Nursing Kit

• Student nurses practice loading medication into syringes.Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images
  
  Many nursing programs require students to buy a nursing kit with essential equipment to use during classroom labs in preparation for clinical training in a health care facility. Since prices for kits can be very expensive, give your nursing student items that will likely be included, such as Foley and IV catheters, IV tubing and bag, syringes, protective goggles, sterile gloves, alcohol wipes, gowns and bandages. These are all items that student nurses will use when practicing procedures such as starting and removing IV lines and drawing blood. For more expensive additions to a nursing kit, buy a stethoscope and a blood pressure monitor.
  
  

Massage Treatment

• A Swedish massage is gentle and relaxing.Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images
  
  According to a 2007 study by Dr. Steven Pryjmachuk, one-third of nursing students experience severe stress that induces anxiety and depression. Another study, by Farkhondeh Sharif in 2005, identified clinical training as the most anxiety-causing aspect of nursing programs. Help a nursing student relax after a difficult test or taxing clinical rotation with a gift certificate for a massage treatment. Massages not only relieve aches and stiffness, but also help to manage depression and anxiety and reduce stress.
  
  

Clothing

• Stains are easily removed from scrubs, which are 100 percent cotton.Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images
  
  Give a nursing student a supply of scrubs, which are inexpensive and easy to maintain. Scrubs are simple cotton shirts and pants that nurses wear to protect themselves from bio-hazards such as blood. Wearing scrubs to classes will help nursing students become more comfortable wearing them, as they are often required to wear them in hospitals. Since scrubs were designed to be easily put on and removed, students who contact a hazardous material during labs can easily take off the contaminated clothing. Wearing scrubs also will have a professional impact for the nursing student by showing her professors she is serious about her pursuit, which will gain her credibility and respect.
  
  

eReader

• An EZ Reader, manufactured by Astak, offers a text-to-speech feature.Ethan Miller/Getty Images News/Getty Images
  
  Purchase a nursing student an eReader, which enables them to download electronic books, magazines, journals and reference materials from the Internet. Many eReaders are on the market, ranging in price from $50 to $400. Instead of hauling around thick medical textbooks from class to class or digging through numerous journals looking for medical studies, students can find everything they need in one small device. Many eReaders also have access to the Internet so students can run searches and check emails from instructors.