Looking through the constructivist lens: the art of creating nursing work groups.
Almost every facet of nursing requires some aspect of group work, and at some point in their career most nurse managers will organize or appoint a work group to carry out selected nursing activities. Group work can be challenging for members when work expectations are not clear. However, group outcomes can also be disappointing for the manager who appoints a group, if the group is unable to make decisions and accomplish the specified task or becomes enmeshed in tangential matters. Social constructivism, a recent addition to the family and group literature, provides a different perspective for understanding and facilitating group work. This article provides an overview of group work as seen through the lens of social constructivist thought. The intent of this article is to critique the linear paradigm that some managers use for appointing work groups, committees, and task forces, and to discuss constructivist-based approaches as more effective ways of promoting positive consensus, cohesion, and cooperation among nursing work groups.
Davis
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School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham 35294.
Cox
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RP
D003142:Communication; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D009718:Nurse Administrators; D009745:Nursing, Supervisory / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011340:Problem Solving; D012961:Sociology; D014937:Work