e more difficult (Gebhart, 1992, pp. 37-41). Tuberculosis is most prevalent in the nation's inner cities (Kindel, 1993, p. 48). The increase in immigration from developing areas of the world over the past 15 years has contributed to the problem, as a significant proportion of these individuals arrive in the United States already suffering from serious illnesses such as AIDS (acquired immunity deficiency syndrome) and tuberculosis. AIDS and tuberculosis are frequently found in the same patient.
While tuberculosis is contagious, the disease is not easily contracted through casual and infrequent contact with infected individuals (Conspicuous consumption, 1993, pp. 6-7). Lengthy and repeated contact with an individual infected with tuberculosis is required to produce a tuberculosis infection. The conditions required for tuberculosis infection, unfortunately, frequently are found among the homeless and other economically disadvantaged population groups that nurses are asked to treat (Conspicuous consumption, 1993, p. 6).
The professional nurse must rise above concerns of personal safety and any abhorrence of unfortunate persons. While the nurse of course must exercise all precautions to minimize risk to self, he or she nevertheless must deliver care to those persons requiring care.
Social issues also affect the attitudes of some nurses toward the delivery of care. Abortion is one such issue confronting nurses in the contemporary period. Within nursing, disparate opinion exists with respect to the abortion issue (Silva, 1991, pp. 69-79). There are pro-life nurses and pro-choice nurses, as there are pro-life and pro-choice proponents in the general population. There are also nurses who are ambivalent towards this volatile issue (Silva, 1991, pp. 69-79). With experience in obstetrics nursing, I have come to the conviction the needs of the female patient in such circumstances must supersede the personal beliefs of the nurs...