Donna Frost

Nature of professional artistry 189 6 carried with her and embodied by her. The possibilities can be imagined because she has seen them elsewhere and noted them, saved them and made them ‘part of the map’. She embodies these possibilities and infuses situations with them. So the practice situations, the ‘nows’, are in fact perceived differently by a nurse with professional artistry than by a nurse without. She can see them as part of a larger process that is leading somewhere even if the destination is not apparent. She can place them in a context that continues to increase in complexity or one in which the possibilities have become richer. The potential for becoming becomes thus more holistic and richer as well. Although similar to seeing the parts and the wholes, in this case the ‘whole’ is not yet complete; it has yet to become. The active experimentation within this pattern of engagement has then more to do with energy and possibilities than with tangible aspects of care. To the nurse practising with professional artistry, an awareness of the energy and potential energy within the encounter enables testing out and sensing which of the patterns or interventions lead to movement or a change in direction. Within the RN inquiry phrases were used such as ‘ being alert for clues ’ and ‘ seeing where it takes us ’ (RNI-Mtg 12 -Rec 3 of 4 ). See Figure 6 . 5 for examples of the phrases used during the NP inquiry CCCI meetings when unpicking these aspects of our practice. Figure 6 . 5 Investigating the idea of working with the now and the not yet during NP CCCI meetings: in words (NPI-Mtg 10 -Rec 3 , 4 , 5 of 7 and NPI-Mtg 11 -Rec 2 of 8 ) and picture (DonnaNPI- Mtg 10 -Photo 012 )