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Here, differences between staff members (which may both result from and contribute to
incoherence) can lead to poor outcomes for patients (Bateman, 2000). The concern is
less, say, in the case of an individual clinician in private practice, but there is still an
imperative to maintain theoretical consistency. In research, particularly if this is at a
remove from practice, differing and apparently contradictory theoretical clinical
perspectives may provide different lenses, which can lead to a fuller or deeper picture.
This awareness will be revisited when the philosophical underpinnings of the research
and the methodology are outlined.
Putting focus and metonymy together, my aim is to give a theoretical basis for
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understanding them and what they imply, and then to join them to form an investigatory
structure, capable of both shifting and holding attention.
Position, person and tense
I want to offer some clarification about my use of position, voice and tense in this study.
I am using position to refer to where I (or any of the other participants) may stand in the
research and in the processes around it. I occupy a particular range of positions. In
relation to the teaching and learning which is the focus of the study, I am positioned as
the researcher, in the stance of participant observer. I am also positioned as one of the
two tutors (the title for staff members adopted by the agency providing the training) of
the semester being studied. Connected to my position as tutor, I’m the coordinator for
the course of which the semester is a part, and I’m head of training for the agency. As
the semester takes place, I’m also the clinical supervisor of one of the students in the