Thinking

One of my problems over the years has been "too much thinking" - instead of just blinding getting on with what I am paid to do I think. I consider what I am doing, why I am doing it, whether I could do it any better - all this thinking led me to leave clinical practice and move in Higher Education. I thought that thinking would be one of the activities prized within the Academy. I could not have been more wrong and since I joined I have descended into a pit of despair.

Lecturing to students this week about the nature of nursing knowledge I mentioned a couple of "thinkers" in nursing whose work I have read and learned from over the years. I decided to have a glance at Nursing Philosophy - a nursing journal, whose title almost seems, for the Daily Mail, at least, a bit of an oxymoron - get on with doing your job - nurses don't need philosophy I can hear them shouting!!

As if a message what being sent from on high I came across this article:-

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1466-769X.2012.00551.x/abstract

 

I have long admired Gary Rolfe's output and his thoughts on the knowledge we use in nursing. I have never had the energy or self- belief to get my words out there but I do hope I can encourage the students to read his work. I said to them this week that I think when I am walking the dog and this article contains a scholarly discussion about what is happening in nursing with Universities. It has helped me recognise the sources of my own disquiet, frustration and dissatisfaction. However I fear I have descended into despair and whether I can pick myself up and develop scholarly work from within I am beginning to doubt.

Long may it last that scholarly articles like this can be freely available to share and spread the word.