Sue Stewart of tackled this issue in an article entitled Should Nurses Have Romantic Relationships With Patients? In this article, Stewart is quick to point out that the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) states that “the nurse should avoid situations where he or she has a personal relationship with the patient.” Developing a romantic relationship while the patient is in your care, therefore, presents an ethical issue. A Romantic Relationship between Nurse and Patient Usually Not Okay To act otherwise may put the nurse’s job in jeopardy. So what happens if a nurse and patient mutually develop strong feelings for each other? In this case, it is the nurse who should establish boundaries and prevent the relationships from moving forward. This may happen if the patient is extremely dependent on the care that the nurse is providing or if the nurse is providing the only perceived positive interaction throughout the day.

Sometimes, however, patients may adopt more amorous attitudes toward their nurses. Is It Common for Nurses and Patients to Fall in Love?Īs a general rule, nurses are able to maintain enough distance from their patients to avoid the problem of a romantic bond forming. But nurses must be careful to maintain boundaries, as building relationships with patient that are too close can lead to emotional and even ethical dilemmas. Such care has been shown to lead to better responses by patients as well as faster healing times. Nurses are taught to use compassion, a positive attitude and TLC when treating patients.

Some people mistakenly believe that the term refers to a nurse falling in love with her patient, or vice versa, but it is meant to connote a kindhearted and empathetic relationship, not a romantic one. The Florence Nightingale Effect (also referred to as Nightingale Syndrome) is a pop-culture reference to the real nurse, Florence Nightingale, who treated her patients with care and compassion. Namely, is it a good idea for a nurse and a patient to begin a romantic relationship? What Is the Florence Nightingale Effect? Response to the story has been overwhelmingly positive, but what nobody seems to be questioning is the ethical aspect of the story. One version of the story, which was featured on the Huffington Post, can be found here. It is the heart-warming love story about an ALS patient who fell in love with, and married, his nurse. Today’s Nurse and the Florence Nightingale EffectĪ news story recently made the rounds online as it was published through a number of different media channels.

Florence nightingale effect