The Emotional Labour of Nursing Revisited: Can Nurses Still Care?

As nurses become responsible for increasingly technical service delivery, has the profession lost its focus on the emotional and human aspects of the role? Do care and compassion remain at the heart of contemporary nursing practice? In this major reworking of a classic text, respected author Pam Smith emphasizes the continued relevance of emotional labour within the modern healthcare context. Revisiting her original findings in light of fresh theoretical perspectives and data drawn from her own new research studies, Smith explores the ways in which the experience of learning nursing and caring is changing in the twenty-first century. A vivid example of the significance of nursing's evidence base, this timely new edition: addresses the most emotionally challenging aspects of the nursing role, including encountering death and dying on the ward; examines the impact of race, age, gender and violence in providing patient centred care; interrogates the importance of the role of practice educators and mentors in practice settings. An inspiring text for the next generation of nurses, The Emotional Labour of Nursing Revisited is an essential read for anyone interested in the contemporary challenges of keeping the whole person at the centre of their practice.