Donna Frost

Chapter 6 194 Figure 6 . 8 ‘Working with the now and the not yet’: creative expression made during NP inquiry meeting (MargaretNPI-Mtg 11 -Photo 028 ) The overarching message is that each nursing encounter contains diverse possibilities or potentialities not all of which are immediately evident to the nurse at the beginning of the encounter, at least not the specifics. At times the ‘not yet’ is a possible clinical outcome or physical response to a clinical intervention. At others the nurse brings part of the becoming with her into the space; she brings for example options, guidance, encouragement or hope. Sometimes she creates room for being (of the patient) in the here and now, which opens up room for becoming: acceptance, drawing out, exploration. The nurse’s active engagement in the now, via testing out, for example, and including ‘waiting’ as one of the forms the active engagement may take, enables the possibilities, or the ‘not yet’, to emerge or come into being. Committed to the ideal It emerged early in the inquiry that working towards the ideal, the best that could be achieved within the circumstances, was indicative of professional artistry. What ‘the best’ is or could be is different in every practice situation. Nevertheless, the practitioner practising with artistry is committed to discovering what the ideal is, given the situation, and working towards it: ‘aiming high and not giving up ’ (JaneRNI- Mtg 3 -Rec 2 of 4 ). This is often more than the protocol demands, or more than is required to be regarded as acceptable by standardised indicators. The practitioner is guided by best practices and published evidence, but also by his own moral