Page 336 - Encyclopedia of Nursing Research

MORAL RECKONING n 303

congruent professional and institutional nurses recall occurred early in their careers.
norms. They are comfortable: They have tech- The stage of reflection raises questions about
nical skills and are feeling satisfied to prac- prior judgments, particular acts, and the M
tice within the boundaries of self, profession, essential self. The properties of the stage of
and institution. They know what is expected reflection include remembering, telling the
of them and experience a sense of flow and story, examining conflicts, and living with
at-homeness. The stage of ease continues as consequences. These properties are interre-
long as the nurse is fulfilled with the work of lated and seem to occur in every instance of
nursing and comfortable with the integration moral reckoning.
of core beliefs and professional and institu- Sampling, investigation, and analy-
tional norms. For some, though, a morally sis of moral reckoning followed the classic
troubling event will challenge the integration grounded theory method as described by
of core beliefs with professional and institu- Glaser and Strauss (1967) and subsequently
tional norms. Nurses find themselves in sit- by Glaser (1965, 1978, 1998, 2001). The classic
uational binds that herald a critical juncture grounded theory allowed the investigator to
in their professional lives. A situational bind discover theoretically complete explanations
interrupts the stage of ease and places the of moral reckoning and to maintain a consis-
nurse in turmoil when core beliefs and other tent philosophical stance.
claims conflict. Situational binds force nurses Glaser and Strauss (1967) were said to
to make difficult decisions and give rise to have broken new ground in 1967 when they
critical junctures in their lives. Binds involve described this new inductive method which
serious and complex conflicts within indi- “discovers” theoretically complete expla-
viduals and tacit or overt conflicts between nations about particular phenomena, but
nurses and others—all having moral/ethical they did not explicate the method’s philo-
overtones. Inner dialogue leads the nurse to sophical stance. In an attempt to clarify the
make critical decisions—choosing one value grounded theory method, many scholars
or belief over another. Types of situational have published opinions about grounded
binds include (a) conflicts between core val- theory’s ontological position. Because Glaser
ues and professional or institutional norms, and Strauss rarely discussed ontology, pub-
(b) moral disagreement in the face of power lished speculations lead to a confusion of
imbalance, and (c) workplace deficiencies. conflicting labels including realist, construc-
These binds lead to consequences for nurses tivist, critical realist, objectivist, relativist,
and patients. interactionist, positivist, postpositivist, and
Situational binds constitute crises of others. Many claim that the philosophi-
intolerable internal conflict. The move to set cal foundation is symbolic interactionism.
things right signifies the beginning of the Although the originators of the method did
stage of resolution. For most, this stage is a not delve into its foundations, inferences
critical juncture that alters professional tra- from Glaser’s (1978, 1998, 2001) writings clar-
jectory. There are two foundational choices ify the method’s ontological position. Glaser
in the stage of resolution: making a stand recognizes that (1) there is an objective real-
or giving up. These choices are not mutu- ity that can be observed; (2) inasmuch as it
ally exclusive. In fact, many nurses give up is possible, the investigator gathers data
initially, regroup, and make a stand. Others from the perspective of the research partici-
make an unsuccessful stand and later give pant; and (3) grounded theory sheds light on
up. Moving from the stage of resolution, latent patterns. Although neither Glaser and
nurses reflect as they reckon their behav- Strauss’s original description of grounded
ior and actions. The stage of reflection may theory nor Glaser’s subsequent development
last a lifetime. In most cases, the incidents identify it’s philosophical foundations, their