Exploring idealism in palliative nursing care through reflective practice and action research

This article describes a qualitative research project using a combination of action research and reflective practice. Six experienced registered nurses identified their tendency towards idealism in their palliative nursing practice, which they defined as the tendency to expect to be 100% effective all of the time in their work. Participants collaborated in generating and evaluating an action plan to recognize and manage the negative effects of idealism in their work expectations and behaviours. Participants expressed positive changes in their practice, based on adjusting their responses to their idealistic tendencies towards perfectionism.