Sjukepleiedokumentasjon - eit politisk perspektiv. Ein dispositivanalyse av normene for sjukepleiedokumentasjon.

Background: The background for this thesis is how it has been made possible with such strong political management regarding how nurses document their practice. This has led me to the assumption: The nursing documentation is politically relevant, because nurses should document data the authorities can use in their supervision and governing of the population. The assumption is inspired by Michel Foucault and his account of how social practices are connected with political interests, and are examined with the help of dispositive analysis. Analyses of the origin of the documentation norms are based on Norwegian nursing textbooks from 1877 until modern literature. Historical references have been used to analyze forth the Norwegian social context, which would have been responsible for how the norms have been formed. Results and discussion: The analyses show that in the period from 1877 to 1974, nurses were taught to report biological and physiological data of the body and the progress of illnesses. The political interest in data of illness and body, can be seen in the light of the great social revolution around the change of the century, where objective knowledge was used for disciplinary practices. From 1974 nurses were primarily taught to document subjective data of the patients own experiences of illness and lack of health. This must be seen in the light of social changes, which occurred as a result of the welfare state, and where subjective knowledge was used and is still used for selfdisciplinary practices. The analysis show that between 1877 and 1974 biological knowledge was used to support the norms of nursing documentation practices. Human knowledge has been used to support the norms of nursing documentation after 1974. Conclusion: This thesis shows the tight connection between nursing documentation and useful social supervision of public health. Nursing documentation has also been important in making professional nursing legitimate