Professional journalling over time: position of the inside nurse-researcher in intensive care

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of professional journalling in an intensive care unit. In particular, this paper explores the power and contextual relations that shaped nurse-nurse and nurse-doctor decision-making, from the author's perspective as the inside nurse-researcher. A variety of research methods were used for this study, including professional journalling, participant observation, and individual and focus group interviews. The author also worked as a clinical nurse specialist, as the inside nurse-researcher, in the unit under investigation. The results indicated that the power and contextual relations constructing nurse-nurse and nurse-doctor decision-making focused on two major issues. These concerned: drawing on particular forms of knowledge and acquiring differential visibility by the nurse in decision-making. The study demonstrated that professional journalling is an effective research method for helping nurses to question decision-making critically, not for examining the position of an inside nurse-researcher, and for supporting data obtained from other research methods.