Perhaps Douglas gets conservative care, initially (5,3)
I believe the answer is:
first aid
'care initially' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both acts as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
'perhaps douglas gets conservative' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'douglas' could be 'fir' (douglas fir is an example) and 'fir' is found within the answer.
'conservative' could be 'staid' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'staid' is found in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for first aid that I've seen before include "Initial treatment given to injured person before arrival of doctor" , "Immediate medical assistance" , "Preliminary medical assistance before doctor arrives" , "Preliminary treatment before doctor comes" , "Initial treatment for injured person before doctor arrives" .)