Abjection in nursing: silently reading the body.
OBJECTIVE
Throughout their careers, nurses must deal with patients that may invoke feelings of dejection, repulsion, or distress. This abjection of the patient is a real issue already established within the literature. This article seeks to enlighten what continues to be silenced in nursing practice.


METHODS
This article will present a paradigm of the nurse, patient's body, and professional caring through the lens of abjection as theoretically defined by Julia Kristeva, using body hair in women as a forum for discussion.


CONCLUSIONS
Abjection is linked, by its very nature, to the definitions of professional caring. The ability to read a body through the abjection of one's own self is a rite of passage for most nurses.
Sheila Ray
SR
Montgomery
D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair; D006801:Humans; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000523:psychology*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009742:Nursing Theory; D010687:Philosophy, Nursing; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012649:Self Concept