PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - P Nash
TI  - Doctors and nurses once more--an alternative to May.
AID  - 10.1136/jme.21.2.82
DP  - 1995 Apr 01
TA  - Journal of Medical Ethics
PG  - 82--83
VI  - 21
IP  - 2
4099  - http://jme.bmj.com/content/21/2/82.short
4100  - http://jme.bmj.com/content/21/2/82.full
SO  - J Med Ethics1995 Apr 01; 21
AB  - It is argued that promissory obligation arising from the contract of employment offers a simpler and less contentious explanation and justification of the doctor-nurse relationship at work, than does May's proposal of second-order reasons. The second-order reason position is rejected as the norm for that relationship, and in the exceptional case, where it is admitted, shared employee status is identified as primary validator of a doctor as locus of rational authority. Finally, a brief case is made for a more precise vocabulary to describe the doctor-nurse relationship, as a contribution to more collegial relations.