“we must learn to live in the middle of things,
in the tension of conflict and confusion and possibility;
and we must become adept at making do with the messiness
of that condition and at finding agency within… “ (St Pierre 1997:176)
As I hear about the events related to student learning in Obstetrics, I am thrown into the folds of the unfolding data. Through this process of data collection, I feel myself becoming immersed in the currents that flow - some together, some in alternate directions, yet all moving me through the tide towards change in myself and in the process of intra-activity. There are interdependent and mutually constituted forces that effect each other through the affect on each other (Barad 2007). I was told that even the ripples emanating from this research project are raising awareness by contributing to an increased consciousness of students’ engagement with the curriculum in Obstetrics and beyond. This is an affirmative stance compared to the potential for drowning in sorrow from the tsunami of despair. Findings from a public inquiry by the South African Human Rights Commission (2009:4) to investigate the realization of the right to access health care illuminated the “lamentable state of many public hospitals in the country”; reasons suggested included “a shortage of trained health care workers, a lack of drugs in clinics, lengthy waiting periods that patients endure before receiving treatment, poor infrastructure, a disregard for patients’ rights, a shortage of ambulance services and poor hospital management”.
Beyond these limitations is the disjuncture in the capabilities of health providers. Recently an interviewee described her insights. She explained that after our previous interaction, she had been thinking about the realities of disrespect in the profession, now more clearly identifying that “what is ailing” in the healthcare profession is the issue of relationships. She shared a personal story reflecting the expertise and skill of colleagues in procedures yet their limitation in coping with loss. There was exceptional interprofessional collaboration when knowledge and skills were used, yet as the events unfolded, exclusions and separability became evident.
Strength in some areas of expertise produce lines of flight that then exclude other areas. There are rupturing connections between different bodies - a cutting-together and apart (Barad 2007). In terms of student learning, there are many obstacles such as an objectification of the curriculum and the students’ immersion in it. Perhaps their logbooks act as lifejackets carrying them through the tides, as they learn to strategically weather the storms and swim through the waves and the backwash - embedded in the processes. As facilitators of learning, perhaps we can take more time to acclimatize students to the conditions by presenting them with the reality, allowing them to tread the waters, feel the temperatures, and connect to the material-discursive practices of the discipline with and through each other.
The image above was drawn on the Stetches App on my iPad using my finger rather than a pen. The photos taken as selfies were cropped then inserted into the image symbolizing my becoming-researcher and becoming-curriculum.
Barad, K. 2007. Meeting the universe halfway: Quantum physics and the entanglement of
matter and meaning. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
South African Human Rights Commission. 2009. Public inquiry: Access to health care services. http://www.sahrc.org.za/home/21/files/Health%20Report.pdf
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