Understanding How Nursing Students Experience Becoming Relational Practitioners: A Narrative Inquiry

BACKGROUND: Teaching nursing students to become relational practitioners requires theoretical approaches and strategies that engender personal and aesthetic knowing. These qualities closely parallel those that define relational practice. The use of creative self-expression in supporting the development of student capacity for relational practice offers a viable approach. PURPOSE: To learn how nursing students’ engagement in creative self-expression activities may impact the construction of their professional identity and capacity for relational practice as novice nurses. METHOD: Clandinin and Connelly's narrative inquiry approach was used to explore nursing students’ experiences of learning how to become relational practitioners. Four new nurse graduates engaged in a follow-up focus group using Schwind's narrative reflective process to discuss the impact of a relational practice workshop series. FINDINGS: Bronwyn's story became the composite of the four participants. Two key narrative patterns emerged: being in service of others and being knowledgeable collaborative leaders. These entailed an intentional engagement in relationships with patients, which required attention to the co-constructed relational space. The creative approaches used to facilitate students’ learning informed their awareness that led to their transformation. IMPLICATIONS: Educating future nurses who are relational, person-centered practitioners requires a holistic approach to teaching/learning which also includes creative self-expression.