A controversial post on X has caused a storm of heated debates. The post claims that the nursing profession, which used to attract highly compassionate and caring people in the noble tradition of Christian nuns or legendary figures like Florence Nightingale, has turned into a “sink for pathological personalities.” The post continues:
The number of borderline and narcissistic and sociopathic nurses today is noticeable…. Pathological personalities, especially female, are attracted to “caring” professions. Why?
- Automatic public trust. Those of you “shocked” by what I’m saying are doing exactly what they want you to. They’re trading on an outdated image.
- Social camouflage to hide their wicked behavior and to make any criticism of them look “unhinged.”
- The ability to control others, especially life and death.
Same reason you see so many insane sociopathic teachers and social workers.
Such comments are partly a reaction to shocking recent incidents of violent conduct by nurses. It suffices to mention the Florida labor and delivery nurse who publicly wished severe childbirth injuries to Karoline Leavitt or the Virginia Commonwealth University nurse who advocated for attacking federal officers with toxic substances and tampering with the drinks of ICE agents. A major nursing union, the Oregon Association of Nurses, has reportedly promoted training sessions to resist ICE and Customs and Border Patrol agents.
Such incidents are disturbing, to put it mildly, and need to be properly addressed. It is scary to entrust one’s life to individuals who openly encourage violence when they have a sacrosanct obligation to “do no harm” and offer the same standard of care to anyone regardless of convictions. Wishing physical harm on political opponents signifies a drastic deterioration of values since the 1980s, when the surgeon treating President Reagan after the latter’s assassination attempt famously stated: “Today, Mr. President, we are all Republicans.”
Radical ideology and violent media rhetoric have turned numerous Western women into unrestrained social activists who hate men as a gender and wish ill on those they disagree with. Aggressive conduct against political opponents, however, is not an exclusively female problem, as some men have posted violent content and engaged in physical aggression, including assassination attempts and murder.
The extreme stress associated with the medical profession can intensify criminal tendencies in individuals without strong values. Greed, corruption, and moral relativism are additional factors that may lead to criminal behavior, such as abusing terminally ill or elderly patients, harvesting organs from living people, and, arguably, transgender procedures.
Yet I do not concur with various aspects of the above X post.
I disagree with any generalization that a large proportion of nurses, teachers, or social workers are pathological personalities. Modern thinkers often blame personality disorders for bad behavior. I find psychology fascinating in many ways, as I consider human nature most intriguing. Yet psychology is not of the same immutable rigor as the hard science of, say, physics or mathematics.
Psychology helps explain behavioral patterns. Personality disorders are commonly categorized as: Cluster A (odd/eccentric): Paranoid, Schizoid, and Schizotypal; Cluster B (dramatic/emotional): Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, and Narcissistic; and Cluster C (anxious/fearful): Avoidant, Dependent, and Obsessive-Compulsive.
However, it may also be harmful to rationalize problematic conduct in terms of such clusters and categories, as this provides a degree of medical legitimacy to what has been historically known as “bad behavior.” Thus, instead of striving to improve one’s nature, individuals might accept their diagnoses as excuses beyond their control. Of course, this does not pertain to serious mental illness, which must be, and has been, medically treated.
The deep historical reasons for violent and even criminal behavior among nurses or social activists go beyond personality disorders. Elements of such disorders may be present, but the root cause is moral erosion that blurs the boundaries of good and evil. It is a destructive ideology that rejects traditional Judeo-Christian values, demonizes Western civilization, and causes people to despair regarding their own lives and the world’s future.
Many of those who advocate political violence are not born with some disorder but become brainwashed by a culture of hatred and complete intolerance toward dissenting opinions. They have been driven to existential fear caused by a pervasive apocalyptic narrative regarding issues like “the patriarchy,” climate change, conservatism, or the Trump movement.
Traditionally, people have aspired to curb the negative aspects of their nature. Human nature has been the same historically and geographically, but certain value systems bring out either the best or the worst in individuals. American ideals, for example, have largely stimulated the best in people, while totalitarian socialism has brought forth the worst.
Systems based on Judeo-Christian ethics and respect for inherent human worth and innate rights have cultivated moral conduct as a social standard. Fearing God, feeling guilt and shame for one’s transgressions, and constantly trying to improve have done wonders for human flourishing. Of course, some people abide by objective moral standards without faith or spirituality, though it is harder to be virtuous based on rational convictions alone. Others are simply good-natured individuals, though good nature is not enough to create and preserve a decent society.
The above controversial post on nursing reminded me of the book and film titled One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and the infamous character of Nurse Mildred Ratched. Her persona embodies the worst in people who may be attracted to professions like nursing to indulge their manipulative cruelty.
There have always been villains in literature and the real world, and the recent destructive propaganda that dehumanizes ideological opponents can certainly exacerbate vicious tendencies. Such propaganda and conduct must be routinely exposed and addressed, and violence prevented as much as possible.
But we need not disparage entire professions like nursing or teaching because of disturbing incidents that contradict the essence of such professions. A popular Latin maxim states: Abusus non tollit usum, “Abuse does not take away use,” meaning that the abuse of something does not justify its removal. Cars are used for transportation, but may also cause death. This does not mean that cars are essentially bad and must be avoided.
Nursing is not a “sink for pathological personalities,” although violence perpetrated by nurses and other medics is especially disturbing. The erosion of traditional morality has led to an increase in aggressive and lawless behavior in many areas of life. One solution is to apply even stricter standards when hiring medical professionals and evaluate their compassion and moral values regarding human life. Lawsuits exposing abuse and violence are also effective.
On an institutional level, we must remove radical indoctrination from hospitals, schools, and government entities, which have been infested with destructive political activism. In addition to limiting the influence of pernicious ideologies, we must actively and broadly promote traditional American ideals. In my native language, the term for nurse used to be “compassionate sister,” changed by the communists to “medical nurse.” It is time nursing became again ubiquitously and uncontroversially synonymous with compassion.
Nora D. Clinton is a Research Scholar at the Legal Insurrection Foundation. She was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria. She holds a PhD in Classics and has published extensively on ancient documents on stone. In 2020, she authored the popular memoir Quarantine Reflections Across Two Worlds. Nora is a co-founder of two partner charities dedicated to academic cooperation and American values. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and son.
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