Catherine Coverston

A Foucauldian Analysis of Power in Nursing Education: Disciplinary Power in Nursing Education Catherine Coverston

Foucault has been an important contributor to our understanding of powerlessness. As a nurse, I have experienced powerlessness and have been intrigued that professionals who have so much power to heal could feel so powerless in their practice. My own experience as a student nurs introduced me to the disciplinary power described by Foucault, although, at the time, I could not name it. After reading Foucault, I was intrigued to apply his vision of power to nursing education. The voices of nursing students brought this to light. This work turned out to be much more complex than I thought it would be. To find the power gradients in nursing education I had to start with the students and their own images of nursing as well as those portrayed in the media. From there, we explored the students experiences as students. Finally, using Foucault, I have 'tried to provide some ways to produce cracks and crevices and conduits in nursing education as usual, to raise up students who have not only power to heal, but power to advocate for both themselves and those for whom they care.