{"id":1823,"date":"2024-11-01T18:47:51","date_gmt":"2024-11-01T22:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/live-coto.pantheonsite.io\/?post_type=resource&p=1823"},"modified":"2026-01-20T12:25:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T17:25:31","slug":"gift-giving","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.coto.org\/resources\/gift-giving\/","title":{"rendered":"Gift Giving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Question:\u00a0<\/strong>Can I accept a gift from my client?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Answer: <\/strong>A reminder to occupational therapists about gift giving. As the holiday season approaches, occupational therapists may start receiving gifts from patients or clients. While these gestures are often well-intentioned, they can also inadvertently affect professional interactions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Refer to the Standards<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n\n
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The Standard for the Prevention and Management of Conflicts of Interest<\/a> states:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Know that the inappropriate exchange of gifts, money, services, or hospitality can exploit client relationships and is considered a boundary violation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exchange gifts with clients only if these have little to no monetary value, the offer is not recurring, and refusal could harm the client-therapist relationship.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Refer to Organizational Policy or develop a policy where none exist in advance of the holiday<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n\n
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Many employers and organizations have policies regarding gift acceptance to prevent potential issues. These policies specify the types of gifts employees can accept, while others have a strict no-gift policy. Occupational therapists who work independently or in private practice should consider developing policies to address client gift gestures.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Take Time to Reflect<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n\n
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Prior to accepting a gift, ask yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. If I take this gift, will it be viewed as crossing professional boundaries?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. If I take this gift, is the intent to influence or change the expectations around occupational therapy care?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Would others consider this gift from the client as \u2018excessive\u2019 or \u2018inappropriate\u2019?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    If the answer is \u2018yes\u2019 to any of these questions, it is best to respectfully decline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    For any questions, please contact our Practice Resource Service<\/a><\/strong> at 1-800-890-6570 ext. 240 or practice@coto.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Question:\u00a0Can I accept a gift from my client? Answer: A reminder to occupational therapists about gift giving. As the holiday season approaches, occupational therapists may start receiving gifts from patients or clients. While these gestures are often well-intentioned, they can also inadvertently affect professional interactions. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advanced_seo_description":"Read the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario's Q&A on gift giving.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Gift Giving | College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":""},"resource-audience":[17],"resource-topic":[35],"resource-type":[12],"class_list":["post-1823","resource","type-resource","status-publish","hentry","resource-audience-registrants","resource-topic-working-as-an-ot","resource-type-q-and-a"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coto.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/1823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coto.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coto.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resource"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coto.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.coto.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/1823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7582,"href":"https:\/\/www.coto.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/1823\/revisions\/7582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coto.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"resource-audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coto.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-audience?post=1823"},{"taxonomy":"resource-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coto.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-topic?post=1823"},{"taxonomy":"resource-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coto.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-type?post=1823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}