title: Counselling as part of the nursing fabric: where is the evidence? A phenomenological study using 'reflection on actions' as a tool for framing the 'lived counselling experiences of nurses'.
abstract: Anecdotal claims are often made that counselling has become part of the nursing fabric. While there is a plethora of literary comments on the subject, there is hardly any concrete evidence to demonstrate how nurses use counselling skills as part of their work. 'Evidence-based care' requires nurses to produce evidence or research in order to enhance nursing care. This study is an attempt to illuminate the counselling phenomenon as it applies to present-day nursing. Guided reflection-on-actions was used as a tool for framing the 'lived counselling experience' of six qualified nurses who have recently completed a counselling and health module as part of a BSc in Health Studies. The findings suggest the existence of a paradigm shift in the direction of a closer alignment between counselling skills as applied by nurses and counselling as a healing culture. It supports the notion that there is a distinction between using counselling skills and counselling practice per se. It also concludes that within the context of nursing, what patients require is exploration and/or resolution of focal problems and not 'personality fine-tuning' as might be the case in counselling in general. When called upon to 'dispense counselling skills', nurses are adept at combining this with other nursing activities being performed at the time.
authors.affiliation: University College, Worcester, UK.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Soohbany
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D003376:Counseling / Q000193:education* / Q000379:methods*; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009736:Nursing Process; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology*; D013850:Thinking