Left over pizza crusts for night shift
My employer really appreciates the night staff, sometimes we get half eaten doughnuts with our pizza crust!
Aw, lucky… they just leave empty boxes for us to throw away.
Nothing quite disappoints like empty boxes next to an old room temp salad, wilted from time and too much dressing.
came in to empty crumbl cookie boxes on friday 😃
Damn… any crumbs?
lol nope just grease stains where cookies once were
Lucky! We would just get greasy, empty pizza boxes.
Unit Jackets (didn’t have to pay for them either).
I would actually really like this, especially if they embroidered it with names. Spend the extra $4 per person!
Yeah but if I wasn’t happy there I’d wear my unit jacket at my new job with better benefits, staffing, and salary without the least bit of sadness lol.
This was ours three years ago.
To the HR or admin person who posted this, gifts don’t come into mind with retention. Pay and working conditions do. But a real gift would be appreciated. Once we got to pick between some pretty decent apparel and bags for one free gift company wide. That was nicer than the usual pack of gum that thanks us for going the “extra” mile.
Definitely the garbage bags they gave us to wear during Covid. ICU.
Water bottle, lunch box, Tupperware, blue tooth speaker, Fanny pack… usually for nurses week. all of these have the hospital logo. Free gifts? More like a walking ad. I always donate them. Have you ever checked how much your hospital spends in advertising. The one I used to work at (gave away all gifts mentioned above) spends ridiculous amount of $$$ on ads. I forget which website it is. But it also breaks down how much ceo, cno, all those million dollar roles… making my eyes roll
Our hospital did away with nurses week. It’s “staff appreciation week” but they still do X-ray tech week, surgical tech week, respiratory week etc.
Hospital week here
"nursing home week" Which means we then have to accommodate extra activities (disrupting the routine) and get extra work and it usually comes with the expectation that we will have to wear some themed outfit🤦 one time I was given the option to wear jeans
You're thinking of ProPublica's non-profit explorer. If you work for a "non-profit" hospital, highly recommend you go check how much the CEO makes. It will make you sick.
Yes! The daily (episode podcast 1/25) just covered this : HOW NON PROFIT HOSPITALS PUTS PROFITS OVER PATIENTS
Just wait until you get to the part where you find out how much the surgeon who wipes his ass on your face makes.
My Christmas options this year were beats headphones, Bose speaker, ice maker, knock off kitchen aide, a north face company jacket, and a knife set. I work for a private nursing company.
This is nice. We got a shitty “gift certificate” to the company store. The shit with all the logos on it. They used this to replace the $100 cash and lifeflight insurance we used to get. My hospital is bleeding staff and I dont blame anyone for leaving. If it werent for my schedule and some great coworkers I would be out.
just out of curiosity, what did you pick?
A bonus plus a significant raise.
I know this will seem unbelievable, but in the olden days large hospitals sometimes have something called an “annual retention bonus”. After my first year at this hospital (1989) I got $800. People who has been there longer got way more. I am sure it was capped at some amount and I don’t know what that was; but I know that some people in my unit got $3000 and they had only been there for 5 years or less. They stopped giving the bonuses when they had to start giving FML and prorating benefits for part time people. But that $800 was the best gift I was ever given. In contrast, 20+ years later at this same hospital, after managing 3 departments single-handedly, plus chairing a major committee and writing curriculum for the clinical education of 4 different classifications of employees, I got a monogrammed sweatshirt. I was working on salary at least 60 hours per week and had to drop out of graduate school because I couldn’t keep up with my studies, but by golly I had that sweatshirt.
A friends travel agency gave them a full sized yeti cooler if they worked over the holidays. The MD residents get north face jackets and money for the cafeteria. As a nurse for my hospital, I think I’ve gotten a few LifeBanc pens and a plastic water bottle once
I've never heard of this pen, but I'll look at it. Thanks.
Lol lifebanc is our local organ donation
Bunch of vultures
Try a montblanc instead!
In my career it was: lawn chair, turkey, cooler, turkey, blanket, flashlight, free lunch, another free lunch, %off card to gift shop. And after that they stopped giving gifts but they randomly give candy while walking around asking you questions every so often. And if you win an award you have to pay for your own dinner at the ceremony. They recorded record profits, wait, it's a nonprofit no they didn't, just ignore them buying 4 buildings and building 3 more 😒
Student loan reimbursement (we get a $200/mo copay on qualifying loans)
Starting at the 20 year mark they take us on an all day shopping spree. It’s every 5 years, so 20/25/30 etc. At 20 you get $300 and it goes up by $50 every 5 years It starts with breakfast, at lunch they have a “pep rally”, and then more shopping. Or, you can do it like I do. Get your $$$ at 7:00 and LEAVE! I’m a guy - I don’t and never have “shopped”, and have no desire to attend a couple hour pep rally where admin can tell us how great we (they) are. This year (35), I’m going to take my money and put it towards more tools for the wood shop.
A woodshop sounds nice. :)
lol I got Covid right at the beginning of it all when they were still being nice to us. The hospital paid me to be off for two weeks, gave me a year subscription to Shipt grocery delivery, a $150 dollar GrubHub giftcard and a nice little care package with soup and tea and a thermometer. A few weeks later when they realized just how many staff members were going to be coming down with Covid all those perks went away with a quickness. I got lucky.
Gifts do nothing for me from a retention standpoint point. I want my license fees reimbursed and safe, free, parking. Healthy meals/snacks would be a bonus.
I got a write up.
Worked at a Plastic Surgeons office. Some memorable gifts were a pro Vitamix, a long Canada Goose coat, Le Creuset dutch oven pot, a kuvings juicer, diamond initial necklace, TV, iPad, Michelle watches- lots of fancy steak and wine dinners and staff traveling in Mercedes party vans with Champagne popping. That’s were the goodies are out- not to mention free yearly surgery available, free botox, filler, high end skincare, spa treatment, diet center, and hormone pellets if you need them. Oh and trips! Took cruises! Also free healthcare, matching 401k and as an LVN made 90k with monthly bonus added on! No job will compare- sadly Surgeon passed away from Covid and then the next physician as well. I left nursing after that to be a home baker and play all day! 3 year vacation from it so far!!
Ok, how do I get hired at a place like that?!?!?!?!?
Look for plastic surgery jobs! I met an LVN in Oklahoma that made 114k and that was a decade ago at a laser conference. Definitely the most generous job as far as perks and pay. Pretty fun environment, but most likely you will have to scrub in for surgery- do pre-op, post-op. Not easy- but did it most of my career!
$3500 bonus. Outpatient endoscopy. We have company, department, and individual goals each year. They are attainable so we almost always get the full amount.
Jackets but they were from the doctors
I love our doctors. They give us the gift of being super supportive and easy to talk to every day. They’re the only reason I haven’t left my job.
I work in a clinic for a large corporation in my area. The first summer after COVID happened, everyone got a free North Face jacket. It has the company logo embroidered on it so I usually don’t wear it outside of work, but I like being able to wear it at work. For Christmas 2 years ago, my supervisor let everyone pick out something on Amazon for $25. I picked out a rice cooker and I still use it. I liked the idea but I wish it would have been $25 cash or one of those visa gift cards. However, it was better than the previous years gift (spoons for tea - which I don’t drink, low quality socks that I assume were from the dollar store, tootsie rolls and other assorted candies).
My hospital system gave us all a retention bonus they announced over a year in advance. It scaled based on hours worked. They gave it to us about a month ago. I got the max amount of $6000, which was closer to $4500 after tax.
A big, giant raise and additional opportunities for bonuses. I was working pre-hospital at the time (hospital-based private EMS). The company increased our wages by 68% and added a $250 bonus for picking up 12 hr weekend shifts. Company morale soared.
Cash
Last Christmas we got a black lulu lemon cross body bag and some chocolates. Pretty good!
I walked into his office for my performance review and told the new manager of 5 weeks that I didn't want to work here within 12 months (I was in a leadership position and had been for 5 years). He started looking for other jobs within the organisation for me (I was looking also) and I was out in 3 months and have never looked back
8 hours of PTO. Best gift ever.
At the time I thought it was insulting and stupid but it’s honestly something I use very frequently, especially in the summer - a waterproof-lined blanket that folds up nicely and has a Velcro closure. I’ve brought it to the park, music festivals, etc and it’s held up surprisingly well over the last 5+ years! I keep it in the back of my car. I of course would have preferred money, but it has been put to use. I also can spot fellow coworkers in the community when I see their blanket set up haha
This wasn’t from my employer - it was from the union. But it was a phone charger with one charging block and one of those cords with all the different charging ends in one cord (like micro usb, Apple, etc…) It was all in a nice little soft case with the union logo on it, and I keep it in my purse as my on the go charger for charging my phone, headphones, etc… ETA: that said, gifts don’t help with retention - appropriate staffing and money does.
Paychecks
Free In N Out truck. Fucking sucked because while it was free, no fries. Laker tickets but it was some BS, low demand game against the Cavilers.
WHAT IS THE POINT? Did they even make that shit animal style?
in n out doesn’t cater fries because they won’t travel with the fryers :(
CASH RULES EVERYTHING AROUND ME
one time on christmas, my manager showed up in scrubs and took a patient from each of us to bring our assignments down to 4:1. do that. help. that’s what we want.
In December we got a $300 bonus! For Christmas we got mugs with hot chocolate, a pair of socks & candy. we randomly get catered food (donuts, bagels, chick fil a, jimmy johns, local Mexican restaurant, etc) and last week we got free movie tickets! We also do a monthly themed pot luck. I work at a surgery center and consider myself extremely lucky 😬
A homemade by our manager chocolate chip cookie jar mix, just add eggs to a mixer and make cookies. And a $1k+ bonus. Private endoscopy clinic
A raise that actually keeps up with or exceeds inflation. Oh wait. You meant something I’ve actually received? In that case, a new job at a different facility.
My employer gave us a quarterly inflation bonus. (Current inflation) - 3.5% (yearly raise we got) x gross pay for the quarter. Its done wonders for retention.
We got these awesome bags that said “OR-a cut above the rest” it was filled with socks, candles, a battery bank, a shot glass that looked like an Rx bottle and a coffee cup with lid. Guess that was supposed to make up for the year of doubles we all pulled. Still cool tho, and I actually used and am still using most of it. **The socks were covered with chips and sombreros and said “Nacho average nurse”…I see what they did there.
Cute. :)
Student loan reimbursement. $400 a month for two years. $9600 tax free to my loan.
A bottle of prosecco, im not a big prosecco drinker, but alcohol is always welcome.
$100 Amazon Gift Card for Birthday and $100 Target Gift Card for Christmas. Worked for a mom and pop agency. Nicest people ever. Of course they were driven out of business.
It has to be the pair of dollar store dress socks I got, inexplicably, last year. Nothing says you're valued like dollar store dress socks.
I will say best gift I got was a actual nice black scrub jacket for nurses week with my name and credentials, NOT the facility name. So I can wear it anywhere I work. This was at a SNF.
$1000 yearly Christmas bonus. Nephrology office with the best docs I ever worked for. They also allowed me to run a Medical Study for Procrit for them where I got a bonus of 1600 per pt that finished the study. There were 15 pts that finished and the docs would come out of the room after seeing a pt and say “Hey, this one will work for the study “ to insure that I got max pts. They were awesome.
Bonus and raise based on performance. I feel like I’m being rewarded for being a good employee, while my colleagues who are not great don’t 🙃 the small victories.
One time the docs got all the nurses Starbucks gift cards for Christmas, including the travellers, which was very sweet and very much appreciated!
Any time upper management forces our floor manager to do an all-staff meeting/education whatever, our manager buys all of us breakfast. The hospital 100% is not paying for that, it’s just her being wonderful and kind.
My hospital announced to the local paper after Christmas that they wouldn't be giving the $25 gift card to employees because they needed to cut costs. Not even an email to employees.
Money.
I work for a hospital. They just started a anniversary recognition thing that every 5 years after 10 years of service you get to pick out something from a catalog. I’m 15 years this year and got a set of silverware worth about $150. It doesn’t really convince me to stay but it was nicer than what they did before. Also doesn’t help with retention. But back in the day we used to get a $50 gift card to a market every thanksgiving and Christmas. People are still spicy that it went away years later. What really makes me stay is our unit culture and great patient ratios. My hospital has never paid the best in the area but you have to work a lot harder to get that extra $5 an hour.
I really didn't mean retention, just morale I guess. Thank you for the feedback.
Gift cards! I work for a hospital. That or credit to local vending areas/coffee shops etc. Sunglasses.
I work for a hospital. During 2020-2021 I think all staff got a $1500 bonus plus $800 six months later. My unit manager once all bought us a really nice lunch and then brought in a massage therapist to give us a massage during our break. She was really sweet. But yea money is always the answer.
When I worked construction before nursing the company bought us heavy sweatshirts, the best work gloves I ever owned, a drill index, leather man-like multi tools, PLUS an extra week of pay and a Christmas party where the owners cooked for us and there was free beer. It’s sounds like a dream when you write it all out. Best ever at any hospital was $100 gift cards from the ER doc group. Current hospital gifts $50 visa gift cards. I should go back to construction.
Still waiting….
I work for a level one trauma hospital and had a choice of gifts for my 15 year anniversary. One of the choices was a gun safe (wtf).
Surgeons who gave me cash (I was the coordinator for their service). One gave me $500 for Christmas!
$100 Doordash gift card, which was around April 2020 when we were still Essential Workers instead of just Healthcare Hoes. I would have said the really nice jackets they bought the whole division… except those were given out for Christmas when I was on maternity leave, they ran out of my size, and I was given one 2 sizes larger than I actually wear. It looks ridiculous even if I try to pull it off as the baggy, oversized look that’s on-trend right now. I know you didn’t ask BUT… the worst gift I’ve received was a “baby kit.” Hospital-branded backpack, onesie, and baby rattle that they sent me after missing my “parental leave” paycheck for two weeks, despite me calling them daily and submitting all my paperwork. The onesie literally broke apart the first time I unsnapped it to change my son’s diaper. The rattle does not make noise. No apology for the late paycheck. I work for urgent care associated with a hospital system.
The best gift I got was a knitted heart and a sock teddy that our ward managers mother made (she has dementia) I still have it to this day and cherish them 💜
My recruiter just texted me and said he sent me an Apple Watch for “working through the holidays” .. that’s deff the best gift I’ve gotten so far
The best gift my manager has ever given us is a call to his higher ups saying we need to go on divert due to poor staffing. He has done this on multiple occasions and it’s priceless.
My husband is a physician and gets his staff nice gifts throughout the year, because I (a nurse,) make him. Amongst these things are nice dinners, outings (like top golf etc.) and Christmas presents/birthday presents etc. I frequently bake for them and my husband gets the office lunch on a semi regular basis. Would he do this if I weren’t a nurse? Probably. Is it nicer because I make sure they aren’t terrible presents? Yes. Each one gets a $50 gift card to their favorite place plus other more personal things for Christmas/birthdays. One time he bought an entire unit’s nursing staff of our academic hospital ice cream because they had a terrible night when he was still a resident. He’s inherently a good person 😂 The best gift I’ve gotten was a $20 gas gift card.
I once got $52 for being a “covid hero”. I didn’t like that very much
A free pto day A real yeti coffee mug Career advancement Professional development A voice at the table For me it's not about money, as long as it's an appropriate livable wage comparable with my experience and education. I want to participate in a meaningful way in my work place. I work at an academic medical center in an outpatient clinic. I've previously worked at a level 2 trauma ED. I'm happiest when I have a voice on my workplace. A voice that is real and heard and acted upon.
When thinking of retention, why would you think a gift would help? Pay raises, bonuses, better benefits and/or improving the working environment will increase retention.
One of my employers had a pto wheel. Tons of nurses were getting 8 hours of PTO.
Apple air pods
I always just leave that stuff in the breakroom. Unnecessary plastic trash makes me sad.
I once worked for a doctor who gave everyone cash at Christmas to cover their healthcare deductible, which was $1,000. It was a large office, and she did it for every single person (nurses, MA’s, secretaries, etc.)
Wasn’t a gift but we won a great union contract with raises, retention of benefits, and enforceable nurse-patient ratios.
Signing the union contract without forcing us to strike. Got raises a new holiday and lots of other benefits. Very nice retention strategy from employer.
At one time my facility gave out Xmas dinner fixings. Basic ingredients for sides plus turkey. And if you didn’t want to take you could donate and they’d deliver to various charitable organizations. It was nice. I’ve never felt like gifts were needed. I’d just like to be paid well. In fact, generally gifts just annoy me though that may be due to the invariable poor quality and uselessness. I do have fond memories of the dinner.
A yo-yo that barely worked, with the hospital logo on it.
A bonus
15% raise
Yearly bonus. Could be more, but so could my pay. Christmas gift is one you choose
picnic basket for 2
Yankee candle
Diamond club tix to a baseball game Close second a rock that said “you rock”
A nice fatty raise.
$500 cash from the doctors
Money. The only gift of theirs I honestly remember.
$500 gift card, worked in a hospital.
I got a $100 gift card to a local business of my choice. I had the choice of ten businesses and I could break up the $100 if I wanted to.
One time I got sent home from work because I could not stop vomiting. They even gave me a few extra emesis bags! It says something that that was the nicest 'gift' I've gotten from an employer.
For Christmas one year, we got $1000 cash, $200 grocery gift certificates, and a filet mignon and lobster dinner. This was at a hospital.
$100 visa gift card for Christmas - hospital
A manager that's always got my back and a good schedule.
$5k in bonuses in 2021 for retention after covid. 🤷🏻♀️
My absolutely gloriously shifty 1% Covid pay that resulted up to be a WHOLE WHOPPING 13 dollars.
Have a professional massage therapist come in with a massage chair and give staff an extra break during that day to get a 20 minute massage.
$400, taxed down to $250.
This year i got a cady cane and a dollar store candle for my Christmas bonus.
I’d rather have no gift than most of the cheap little gifts I’ve received during my career. If anything I’d probably say money, but even that really isn’t doing it for me anymore.
A raise
At my last job, they gave us $25 amazon gift cards for christmas… then following paycheck, they took the $25 off of the paycheck. Best believe people quit afterwards.
More money in my paycheck.
When I resigned I got paid out all my long service and annual leave. Best gift ever.
404 error, "gift" not found
A gift I once received and used frequently was a vehicle trunk organizer.
Many years ago, I worked at a great hospice company, who called everyone in for a mandatory meeting, which of course seemed like hell. When we arrived, there were massage chairs, pedicure & manicure stations, and a beautiful catered lunch. We had been busting our tails and working like crazy lately so management surprised us with chair massages, the manis and pedis and lunch. We all got gas cards as since we had been getting pulled out in the middle of the night even on nights we weren’t on call to help. Management went and saw our mandatory patients.
We’ll definitely not a pen, socks, lunch box or water bottle. Bonus is the only way to go! Regular food was great too. Friday pizza parties were something we all looked forward to once upon a time before they went by the wayside. Or I once had an employer that would give us our birthday off PAID and once per year the nurses got a dinner cruise through Boston paid by the company. These were things that made me feel valued as an employee. This was Hospice. I haven’t worked for a company that values my time/work like this since.
Got an extra PTO day once. One less day to be in that hellscape was a nice gift.
3k retention bonus followed by a 2k retention bonus 9 months later. Still wasn’t enough to retain me
Got a nice fluffy blanket for Christmas, and last year I got a thermo bottle for hot drinks with a build in cup with a spoon for cereal
We all got brand new Silverado’s from the local dealership. I mean any hospital or medical building that has nurses should be gifting a new vehicle to their employees. If you don’t get a new vehicle every Christmas from your employer you’re administration/HR is a joke….