# Hospital Staff allowed to receive tips? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 18, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hospital-staff-allowed-to-receive-tips/600070 "2011-10-18T21:39:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hospital-staff-allowed-to-receive-tips/600070/21 "2011-10-19T17:24:26Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > Same story at my hospital. Not that anyone ever gives gifts to the lab, but if anyone tried, we’d have to decline. I don’t _think_ anyone would enforce that “grounds for termination” rule if it was something like cookies, though. Probably not. I think what they are trying to prevent is… well, someone recently told me about a former employee who was taking bribes of some sort. Thousands of dollars worth. She’s in court today to testify against this person. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hospital-staff-allowed-to-receive-tips/600070/22 "2011-10-19T18:19:24Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Probably not. I think what they are trying to prevent is… well, someone recently told me about a former employee who was taking bribes of some sort. Thousands of dollars worth. She’s in court today to testify against this person. It is very, very difficult to get an appointment with my primary care doctor—she’s usually scheduling 3 weeks out for an acute issue and 8 months out for a routine physical. I never thought of bribing the staff, though… ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hospital-staff-allowed-to-receive-tips/600070/23 "2011-10-19T19:44:42Z")
Who solicited the tip? ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hospital-staff-allowed-to-receive-tips/600070/24 "2011-10-19T20:01:04Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > It is very, very difficult to get an appointment with my primary care doctor—she’s usually scheduling 3 weeks out for an acute issue and 8 months out for a routine physical. I never thought of bribing the staff, though… Find a new doctor. That’s crazy. If you have a bad case of bronchitis, you could have pneumonia before the doctor would even take a listen. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hospital-staff-allowed-to-receive-tips/600070/25 "2011-10-19T20:06:57Z")
The post that I assume sparked this discussion, from [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=628160): > [@Was being 'royalty' important to you when having the baby?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-being-royalty-important-to-you-when-having-the-baby/599930/27): > > Several months ago, my Dad was in the hospital for almost a week, running up close to a $90,000 tab (almost all paid for by his 2 different insurance companies, though he is on the hook for a little bit of it) and a week or two later he got a “Get Well” card in the mail, ostensibly asking about his ongoing recovery, signed by all of the various nurses and the aides that he interacted with during his stay, with an envelope inclosed, (just the right size for some cash, a check or a few gift cards) pre-addressed to the hospital nursing staff… ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hospital-staff-allowed-to-receive-tips/600070/26 "2011-10-19T20:36:32Z")
> [@Foxy40](#): > > Find a new doctor. That’s crazy. If you have a bad case of bronchitis, you could have pneumonia before the doctor would even take a listen. Well, she does have a PA and a (very bitchy, incompetent) NP working with her. I can usually get in with one of them. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hospital-staff-allowed-to-receive-tips/600070/27 "2011-10-20T00:57:41Z")
I have been solicited to support the hospital charity fund raising efforts, after my loved one spent time in hospital. I figure that’s kind of fair though, I do owe them a debt, and buying a ticket on their lottery is fun, so why not? ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hospital-staff-allowed-to-receive-tips/600070/28 "2011-10-20T01:11:13Z")
We get lots of cookies, cakes and candy (never a fruit basket , though, and we would definitely enjoy one!) for the whole unit, but individual gifts are discouraged and cash gifts are never allowed. Thankfully, no one has ever offered a cash gift. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hospital-staff-allowed-to-receive-tips/600070/29 "2011-10-20T01:54:11Z")
I have several nurses in my family, my mom, my aunt(they are retired), and some cousins, male and female. I’ve never heard them talk about tipping money, but I have heard about cards, cookies, candy, and so on. My mom and dad, while traveling in Washington state, were hurt in a motorcycle accident, and treated at a small town’s hospital. For several years my mom sent the nurses a big holiday decorated container of popcorn, at Christmas. She always got a nice thank you reply, and on time they joked about the “conflict” over who would get the container when it was empty! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hospital-staff-allowed-to-receive-tips/600070.md?page=1)