Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
Figure 10. The Daisy and Hierarchy in Healthcare Conversation.
The patient. In the traditional healthcare hierarchy the patient
remains somewhat disconnected because the hierarchy and rules of
engagement take precedence over everything including at times the
patient. To visual this idea I will use the daisy heuristic; the daisy
heuristic represents the notion of an idea or context, which is placed
at the center of the daisy. The petals encompass particular ideas
that are associated with and support the main context (Pearce,
2007). Using the CMM daisy heuristic (refer to figure 10) the
hierarchy is placed at the center of the daisy as the context for all
conversations within healthcare today. The surrounding stories
become the contextual space shown in the petals of the daisy that
then support the hierarchal nature of the situation. The patient petal
is purposely placed as a disconnected presence in this
conversational space because today in healthcare the patient at
times gets lost in the tensions of the hierarchal conversation, and
therefore remains somewhat detached from the center of the
conversation.
The Intent of this Study
My hopes are to bring this study forward to encourage
healthcare professionals to continue to develop clear and open
communication within a culture of safety. The intent of this study is
to take this information forward as a positive exploration of how
healthcare professionals could coexist as collaborative team
participants instead of the traditional hierarchal existence that has
persisted. It is important in being able to create a culture of safety
that healthcare professionals pursue an increased understanding of
each other’s communicative existence. Healthcare professionals
could then seek out and share each other’s stories so that as a
group they can begin to develop greater understanding of the
communication complexities that persist in this contextual
professional environment. Most important and the main reason to
develop an increased understanding of communication interactions
for all in healthcare would be to develop and pursue the ideas of
creating a culture of safety.
Recommendations for Creating a Culture of Safety
In an effort to change the characteristics and patterns found
in the operating room concerning ineffective communication,
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