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drawn to this question. In the last chapter I focused on whinging and
wondered if it was linked to seeking approval. I have suggested already
that nurses might use whinging to gain agreement from others and a
sympathetic ear therefore it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that it
might also serve as a way of gaining approval from others in the team and
thus a sense of connection as well as helping to make sense of
experiences with colleagues.
As Maria put it:
If nurses were reflecting would they behave in the same
way? And what the discussion made clear to me is that actually part
of it is a lack of reflection on nurses‟ part, and also a lack of taking
responsibility for their own selves. You know it‟s about abdication;
it‟s always somebody else‟s fault. (Final interview 27/1/06)
Could reflecting interrupt the need for approval? If a nurse doesn‘t get
approval what effect is this likely to have? As I have shown already where
I worked and I suspect in many wards, the habitus and field of whinging
was more powerful than that of reflecting. In the sixth co-inquiry group
meeting we talked about anger, another connecting theme for many of our
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