NurseWeek: Holiday wish list

Holiday wish list
How to find the perfect gift for the nurse in your life

By Diane Sussman
December 11, 2000
Photos: www.designsetc.com/nurse.htm

Images of nurses in different communities are captured in these collectors’ international stamps.


	You've read the article. Now tell us what you think. Other places to look Here are a few other Web sites that offer an array of gifts, art, stamps, dolls and collectibles related to nursing. For new collectibles such as porcelain nurse figurines and "Time Heals" dolls (along with more utilitarian wares). For refrigerator magnets of nurse Pez heads. For personalized nurse afghans, artwork, key chains and figurines. For antique and collectible dolls and the clothes and accessories to adorn them.

Freud posited the question: What do women want? Here at NurseWeek, we have reformulated the question, asking instead: What do nurses want? More specifically, what might they want for the holidays? And where might they find it?

It is unlikely that most nurses would want any of the more extravagant or outrageous gifts on the market this year, like the one-of-a-kind Russian submarine on sale in one pricey catalog. It is also unlikely that the nation’s nurses will be filling out Secret Santa requests for gifts of prepaid colonoscopies, mammograms and PSA screenings, an idea being proposed this holiday season by an Arizona physician.

It’s far more likely that the vast majority of nurses would like a backrub and a day off. But if the colleague or loved one of a nurse wants to give something of a more material nature, particularly something that pertains to nursing, here are some suggestions:

Florence, country style. Dedicated collectors of nursing collectibles are a strange and varied lot, as evidenced by sixties-era rock-and-roller Country Joe MacDonald, who maintains a Florence Nightingale Shoppe (his spelling, not ours) on his Web site. The Florence Nightingale beer glass might have made the founding mother of nursing gasp, although she might have found a use for the coffee mug or T-shirt. The site also has a photo of Country Joe’s own collection of nursing dolls. Find it at www.countryjoe.com.

Oh, that Cherry Ames. From the jungles of Kenya to the dude ranches of Arizona, Cherry Ames was there – cape flowing, hat secured, pretty as a picture. The indefatigable nurse, who had a total of 27 books recounting her experiences, inspired legions of American girls to become nurses in the ’40s and ’50s.

Unfortunately, it’s not easy finding the books, which are out of print. The last book in the series, written by Helen Wells and Julie Tatham, was published in 1968.

In 1972 and 1978, the company reissued some of the books in paperback under the Temp imprint, renumbered and retitled. Cherry Ames’ Book of First Aid and Home Nursing was published in 1959, the same year that Parker Brothers offered the Cherry Ames nursing game. For collecting information, or just to revisit this heroine of bygone days, go to Cherry Ames’ Web page.

Miss Curity dolls and more. It may be too late to score that antique nursing uniform, hat, cape or pin by Dec. 25, but it’s not a bad time to begin looking for the future.

"Nursing antiques, which are defined as 100 years old, are very difficult to find," said Geri Rosato, MS, RN, a longtime collector of nursing memorabilia and director of the American Museum of Nursing in Glendale, Ariz. "Nursing hats were made individually, and most nurses want to die wearing their pins, so you don’t see that stuff often."

Even so, that rare find can eventually turn up if the seeker is diligent about attending antique shows, collectors’ sales, antiquarian bookstores, toy shows and flea markets, Rosato said. She also recommends skimming the ads in antiques magazines and networking, networking, networking.

"The only way you’re really going to find the hard-to-find things is to have everyone out there looking for you," Rosato said. "I have doctors who collect and I tell them, ‘I’ll get you the medical if you get me the nursing.’ "

The philatelist nurse. Throughout American history, nurses have graced the nation’s postage stamps. Those stamps range from images celebrating the profession as a whole to portraits of well-known nurses such as the two Claras (Maass and Barton).

The stamps, as well as posters depicting the images on the stamps, are available from Designs Etc. in Middeburg, Va. Diane Rose, owner of the company, says the nursing stamps are among the most popular in her collection.

"We’ve got the husbands, boyfriends, parents and friends, all wanting the nursing stamps," she said. To view the stamps and posters, go to www.designsetc.com/nurse.htm.

For international stamps celebrating health, nursing, midwifery and other medical matters, check out www.newzeal.com/steve.

Something new. After years of thinking and planning, the Arizona Nurses Association unveiled its lifetime career portfolio for nurses during National Nurses Week last year.

The portfolio was designed along the lines of portfolios "for artists or other occupations," with sections for licenses, continuing education credits, certificates, goals and "anything else a nurse would want to put in it," said Lyndall Eddy, MPA, RN, executive director of the organization.

The portfolio is available through the association in Tempe. For information, call (480) 831-0404.