From me to we: transforming values and building professional community through narratives

Entering high acuity environments for the first time is a daunting experience for nursing students and new graduates. They are challenged to be both highly skilled and critical thinkers. In addition, because of increasing acuity and the burgeoning prevalence of patients with long-term, multi-faceted health care issues, particularly in the elderly population, students also need advanced interpersonal communication skills. Nurse academics need to respond to these imperatives by examining the fundamental values of the profession so that they can provide learning opportunities that place equal emphasis on developing affective attributes alongside cognitive and psychomotor skills. This paper presents a novel values-based learning activity using transformative learning principles. Three extracts from a book were chosen that conveyed the uncertainty and insecurity that a novice Intensive care nurse overcame to become a competent, professional, trusted practitioner, her passion to be part of a caring profession and the positive role models who shaped her values. Transformative Learning questions were developed to promote critical reflection on the shared values of the profession and the transition from the personal to professional self. Students' insights from the activity focused on their aspirations to provide patient-centred care and included recognition of the emotional labour of caring, the need to rise above negative cultures, how to challenge out-dated practices and the importance of strengthening professional identity. Krathwohl et al. (1964) Stages of Affective Learning was used to evaluate the activity.