Embracing technology: an exploration of the effects of writing nursing

Contemporary societal factors influencing the delivery of healthcare in Canada include loud and persistent demands for accountability around the use of public funds. Interests in fiscal accountability are not only held by managers and politicians. Practitioners too hold interests in this domain, particularly where 'interest' means having a reserved seat at the table where discussions regarding resource allocation will take place. In this light, practitioners are also interested in enrolling forms of technology that enable them to make visible their 'unique contribution' to the care delivery enterprise. Latour's writings on 'technology' as durability offer methods for describing socio-technical processes that contribute to the appearance of domination. Challenging the prevailing view that order results from powerful domination, Latour argues that domination is an effect of contingent processes. A case study is presented where multiple interests in developing a form of nursing that is visibly 'autonomous' and 'cost-effective' are brought together with technological forms that promise such visibility. Costs associated with purchasing visibility are critically examined.