Heading north…

My sojourn to the south has been instructive, challenging and enjoyable

I have been fortunate to meet with, and learn from, colleagues in Australia and New Zealand (NZ).Megan-Jane Johnstone encouraged us to think more broadly about end of life ethicsand suggested that we abandon the concept of moral distress.  Martin Woods described the role and importance of cultural safety and detailed his research with NZ nurses on moral distress. Tula Brannelly urged a consideration of the relationship between personal and professional lives as we relate to marginalised groups.  Elizabeth Niven, author of a first book on nursing ethics in NZ, demonstrated the moral wisdom that comes from experience as we travelled around Auckland today. We discussed the role of bystander and our responsibility to act in different contexts.  Should you challenge a market stallholder who was making  unsupported research claims about a health product? She did. Should you ask for an extension seatbelt for a passenger on a flight who did not ask for one himself? You will recall that I did not.

I also met with David Seedhouse. I did the first dignity in care study with David in 1999. I learnt about his on-going work with the online Values Exchange. He talked enthusiastically about the engagement of children in the Exchange and the opportunity for cross-cultural and cross-generational dialogue about values. I also spent time with Jocelyn Peach, Director of Nursing and Midwifery and Jenny Parr, Associate Director of Nursing at Waitemata District Health Board and Stephen Neville at Massey University. I thank them for their hospitality and generosity.

I have been challenged by debates about responsibilities to indigenous peoples wronged in the past and been pushed to ponder my own ‘unearned privilege’. It is right to seek to understand the historical context for our present relationships, to consider the meaning of marginalisation and to strive for social justice. But it is not enough if we absent ourselves from whatever cultural context we find ourselves in. Colleagues here seem particularly sensitive to the evolution of their personhood and sense of family and place in relation to that of local populations.

I have enjoyed some of the cultural and natural highlights of both countries: savouring an occasional local wine;experiencing the ambience of the Opera House;observing a kangaroo family in the bush;witnessing the antics of dolphins in Sydney harbour; andseeing Auckland from Eden hill and learning about its volcanic and cultural past.

And now I am preparing to head back to theUK. There is a good deal of catching up to do with projects, students and journal work. Visiting new places broadens our view and enables us to better appreciate the inter-relationships between individuals and cultures. Perhaps the most important thing, however, is not the physical travelling from place to place but the travelling that takes place in our minds and hearts as we engage with different people in different conversations about the things that matter to us.

So I leave with some new perspectives and resolve to pursue new lines of enquiry in nursing ethics. We have a lot to do and it is reassuring to be reminded that we can learn from colleagues in other cultural contexts. I look forward to continuing to engage with the many committed people I have met here.