Disgust in nursing: Ethical risks and the case for compassion

Disgust is an inescapable yet underexplored emotion in nursing. While it serves a protective function in avoiding biological contaminants, its extension to social and moral domains raises ethical challenges in patient care. This paper examines disgust through theoretical analysis and moral philosophy, with particular focus on how it influences nurses’ professional practice and capacity for compassion. Drawing on personal vignettes and interdisciplinary scholarship, the paper identifies two dominant themes in nursing responses to disgust: institutional suppression of emotional expression and contamination fears that extend beyond actual infection risks. Suppression of disgust can create dissonance between nurses’ inner experiences and their outward professionalism, contributing to fatigue and turnover. Contamination fears manifest as protective behaviors and reinforce symbolic boundaries between “clean” professional bodies and “polluted” patient bodies. Disgust thus functions as a crude detection system for threats, but one that easily expands into social and moral domains, risking dehumanization of vulnerable patients. Eliminating disgust from nursing is neither possible nor desirable. Instead, cultivating compassion offers a counterbalance that preserves professional boundaries while affirming shared humanity. The paper argues for integrating moral education into nursing curricula to foster compassion, enabling nurses to navigate the ethical tensions posed by disgust without compromising patient dignity.