Transforming the findings of narrative research into poetry

Aim: To offer dramatic poetry as representing findings from narrative research that is more accessible. Background: This article is drawn from the author’s doctorate work on how students’ stories about their ‘clinical’ experiences can aid learning. Data sources: Nursing students’ stories of clinical practice experiences when engaged in the care of patients represented as dramatic poetry. Review methods: Qualitative analytical approaches in narrative data analysis to provide a review of student stories from a variety of perspectives. Discussion: This article illustrates a method for converting story data to poetry. It suggests that a range of audiences can learn from nursing students’ stories of clinical practice when translated into dramatic poetry. Conclusion: Audiences can come close to understanding what students are experiencing in practice when engaged in the care of patients and learning from their practice experiences, when these experiences are expressed as dramatic poetry. Implications for research/practice: Representing findings from narrative research as dramatic poetry can help audiences engage with nursing students’ experiences at an emotional level. Enabling researchers and readers to become immersed in the poem transforming their understanding of what the students have learned