Being authentic and being a chameleon: nurse-patient interaction revisited.

Abstract

This paper explores contradictory understandings of nurse-patient interaction arising through an exploration of 'being authentic' and 'being a chameleon'. The concepts arose during a critical praxis research study exploring nurse-patient relationships in the context of life-threatening or terminal illness. Being authentic can be understood as a dominant view in the nursing literature of the nurse-patient relationship, incorporating the value of being genuine. However, we argue that this concept offers only a partial and inadequate framework from which to understand nurse-patient interaction. The paper argues that nurse-patient relationships develop intersubjectively, with both the nurse and ..