Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Nursing the postmodern body: a touching case

P Hickson, C A Holmes

    Nursing Inquiry
    |November 1, 1994
    PubMed
    Summary
    This summary is machine-generated.

    This study explores the complex and often contradictory ways nurses perceive and interact with the body through touch. It highlights how the body is described using diverse, sometimes conflicting, terms in nursing practice.

    Related Concept Videos

    You might also read

    Related Articles

    Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

    Sort by
    Same author

    Phase and amplitude dynamics of nonlinearly coupled oscillators.

    Chaos (Woodbury, N.Y.)·2015
    Same author

    Synchronization in a mechanical resonator array coupled quadratically to a common electromagnetic field mode.

    Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics·2014
    Same author

    Synchronization of many nanomechanical resonators coupled via a common cavity field.

    Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics·2012
    Same author

    Critical fluctuations in cortical models near instability.

    Frontiers in physiology·2012
    Same author

    Treatment of impetigo neonatorum with minimal doses of penicillin.

    American journal of diseases of children (1911)·2010
    Same author

    Understanding clinical decision making for PRN medication in mental health inpatient facilities.

    Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing·2010
    Same journal

    Antiracist Nursing Pedagogy and Decolonising Curriculum Design: Fostering Critical Consciousness for Equity in Nurse Education.

    Nursing inquiry·2026
    Same journal

    From Concept to Conditions of Practice: Digital Empathy Must be Designed, Taught, and Protected.

    Nursing inquiry·2026
    Same journal

    Madpessimism: A Manifesto.

    Nursing inquiry·2026
    Same journal

    Male Infertility Stigma as Relational Inequity: Nursing Implications for Women's Invisible Burdens in Reproductive Care.

    Nursing inquiry·2026
    Same journal

    Making Nursing Visible in General Practice: Responsible Action Research as an Approach to Developing Nurse-Sensitive Metrics.

    Nursing inquiry·2026
    Same journal

    Beyond Deskilling: Reframing Skill Disruption Among Internationally Educated Nurses as a Problem of Skill Governance.

    Nursing inquiry·2026
    See all related articles

    Area of Science:

    • Nursing Science
    • Body Studies
    • Sociology of Health

    Background:

    • The body is a central concept in nursing, yet its representation is multifaceted and contested.
    • Touch is a fundamental nursing intervention, carrying significant symbolic and practical meaning.
    • Existing literature often simplifies the nurse's embodied experience and the body's varied constructions.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To explore the diverse and often contradictory terms used by nurses to characterize the body.
    • To analyze how touch, as a medium, shapes these constructions of the body in nursing.
    • To provoke thought on the complex, multi-layered meanings attributed to the body within the nursing context.

    Main Methods:

    • Qualitative exploration of the concept of the body as constructed through nursing touch.

    Related Experiment Videos

  • Analysis of a wide range of terms (e.g., obedient, stigmatized, desexualized, communicative) applied to the body.
  • Juxtaposition of contradictory messages and emotions associated with the body in nursing.

    • Main Results:

    • The nurse's body is characterized by numerous competing and co-existing descriptors.
    • These terms range from obedient and sanitized to sinful, dangerous, and communicative.
    • The use of touch reveals a complex interplay of power, emotion, and social meaning.

    Conclusions:

    • The body in nursing is not a singular entity but a site of multiple, often conflicting, constructions.
    • Nurses navigate a complex landscape of embodied meanings through their use of touch.
    • Understanding these diverse constructions is crucial for nuanced nursing practice and education.