My study is about understanding the lives (specifically careers) of learning disability nurses. The construct of their reality, the way in which they have shaped the reality of learning disability nursing over the past 30 years. How the construct of disability in society has impacted on the ways in which these nurses work, define their role and care for people with a learning disability. I am interested in multiple realities and the way in which phenomenology can embrace these. The reality of Government & policy makers and the way in which this has created models of community care for people with learning disabilities and the part that learning disability nurses have in creating roles within this model. How will this impact on the future role of the learning disability nurse within a model of inclusion (?)
Hermeneutic phenomenology based on the work of Heidegger 1962 has a concern for investigating the essence of human experience which will underpin the study I am undertaking.
A philosophy, which although has its critics, will offer me the opportunity to adopt a humanistic approach, drawing on the experiences of learning disability nurses over the past 30 years but also examining policy and politics of the time. Gathering rich data through life story/oral history interviews will allow the stories of these nurses to be told. In doing this the lives of people with learning disabilities and the social change over that past three decades will also be illustrated and the multiple realities and their interactions exposed.
Nicky
Sounds fascinating! One of my several hats involves supporting homeless people with mental health problems, and it's intriguing as someone who generally works in the creative sector to see how support workers perceive themselves and what factors shape the role. All of which applies to people working with those who have learning disabilities, I'm sure.
ReplyDelete