Running head: MODULE 1_TOPIC 1

Receiving Gifts from Clients

All through the realm of social practice, professionals have grappled with

the recurring problem of client gifts. Generally, these presents are nothing but

symbols of gratitude—nothing more, that's all. If a practitioner refuses such a gift

for moral reasons, the client is likely to be hurt or offended.

Most of the clinical social staff, in my practice, acknowledge that, in

several cases, mainly when there are no signs of nefarious intentions that could

lead to gross boundaries breaches, professionals can retain gifts of low value and

emotional relevance. The social welfare organization where I worked allowed

employees to do so as a matter of policy, specifically if the gift was one that the

staff could appreciate. This approach would enable staffers to mitigate complex

boundary problems by depersonalizing the activity and defusing the emotional

attachment between the client and the employee.

I used to think that getting gifts was a good thing. When I used to receive

gifts that seemed to have no hidden agenda but could trigger emotional boundary

problems, I confronted unique difficulties. Clients are often unaware of the

emotional sense and importance of a gift and the mixed signals and complexities
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that might be connected to it. As a consequence, in these circumstances, I'd have

to make a tough decision.

Standard 1.06(a), Standard 1.06(b), and Standard 1.06(c) of the National

Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics (2008) caution social workers

about the dangers of embracing tokens from clients. I realized that embracing a

gift tainted my evaluation of my performance. 

Receiving gifts and hospitality, as per Mintzker (2015), spurs conflict of

interest. When I strongly contemplated embracing a gift or benefit from a client, I

would discuss with conscientious peers and managers, wherever possible, and

scrutinize the legal and ethical consequences of whichever value or tangibility.

This was particularly current ethical principles and organization policy, and the

client's and practitioner's perspectives ("Institute of Business Ethics," 2012).

Besides, I would meticulously document the client's offers, decision-making

method, the essence of the action, and the reasoning in the case record. To date,

this record has proven to be extremely useful in cases where the client or another

party challenges my judgment.

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Reference

Institute of Business Ethics. (2012, November 10). The ethics of gifts &

hospitality. Institute of Business Ethics - IBE.

https://www.ibe.org.uk/resource/the-ethics-of-gifts-hospitality.html

Mintzker, Y., Braunack-Mayer, A., & Rogers, W. (2015). General practice ethics:

Continuing medical education and the pharmaceutical industry. Australian

family physician, 44(11), 846-848.

National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of ethics. Retrieved from

http://www.naswdc.org