A good family doctor or specialist is hard to find, but they start to feel like a friend you can always go to without worrying much once you are with them. So if such a good doctor of yours decides to retire, it’s a no-brainer to send them off with a gift or a farewell present. In the U.S., a doctor who is part of the American Medical Association (AMA) has to follow specific rules according to the Code of Medical Ethics while accepting gifts from their patients. But the same restrictions probably wouldn’t apply to a retiring doctor, so there is no professional problem if you plan a gift for a retiring doctor.
Doctors during their professional careers may restrain their alcohol consumption. Therefore a good liquor or wine should be top of your list because retirement is not well spent if you can’t enjoy liquor without worrying about the time. The second thing a retiree would want is a new hobby, something in which they can invest their free time. So gardening tools, ornament building kits, or hiking gear are a good start. If you have known the doctor for a long time, you must know their interests, so you can also plan the gift according to that.
But if you are still confused or want to surprise your doctor with a gift that doesn’t look costly if they decide to refuse to accept it, then this list of retirement gift ideas for doctors might help you. I have curated affordable products in this list that a doctor or medical professional might find quirky or interesting.
Table of Contents
Best Gift Ideas For Retiring Doctor:
1. Personalized Bobblehead
A person can’t reject a gift if it’s customized according to them. So this Personalized Bobblehead would surely make any doctor accept it as a gift and place it on their home desk once they retire. The bobblehead involves a three-step process with revisions according to your requirement. Besides the revision period, you can expect the bobblehead delivered to you in 15 days.
2. Doctor Life: A Snarky Adult Coloring Book
A person would always find a book interesting if it’s relatable to their profession. This Doctor Life: A Snarky Adult Coloring Book will definitely make a great coffee table book for a doctor who doesn’t mind snarky humor. The book contains 50 coloring pages of the most hilarious moments of medical school, residency, and doctorhood that only MDs can appreciate.
3. Prescription Coffee Mug
Coffee is a hell of a drug that even a doctor can’t stop using after decades of spending countless nights in hospital. So gifting a doctor, this Prescription Coffee Mug would be the ultimate “Just What the Doctor Ordered.” It’s a ceramic cup that can hold upto 12 oz of coffee. If you are looking for more coffee-related gifts, we also have an article on the best gifts for coffee lovers.
4. Nurse Cookie Cutter
Don’t be fooled by this product’s name. While this Nurse Cookie Cutter will make an excellent gift for a nurse, it will also make a great gift for a doctor. Except for the nurse hat, all the other cutters are also doctor-related. With free time after retirement, baking is something a retiree will surely pick up as a hobby, so this set of cookie cutters will undoubtedly come in handy.
5. Bone Shape Ballpoint Pens
Novelty items like these Bone Shape Ballpoint Pens will make a hilarious gift for a doctor even if the chances of them using are low, considering no more writing prescriptions after retirement. But a novelty gift is an excellent choice if the gift is planned for a white elephant gift exchange if you know the doctor personally.
6. White Coat Wine Cover
A doctor might reject a bottle of good wine as a gift in case it comes off as a costly item. So why not disguise the wine bottle with this cute White Coat Wine Cover. It is an adorable cover that will add a charm to the wine bottle and make the receiver appreciate it more. It fits most standard bottles and comes with tiny accessories like an otoscope, syringe & capsules.
7. Willow Tree Just for You Angel
The Willow Tree Just for You Angel is a figurine that holds the ”With sincere thanks” sentiment. It expresses appreciation and thankfulness for a person. It makes a perfect gift for a doctor who has been with you for a long medical condition and made you hopeful in worrisome times.
8. Blood Cells Plush Set
A medical geek will spark in joy after receiving this Blood Cells Plush Set as a gift. Blood cells under the microscope look weird, so making them cute is something these plush are good at. The set contains a Red Blood Cell, White Blood Cell, Plasma, Platelet, Antibody. Each plush measures 2-4 inches, so with a little bit of thread, one can turn them into keyrings.
9. E.M.T. Insulated Lunch Tote
Giving a retiree doctor this E.M.T. Insulated Lunch Tote would be a hard choice because they no longer go to the office, so there is no point in carrying their lunch. But a lunch tote still has some use, in case the retiree decides to take an outdoor hobby like fishing or hiking where they may need to keep their precious goods prepped and ready to transplant right into the waiting stomach.
10. Cells at Work! Manga
Another hobby a retiree might try to get into is Japanese anime and manga. To start, I recommend Cells at Work! Manga series. Any medical professional who geeks out on attention to details related to medical science would appreciate this series as it’s equally educational and entertaining. A set of the first five volumes is a great start. Then there is also an anime adaptation of the series they can watch on Netflix.
