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
belief systems of self and others, thereby increasing awareness of
the interconnectedness of all individuals and their relationships to
each other and the global community (30: Sharoff, 1997).
Holistic nursing weaves a tapestry of the bio-psycho-socialspiritual-cultural
elements to assist in the healing process of self
and others. The healing process is a continual journey of changing
and evolving of one’s self through life, as well as the awareness of
patterns that support or are challenges/barriers to health and
healing (31: Dossey & Guzzetta, 2005).
Critical Incident Technique Methodology Utilization in
Research on Holistic Nurses
The author used the CIT in two separate studies on holistic nurses.
Both studies utilized the CIT as a secondary source of data
collection, with semi-structured open-ended interviews being the
primary source (conducted via telephone and audio-taped). The
CIT was used to help refine and revise the interview questions and
as part of triangulation. Finally, all participants were initially
contacted via e-mail with a general description of the purpose of the
study, participant eligibility, and participant involvement.
Purposeful sampling occurred when the researcher reviewed the
AHNA Member Directory, which was available to all members. Email
addresses were obtained through the AHNA’s Member
Directory. Once a participant agreed to be in either study, and
eligibility was confirmed, an introduction letter, critical incident, and
demographic inventory were sent via e-mail attachment. This data
was then sent back to the researcher via e-mail attachment.
Both studies received Institutional Review Board (IRB)
approval for the protection of human participants’ rights.
To corroborate the researcher’s perception of theme and
category coding, review of data was confirmed through inter-rater
reliability checks and all participants were asked to review the
interview for accuracy. The coding scheme was developed for each
study’s research questions. Descriptors were formulated from the
critical literature review with additional descriptors constructed after
analyzing the interviews and critical incidents. Analysis of the CIT
used the same coding scheme/descriptors developed for the
primary data source (semi-structured interviews).
Study # 1: How Experienced HNCs Learn to Become
Competent Practitioners
Purpose
The purpose of this naturalistic qualitative study was to explore how
experienced certified holistic nurses (HNCs) learn to become
competent practitioners (32: Sharoff, 2006). The study focused on
a sample of 10 volunteer HNCs who have been practicing as holistic
nurses for more than three years and have incorporated the
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