Denial is one of the best-developed coping refl exes in health care workers, particularly in physicians and nurses. It exists on several levels, and it is provoked by a number of different but related dynamics. Most of us in health care—in the profession of caring for patients— have thought of denial as a self-protective reaction, a shield against the emotional and psychic turmoil of the environment in which we work. And for physicians and nurses, where they work is essentially where they live. It is a well-worked and commonly described dynamic. It is also oversimplifi ed in its construct and terribly underestimated for its impact on the caregiver’s personal well-being.
