As an RN, I was always told we may not accept gifts, period. The hospital where i work, however, has never interfered with food gifts to staff or to lunches from companies. Personally, I have had families who wanted to pay me somehow, and I asked them to donate to our OB dept. fund. Some have handed me checks on the spot! Much more often, though, they will send cards and pictures, cookies, and occasionally flowers. One mom recently brought a gift basket and left it for me. I can't imagine sending these things back, or the hospital insisting that I give them away (although i share with staff). It is interesting to see a written policy with a yearly value listed. Where does a gift cross the line into pressure of some kind? My personal thoughts are that if they are totally unsolicited, are small thank you gifts like food or flowers or some personal item, aren't given until after work with the client is completed, aren't from corporate sources that hope to get future "good will" and financial gain through us, then it should be ok. Patients need to know that they don't have to buy special treatment, and I think most LC's and nurses would never expect or accept anything offered in that way. Company lunches and conferences are a whole different matter, and I believe they should be handled separately from private tokens of appreciation. I'd lie to hear others' thoughts on this. Sue *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html