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Being “nice”: A complex activity among health professionals following a critical incident
Author(s) -
Austin Diana M.,
Ferkins Lesley,
Swann Jennie,
Smythe Elizabeth
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
systems research and behavioral science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1099-1743
pISSN - 1092-7026
DOI - 10.1002/sres.2614
Subject(s) - underpinning , nice , psychology , health professionals , action (physics) , resource (disambiguation) , health care , social psychology , computer science , political science , law , programming language , computer network , civil engineering , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
This paper reports on an action research study to explore the underpinnings of outwardly unsupportive behaviour among health professionals in New Zealand after a critical event and to develop and evaluate a resource to help them recover through mutual care and support. It explores the dynamic nature of the support system, the feedback loops, nonlinearity, underpinning “rules,” and associated behaviour. The tenets of complexity theory are applied to identify characteristics of the system, which, in turn, provide insight into ways of achieving change. The study demonstrates that these health professionals were behaving in ways which they thought were expected, rather than being “nice” to each other: behaviour that was driven by the inherent interrelatedness within an organization or system. This finding not only has significant outcomes for practice but also contributes to a deeper understanding of the emergent nature of complexity theory.