Turning the Tables - The Vulnerability of Nurses Treating Anorexia Nervosa Patients

Wright, Karen Margaret orcid iconORCID: 0000-0003-0693-7294 and Schroeder, Doris orcid iconORCID: 0000-0002-3633-2758 (2016) Turning the Tables - The Vulnerability of Nurses Treating Anorexia Nervosa Patients. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics . ISSN 0963-1801

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0963180115000523

Abstract

In bioethics, the concept of vulnerability is applied almost exclusively to research participants and patients. We turn the tables and apply the concept to nurses caring for anorexia nervosa (AN) sufferers. In doing so, and using results from a qualitative research study undertaken in the UK, we show that AN nurses face a significant probability of incurring identifiable harms (inauthentic relationships and nonreciprocal relationships). Some recommendations on how these harms can be avoided or mitigated are given, but further research is needed.


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