The ambiguity of altruism in nursing: A qualitative study

Background:For a long time, altruism was the basis for caring. Today, when society is more individualized, it is of interest to explore the meaning of altruism in nursing.Methods:In all, 13 nurses from a Swedish acute care setting participated in two focus group interviews performed as Socratic dial...

Description complète

Enregistré dans:  
Détails bibliographiques
Auteurs: Slettmyr, Anna (Auteur) ; Schandl, Anna (Auteur) ; Arman, Maria (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
Vérifier la disponibilité: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
En cours de chargement...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Publié: Sage 2019
Dans: Nursing ethics
Année: 2019, Volume: 26, Numéro: 2, Pages: 368-377
Sujets non-standardisés:B Socratic Dialogue
B Løgstrup
B Ethics
B Individualism
B Martinsen
B Interdependence
B phenomenological hermeneutical
B Caring
Accès en ligne: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Résumé:Background:For a long time, altruism was the basis for caring. Today, when society is more individualized, it is of interest to explore the meaning of altruism in nursing.Methods:In all, 13 nurses from a Swedish acute care setting participated in two focus group interviews performed as Socratic dialogues. Data were analyzed using a phenomenological hermeneutical method.Ethical considerations:Ethical issues were considered throughout the process according to established ethical principles. Informed consent was obtained from all participants, confidentiality regarding the data was guaranteed and quotations anonymized.Findings:Altruism created a sense of ambivalence and ambiguity, described as a rise of sovereign expressions of life caused by “the other’s” need, but also unwillingness to take unconditional responsibility for “the other.”Conclusion:Society’s expectations of altruism and nurses’ perception of their work as a salaried job collide in modern healthcare. Nurses are not willing to fully respond to the ethical demand of the patients. In case of a disaster, when nurses personal safety, life and health may be at risk, there might be reasons to question whether the healthcare organization would be able to fulfill its obligations of providing healthcare to an entire population.
ISSN:1477-0989
Contient:Enthalten in: Nursing ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0969733017709336