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question underlying power, patterns, rhetoric, myths and contradictions at
both the individual and organisational level. Consequently exploration and
questioning of the complexity embedded in organisations that is, the
interrelated patterns and connections, how boundaries are constructed,
power differentials, the tensions of difference, the multiple realities,
rhetoric, contradictions and unintended consequences, forms the process
(Burns 2007, Flood 2001, Midgley 2000, Weil 1998, 1999). How a
boundary is constructed or imagined can impact on those working in an
organisation (Midgley 2000) and the power reproduced in Bourdieu‘s
terms is seen as political, economic, social, cultural or symbolic capital as
well as the field and habitus of practice.
This chapter expands the inquiry by focusing particularly on the
relationship between organisational structures for reflection and nurses‘
sense of their own agency. The main aim of Strand 3 of the inquiry was to
inquire into the organisational structures and processes that might
encourage and impinge on reflecting during care giving in a hospital ward.
At the same time I hoped to feedback into the organisation key learning
already generated by this inquiry to understand the context in which
nurses may or may not influence organisational learning. Therefore by
interviewing risk assessment and senior managers I was keen to explore
how they perceived, through their assessment of critical incident forms, an
individual‘s developmental or performance issue and when that might
become an organisational issue. So my core question for these interviews
was “how do you decide what is individual learning or organisational
learning”? However, this part of the inquiry posed several difficulties as
much of the interviews were sensitive in nature and interviewees asked
me not to use the stories because some of these involved litigation battles
or would result in a breach of confidentiality.
The reflective practice literature claims that reflection promotes
empowerment (Chui 2006, Taylor 2006, Gustafsson & Fagerberg 2004,
Glaze 2002, Platzer et al 2000b, Ghaye et al 2000, Taylor & White 2000),
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