Florence Nightingale effect

Florence Nightingale effect

The Florence Nightingale effect is a term used to describe a doctor's, nurse's or other caregiver's development of feelings for his/her patient. This effect causes a feeling much like infatuation, love or sexual attraction to come over the caregiver regarding a patient, even if very little communication or contact takes place outside of basic care. Feelings may fade once the patient recovers.

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Origin

The effect is named for Florence Nightingale, a pioneer in the field of nursing in the second half of the 19th century. Because of her passion for caregiving, she was known as "the lady of the lamp" because she would check on patients even at night (something not done before). Her care would forever change the way hospitals treated patients. There is no record of Florence Nightingale having ever fallen in love with one of her patients. In fact, despite some offers, she never married for fear it might interfere with her calling for nursing. As best as can be determined, the phrase originated in pop-culture.

Medical

The Florence Nightingale effect and the Florence Nightingale syndrome are often considered to be the same thing. However, the latter can also refer to chronic fatigue syndrome, from which Nightingale was said to have suffered. Some consider her the first known case of CFS.

It is not recognized as a medical condition; rather, it is a pop culture name given to a situation. It is considered unethical in the medical profession for a provider to become involved with a patient, and doing so could result in termination of the caregiver.

Misconception

Many often misunderstand the term to mean the opposite; that is, a patient falling in love with the caregiver as a result of interpreting an amiable bedside manner as affection.[1][2] The right term coined by Sigmund Freud for this situation is transference. [1]

In the media

The term was used in the movie Back to the Future when Dr. Emmett Brown describes Marty McFly's mother's infatuation with him, to whom she had tended while he was unconscious after being hit by a car, as a Florence Nightingale effect, summarizing that "it happens in hospitals when nurses fall in love with their patients".[2] It should be noted that this is actually the earliest known use of the phrase.

Lois says that Meg has a typical Florence Nightingale syndrome after finding out about her crush on Joe Swanson at the Family Guy's episode 12 of the season 9 titled "The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair".

In the first season first episode of the TV series Royal Pains, Dr. Hank told April it is just a Florence Nightingale syndrome when she kept telling him she was in love with him after he saved her life at Boris' party, which was not the right use of the term.

Reference

  1. ^ "www.warc.com". https://www.warc.com/ContentAndPartners/Samples/76304.pdf. [dead link]
  2. ^ a b "Florence Nightingale Effect" - Ehrfurcht Magazine

External links


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