Achieving moral health care: The challenge of patient partiality

Illness and hospitalization are sources of vulnerability; they arguably end ow nurses and midwives with the moral obligation to develop caring relation ships with. patients. Fairness and the equal treatment of patients are cent ral to moral practice; current government publications are giving this poli tical emphasis. This article argues that patient partiality is one factor t hat may result in insidiously unequal caregiving. Data generated during a q ualitative study into professional caring suggest that patient partiality i s an accepted part of everyday practice. Factors such as the patient's pers onality, nurse-patient familiarity and the perceived level of patients' und erstanding and interest in their illness emerged as possible sources of par tiality and influence on practitioners' interactions with patients. The art icle argues that patient partiality can be managed morally if practitioners develop self-awareness and constantly reflect on the moral integrity of ev eryday practice. Throughout the article, unless it is stated that specific reference is bein g made to either nurses or midwives, reference to a nurse or practitioner d enotes both. It is also emphasized that no implication is intended that any study participants provided unequal care. Rather, data are utilized solely to generate focused discussion around the concept of patient partiality.