Nurses’ bodywork: is there a body of work?

Abstract

The work that many nurses do involves the use of their own body as one of the tools of their occupation. Being a nurse, in many cases, means controlled, purposeful use of her or his own body oriented to the patient. This paper discusses some of the ways in which nurses' bodies and the work that those bodies do are represented in professional and academic research accounts and made relevant in literature. Using instances of bodies and bodily activity mentioned in a variety of literature, the paper discusses three categories of accounts of nursing bodywork: those which are problematised and where the nurse's body is seen as a topic for investigation, and those which are unproblematised either explicitly discussing bodily activity (for example, touch) or implicitly dealing with bodywork (for example, taking blood pressure). Four ways in which nurses' bodies are made relevant in accounts are proposed: relational, corporate, instrumental and human. The paper discusses the prominence (or not) nurses' bodies are given in professional and academic accounts, as a contribution to preliminary work of generating a topic for investigation and concludes with some suggestions as to how this investigative project might be taken forward, focusing primarily on an examination of methodic practices, or how bodywork is brought off and executed as a skilled but taken-for-granted activity.

Embodied practice: rediscovering the ‘heart’ of nursing

“…There is a clear need for future nursing research into embodiment, as it relates both to the experiences of our patients and the bodies of ourselves as practitioners. Shakespeare (, p. 48, 53) noted that ‘nurses’ bodywork is not a current project in nursing scholarship…and there is almost the ‘shadow’ of nurses’ bodies and embodiment waiting to be discovered’. There is reassuring evidence that interest in the body and embodiment in nursing is increasing but this needs to gain momentum and purchase.…”

Caregiver bodywork: family members’ experiences of caring for a person with motor neurone disease

“…Now personal space has been transformed into dealing with the dependent, abject body, requiring family members to use their body differently and conceptualize their relative's body differently in order to undertake very personal care. Nakedness and the meaning of touch are redefined (Twigg 2000, Shakespeare 2003) as caregiving roles force the caregiver to confront difficult symptoms and manage their own feelings at the sight of their relative's changing body, while trying to maintain their personal relationship. Family caregivers also need to deal with the reaction of abjection and shame felt by their relative, when they become frustrated with their decreasing capabilities, or withdraw because their self concept is altered by the changing nature of their body function.…”

“…It also refers to functional use of the body as in prostitution, and disposal of bodies and body waste carried out by undertakers and cleaners (Twigg 2000). Nursing care and the way nurses manage their bodies in their interactions with patients has also been described as bodywork (Twigg 2000, Shakespeare 2003). Bodywork is a helpful concept to apply to family caregivers.…”

Lesbian Women’s Experience of Coming Out in an Irish Hospital Setting: A Heremeutic Phenomenological Approach

“…However, Gleeson & Timmins (2005) and Chang (2001) suggest that little consideration is given to physical touch in nursing research. It is the elements of physical touch, which is considered an integral part of the nurse-patient relationship (Routasalo 1999) leading to communication (Shakespeare 2003), giving comfort to patients (Gleeson & Timmins 2005) and portraying acceptance of the patient (Fredriksson 1999). Through touch the nurse makes contact with the patient, provides reassurance and a sense of being cared for:…”