Towards an understanding of nursing as a response to
human vulnerability
Derek Sellman RMN RGN BSc(Hons) MA
Principal Lecturer, University of the West of England, Faculty of Health and Social Care, Glenside Campus, Blackberry Hill, Bristol, BS і 6 IDD, UK
H~Abstract
It is not unusual for the adjective ‘vulnerable’ to be applied to those in
receipt of nursing practice without making clear what it is that persons
thus described are actually vulnerable to. In this paper I argue that the
way nursing has adopted the idea of vulnerability tends to imply that
some people are in some way invulnerable. This is conceptually unsus-
tainable and renders the idea of the vulnerable patient (almost) mean-
ingless. The paper explores the meaning of vulnerability both in general
terms and in the context of nursing practice. It is argued that to be in
receipt of nursing is to become, to a greater or lesser extent, more-than-
ordinary vulnerable. Thus all patients are more-than-ordinarily vulner-
able and this restricts their potential to flourish. Nurses are well placed
to contribute to the flourishing of more-than-ordinarily vulnerable per-
sons and my substantive claim is that this ‘protective’ function is indeed
a legitimate and fundamental part of the role of nurses.
Keywords: vulnerability, vulnerable patients, human flourishing, the
role of nurses.
Introduction
In the nursing literature there is a tendency for vari-
ous groups of patients to be described as ‘vulnerable’.
Correspondence: Derek Sellman, Principal Lecturer, University
of the West of England, Faculty of Health and Social Care,
Glenside Campus, Blackberry Hill, Bristol, BS161DD, UK.
Tel.: +44 0117 32 88771, fax +44 0117 32 88408; e-mail: Derek.
[email protected]
Generally speaking, to use the word ‘vulnerable’ in
this way is to attach to it a semi-technical meaning
suggesting those thus described are more vulnerable
than ordinary people. However, this extended use of
the word is rarely acknowledged, and even less often
explained, rather it is assumed that those described
as vulnerable are particularly susceptible to harm as
a result of either a higher than normal exposure to
risk or a reduced, sometimes absent, capacity to pro-
tect themselves. For such persons this increased risk
© Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2005 Nursing Philosophy, 6, pp. 2-Ю
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