Work as an Immersive Practice

Abstract

Nursing, I believe, has an especially substantial claim for attention. To begin with, nursing practice is concerned with some of the most significant events in people’s lives. On the other hand, nurses and nursing practice “emerge” and become salient for most of us only at extraordinary times, and otherwise are generally self-effacing and largely invisible. The paradox of the salience of nursing and its hidden character is by no means accidental, as we will see later. But my point here is that although nursing has been largely unobserved and un-remarked upon in management discourse, it has in fact a great deal to offer to the wider world of management and organization.

Part II of this book plunges more deeply into the details of the practical and philosophical natures of our human selves (What Could We Be?) than either Part I preceding or Part III that follows. Readers who wish to move directly from the discussion of the immediate past (the Where Have We Got To? of Part I) to my invitation for the future (the Where Could We Go Next? of Part III) might wish to jump to the Part III introduction and on to Chapter 9. But I suggest that even these readers will find the practical wisdom of Patricia Benner, described in this chapter, to be a helpful bridge between the two.