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Accepting gifts from clients
My client overheard my colleagues talking about my upcoming birthday. On the day of my birthday he gave me a gift card for a local restaurant. Can I accept the gift?
To maintain appropriate professional boundaries in your therapeutic relationship with the client, you should not accept the gift.
Nurses are responsible for effectively establishing and maintaining professional boundaries with clients. A boundary is crossed when the professional and therapeutic relationship between a nurse and client becomes unprofessional and personal in nature. This can happen unintentionally, but it is still considered a misuse of the relationship. The client’s needs should be your priority.
However, if you are faced with a very rare situation where you believe that refusing would harm the therapeutic relationship, page 8 of the Therapeutic Nurse-Client Relationship practice standard provides information about CNO's expectations.
