Donna Frost

Nature of professional artistry 183 6 Further examples of patient responses illustrating this pattern of engagement are given in Figure 6 . 3 . Figure 6 . 3 Examples of the words of patients captured in fieldnotes during or just after practice observations in the NP inquiry. The background picture (NPI- 2013 Pat 11 -Photo 001 ) was chosen by a particular patient to represent his response to his first meeting with the NP. As these examples indicate, engaging in this way results in the creation of a sheltered and shared space, a space in which there is room for the rest of the encounter. The possibility is created for increased understanding on the part of both parties. The nurse comes to understand the world of the patient and enters into that world, comes alongside and ‘travels’ for a time, with the patient. In the same way, the nurse helps the patient to be within the ‘healthcare system’ space, to enter that world and be present there. Once the connection has been made the nurse is able to ‘re-connect’ or re-create the qualities of the sheltered, shared space in new care episodes or even fleeting moments of contact in the corridor or waiting room for example. Within the inquiry groups we used a range of images and metaphors to capture this aspect of our practice. Images on association cards or in our creative expressions, for example, of circles surrounding, partly open circles enclosing, arms around, tepees and tenting, a sky with stars, light in the darkness, a soft glow, eyes, a focal point, a stop sign. The metaphors we used included ‘eye of the storm’, ‘port in the storm’, ‘lee of the tree’, ‘light in the dark’, ‘moment of calm’, ‘a soft breathing