The unethical conduct of the nurse : a critical discourse analysis of how the nurse has been constructed by the Nurses Tribunal in New South Wales

Abstract

The question being asked in this thesis is how and with what effect has the unethical conduct of the nurse been constructed by the Nurses Tribunal in New South Wales? This question is explored within a poststructural theoretical framework, in which an approach informed by Foucault's ideas about genealogy, disciplinary power and ethics is used to examine and propose explanations about the emergence, construction and effect of the unethical conduct of the nurse. The central tenet to my argument is that Tribunal findings of unethical conduct are a new way of speaking about nurses. I propose this new way of speaking has arisen out of the discourse of professionalisation as a means of controlling the practice of nurses, enhancing the power of the profession, and reinforcing the status of nurses as ethical subjects. In keeping with Foucault's interest in examining the productive effects of power as opposed to sovereign power and his approach to looking at problems from an alternative angle rather than attempting to solve problems, this thesis provides a critical analysis of the way in which the unethical conduct of the nurse is constructed and examines the effect of this discourse. The analysis was undertaken on transcripts of five Tribunal inquiries which were held during the period 1998 to 2003. Findings reveal that the construction of the unethical conduct of the nurse in Tribunal inquiries is not based on the Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia; rather they arise from normalising judgements drawn from commonly held cultural discourses about ethics. Furthermore, these findings challenge the usefulness and ethics of findings of unethical conduct in disciplinary proceedings. They also raise questions about the use and purpose of the Code of Ethics and as such provide for the possibility of rethinking the way in which the Code is used within the nursing profession.

Date of Award	2010
Original language	English