Last minute Christmas gift ideas for the hospital worker

Do you have a family member who works in the hospital? Here are two last-minute Christmas gift options:

VivoBarefoot Ultra

I purchased the Ultra a while back and wore them for about two months in an ICU with a tile-over-concrete floor. They have worked great for me.

The Ultras are a minimalist shoe, which means they provide very little support or padding and try to let your foot move naturally without a lot of arch support, pronation correction, etc.

The Ultras come with a fabric liner that I had to remove because it didn't fit well and smelled really, really bad. However, I just slide the outer casing over my socks and tighten up the elastic shoelaces, and they work great. They are comfortable, light, indestructable, and easily washable, just like crocs, but they also don't look terrible and don't let my foot slide all around inside the shoe, like crocs do. Plus, since they're not slip-ons, they don't slip off when you're rushing to a Code 99 call.

One problem with minimalist shoes is body weight. It might be hard to wear them if you are very heavy. Or it might take you a while to adjust. It took me about a year of wearing minimalist shoes to the gym before my feet were comfortable without the support of a typical running shoe, but now my feet feel much stronger than they ever have in the past.

My co-workers think the shoes look great, but a lot are concerned about the holes. They might let in blood, diarrhea, or needles. The truth is, there are holes in crocs, too. And, as someone who has had a patient poo on my shoe, I can attest that the fabric in running shoes will not keep out fluids, either.

Buy on Amazon.


Stocking stuffers: utility scissors

You can never have too many utility scissors. You bring them in an isolation room and leave them there, and then they disappear. Luckily, you can get them pretty cheap.

Buy on Amazon.

I always have good luck with Amazon. They get me my products fast, and if I order two-day delivery, they get to me in two days!