K Björnsdottir | PubMed Health

PubMed2001

Language, research and nursing practice.

AIM OF THE PAPER: This paper highlights the centrality of language in constructing knowledge. It aims at making us sensitive to the political nature of knowledge production and the complex power relationships that may emerge as a result of our efforts to create new knowledge. BACKGROUND: Science, as understood here, is a linguistic construction, rather than a mirror reflection of reality. A number of examples are presented, demonstrating the complex ways in which language is central in shaping all our attempts to know, science included, and nursing practice. CONCLUSION: Based on the analysis presented in this paper an argument is made for a substantial re-thinking of nursing research and its relationship to nursing practice. Research needs to be an integral part of everyday nursing practice, a way of posing questions and reflecting on answers. Further, nurses need to be aware of the potentially coercive nature of knowledge as well as its liberating effect.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1998

Language, ideology, and nursing practice.

This article explores the ways in which nursing practice is shaped by language and ideology. It is based on an ethnographic study conducted at two general surgical units in one of the main acute care hospitals in Iceland. The data used were qualitative: transcribed semistructured interviews with registered nurses on two acute care units, field notes from a participant observation on the two units and contextual information from written documents, such as yearly reports from the hospital and newspaper articles. The main findings revealed a stark contrast between the two discourses noticed. The public discourse, observed at team meetings in giving reports and in the written documentation, was characterized by objectivity and distancing from patients' personal understandings. The style of presentation was distant and mechanical. The private discourse, which emerged in private discussions between staff on the units and in interviews with the researcher, reflected the nurses' attempts to understand each patient's situation and outlook on life. This discourse was much more engaged, reflecting the nurses' energy and interest in being of assistance. By highlighting the difference between private and public discourses, this study provides important insight into the complex ways in which language and power interact to create different conditions for nursing practice. Based on these findings inferences are made as to how nursing practice is shaped by ideology.

Anthropology, Cultural↗