Power In Nursing

The following is a critique of research conducted by Fackler, Chambers, and Bourbonniere (2015). The authors of this research study explain that a problem exists as there is little information regarding the role of power as it relates to the future of nursing. The purpose of this study is to “explore hospital nurses’ lived experience of power” (Fackler et al., 2015, p. 267). They further explain that while research identifies a relationship between a clinical nurse’s work environment and the quality of care that is given, little is known about the effects of power on quality of care. The researchers state two research questions which are “what is the lived experience of power to hospital clinical nurses; and what is the meaning of power to hospital clinical nurses in the context of their professional role?” (Fackler et al., 2015, p. 268). The type of research conducted by Fackler et al. (2015), is stated to be phenomenology with the goal of understanding how nurses perceive power within their professional roles. …show more content…
They provide statistics that represent their population of interest as being over four million registered nurses, sixty-three percent of whom work in a hospital setting. The researchers then discuss power and the importance of perceiving a place of power for reaching goals that have implications for patients and the healthcare system. Researchers describe a connection between quality of care and the work environment but point out that positive aspects of work environment do not equate to perceptions of power within the role of nursing. Concepts in this study involve power and perception of power within the role of nursing. The framework of this research is that of Merleau-Ponty, is rooted in philosophy as the desire to understand a phenomenon through individual perception. Researchers are interested in understanding the nurses lived experience of