Physicians and Nurses in the Dutch Armed Forces

Professional Identity, Ethical Dilemmas, and Agency

Francesca Hooft author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Springer International Publishing AG

Published:10th Nov '24

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Physicians and Nurses in the Dutch Armed Forces cover

This book analyzes the challenges and ethical dilemmas military physicians and nurses experienced while deployed on military operations—and how they dealt with them. It traces the developments during the deployment of medical personnel within the Dutch armed forces between 1990 and 2010. Throughout this time, medical personnel were confronted with anything from a scarcity of supplies to military hierarchy, factors that potentially threatened their medical standards as well as their professional autonomy. They had to navigate between differing expectations, priorities, and moral codes of the medical and the military profession.

This book makes an original and indispensable contribution to academic debates on medical personnel in the armed forces and dual loyalty, ethical decision-making processes, moral competence, and the salience of (professional) identity in the role of perception, decision-making and coping, both during and after deployment. The target audience for this book is primarily academics working in the social sciences, humanities, medicine, and ethics. Military and medical practitioners, policymakers, NGOs, and educational institutions may use the book’s findings for policy and educational purposes.

“Physicians and Nurses in the Dutch Armed Forces certainly is a fascinating and important book ... . One of the great accomplishments of Hooft’s book is that she makes perfectly clear that it does matter in which organization a doctor or nurse wants to help. Cultures differ, obligations differ … . Hooft makes it clear that doctors and nurses must ask themselves searchingly who they are and what they are, before engaging in medical care in times of war.” (Leo van Bergen, Medicine, Conflict and Survival, April 2, 2025)

ISBN: 9783031703287

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

305 pages

2024 ed.