What is the story? The uniqueness paradox and the Patient Story in the minutes of the boardroom

Abstract

Stories are ubiquitous in organizations and play an important role in all aspects of organizing. Patient Stories have come to prominence in health care in a number of different forms. In Wales, they have been used as one element of a large-scale organizational development program, the 1000 Lives Campaign. The purpose of the Patient Stories was to bring about learning and organizational change at the board level. Using Lakoff and Johnson’s theory of metaphor, I deconstructed the Patient Stories being presented to the board. I found that the stories were being used as a vehicle to present the Uniqueness Story to the board. The Uniqueness Story highlighted the value and worth of nursing and was a means of attracting and maintaining resources. This led to the understanding that there was a story behind the stories that can be explained using the original theory of metaphor. The implication is that if the Uniqueness Story is presented through the vehicle of the Patient Story, it assumes the validity of an accepted truth claim.

Keywords

Case study constructionism health-care management learning organizational development storytelling

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