Learning State of a Nurse who Moved Her Work Area from Hospital to Community Setting

−A Case Study Based on the Expansive Learning Theory−

Abstract

〔Aims〕This study aimed to clarify the state of learning of a nurse moving her work from medical facilities, such as hospitals, to the community. A case study was undertaken using expansive learning theory concepts and analytical models to determine the learning characteristics.

〔Methods〕Observation and interview data collected from fieldwork in collaboration practice examples of two activity systems between a group of specialists with a nurse who moved her work area from hospitals to a community and a resident volunteer group were analyzed.

〔Results〕 The nurse recognized the difference as some “contradictions.” First, the support required at the hospital facilities and in daily life was different. Second is the lack of competence in a group of professionals to provide the necessary support to the community. Therefore, by harnessing the power of transformation of the existing system, a new activity system with a resident volunteer group can be created.

〔Conclusions〕It was assumed that the nurse learned a kind of learning called “unlearn”, while accompanying the transformation of the activity system. Thus, the importance of sustained interaction with a small group of different fields related to nursing in a relatively free social space was hypothetically suggested.